This wonderful city in North Central Minnesota, is located on the southwest shore of LakeBemidji, the northernmost lake feeding the Mississippi River.  The city is a college town with strong arts influences, cultural activities, traditions, and events.  The area also offers a wide selection of dining and shopping options.  

The RegionalAirport, which has regular service to Minneapolis, is the third busiest airport outside of the Twin Cities area. U.S. highways 2 and 71 link Bemidji to the rest of the Midwest: Fargo/Moorhead is 141 miles, Duluth is 152 miles, and Minneapolis/St. Paul is 230 miles.

Thes award-winning public school system includes six elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school; there are also several charter and private schools.  The learning opportunities for Bemidji students extend beyond the traditional classroom to venues for the visual and performing arts.  Higher education is available at Bemidji State University (BSU), NorthwestTechnicalCollege, ItascaCommunity College, OakHillsChristianCollege, and ConcordiaLanguageVillages, which offers language and cultural immersion programs for all ages.  BSU, with over 5,000 students and faculty, welcomes the community-at-large to its top-quality music, art, and theatre events and programs.

Nestled in the beauty of the northwoods, the area is rich with access to public lands, trails, lakes, rivers, forests, wildlife, and outdoor events.   It is one of the best places in the state to hook up to some of Minnesota’s 14,000 miles of snowmobile trails.  It is home to eight different cross country ski trails, with a total of more than 160 kilometers of groomed snow.  Twelve miles from town, Buena Vista Ski Area features slopes for downhill skiing and snowboarding, including 16 runs, two terrain parks and a tubing park.  Curling is also popular here, as is hunting, fishing (for all major species of game fish), and birdwatching.  Waterskiing, sailing, kayaking, and canoeing round out the list of favorite outdoor pastimes.

In and around the city, there are 19 parks (with picnic areas, swimming beaches, and campgrounds) and eight miles of paved bike trails that can also be used for walking and rollerblading.  State forest trails and old logging roads are available for mountain biking.  Hiking trails can be found in area parks such as LakeBemidjiState Park, ItascaState Park, and ThreeIslandCountyPark, and in the ChippewaNational Forest.  The burgeoning sport of geocaching is popular here as well.