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St. Albans and Excelsior Bay on Lake Minnetonkatie up and walk to dinner

St. Albans is tucked in and sheltered, so it stays calm when the big lake is rough. Around the corner the docks on Excelsior Bay face west, and you can tie up, walk Water Street to dinner, and walk back for the sunset. A hundred years ago the streetcar boats brought people here for the same thing.

Geoffrey Serdar

Good to know

• SunExcelsior's town docks face west for sunsets. Summer sunsets land over the northwest water. St. Albans Bay lies due east of the Commons, a sunrise bay from town.
• WaterExcelsior Bay: about 123 acres, 34 feet deep. St. Albans Bay: about 164 acres, 2.19 miles of shoreline, 44 feet deep.
• EventsJuly 4 fireworks about 9:50 pm from a barge off the Commons. Art on the Lake, June 13 and 14, 2026, on Water Street.
• HistorySt. Albans village was founded in 1855 on the east shore and gone by 1859. Excelsior was founded in 1853, and about 17 acres became the Commons in 1854. The Governor Ramsey, the lake's first steamboat, launched near Excelsior around 1860. Streetcar boats ran from 1906 to 1926.
• ApplesPeter Gideon settled on the south shore in 1853 and introduced the Wealthy apple in 1864, named for his wife.
• IceLake-wide ice-out median is April 13. In 2026 the ice went out April 3.

What homes here ask and sell for

ASK means a list price, not a sale. Sales are public records or reported sales, shown with their date. Nothing here predicts future prices. See the most expensive homes on the lake and this week's closed sales.

Getting on the water

Minnetonka Marina St. Albans has 90 slips on sheltered water. Excelsior's public docks put you on Water Street. More: Lake access and boat slips and the Lost Lake slip guide.

Where to eat and stop

• Maynard's, dock and dine on Excelsior Bay
• Ice cream in Excelsior, see the ice cream guide

Towns on the bay

ExcelsiorGreenwoodShorewood

Questions people ask

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