Cold Spring, Minnesota
Cold Spring is a city of 4,249 people in Stearns County, Minnesota.
Why visit Cold Spring
Townapedia lists 4 museums and landmarks, 5 parks and trails, 3 places to eat and 1 attraction in and around town.
Highlights include Quarry Cinema, Eugene Hermanutz House, Ferdinand Peters House and Rich Spring Golf Club.
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 81°F; January lows average 4°F, and about 57 inches of snow fall in a normal year.
Weather in Cold Spring
Forecast from the National Weather Service. Full forecast
About Cold Spring
Cold Spring is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States, at the gateway of the Sauk River Chain of Lakes, an interconnected system of 14 bay-like lakes fed and connected by the Sauk River. Cold Spring is part of the St. Cloud metropolitan area. Its population was 4,164 at the 2020 census.
From the Wikipedia article Cold Spring, Minnesota (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do1
Museums and landmarks4
Eugene Hermanutz House
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places
House in Cold Spring, Minnesota, United States
Ferdinand Peters House
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places
House in Cold Spring, Minnesota, United States
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John Oster House
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places
House in Cold Spring, Minnesota, United States
Parks, trails and playgrounds5
Restaurants and cafes3
Third Street Brewhouse
Brewery and winery
219 Red River Avenue North, Cold Spring
Subway
Fast food · Sandwich
24 Red River Avenue North, Cold Spring
Mo-Fr 07:00-22:00; Sa 08:00-22:00; Su 09:00-22:00
History
Originally home to the Ojibwe, Winnebago, and Dakota people, Cold Spring was platted in 1856, and named for the many springs near the original town site. A post office has been in operation at Cold Spring since 1857.
German-speaking Catholics settled in the area, lured by the Slovenian missionary priest Francis Xavier Pierz, who had submitted letters and advertisements to the major German-language newspapers across the U.S., such as Der Wahrheitsfreund (The Friend of Truth), and in Europe, urging "good, pious" German Catholics to come to the Sauk River Valley, which he called a "land flowing with milk and honey" and safe from disease and anti-Catholic oppression.
During the grasshopper plagues of the 1870s, Assumption Chapel, also known as the Grasshopper Chapel, was built in petition for relief from the locusts.
Cold Spring has three properties on the National Register of Historic Places: the John Oster House and Ferdinand Peters House, both built in 1907, and the Eugene Hermanutz House, built in 1912.
The city was thrust in the national spotlight on September 24, 2003, when then 15-year-old Jason McLaughlin shot and killed two classmates in the Rocori High School shooting.
From the History section of Cold Spring, Minnesota on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Churches and places of worship2
Gas and EV charging1
Schools, colleges and libraries8
Map of Cold Spring
24 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Climate by month
Monthly table
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21°F | 4°F | 0.8 in | 11.2 in |
| Feb | 26°F | 8°F | 0.9 in | 10.2 in |
| Mar | 39°F | 20°F | 1.7 in | 10.1 in |
| Apr | 54°F | 33°F | 2.7 in | 6.6 in |
| May | 67°F | 46°F | 4.0 in | 0.1 in |
| Jun | 77°F | 56°F | 4.6 in | 0.0 in |
| Jul | 81°F | 61°F | 3.9 in | 0.0 in |
| Aug | 78°F | 59°F | 4.1 in | 0.0 in |
| Sep | 70°F | 51°F | 3.0 in | 0.0 in |
| Oct | 56°F | 38°F | 2.8 in | 0.7 in |
| Nov | 39°F | 24°F | 1.6 in | 8.0 in |
| Dec | 26°F | 11°F | 1.0 in | 10.5 in |
U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 for Collegeville St John'S (9 mi away), NOAA NCEI.
People and cost of living
American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, U.S. Census Bureau. Estimates have margins of error, larger for small towns.
Disaster history
Stearns County has had 7 federal disaster declarations since 2000, most often for severe storms.
- 2022-07-08: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding (Severe Storm)
- 2020-04-07: Covid-19 Pandemic (Biological)
- 2020-03-13: Covid-19 (Biological)
- 2013-07-25: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding (Severe Storm)
- 2011-07-28: Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes (Severe Storm)
- 2005-09-13: Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (Hurricane)
OpenFEMA disaster declarations summaries.
Getting there and nearby towns
Saint Cloud Regional Airport (STC) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 19 miles away.
- St. Cloud 13 mi east, about 21 min by car
- Albany 13 mi northwest, about 21 min by car
- Sartell 15 mi northeast, about 24 min by car
- Sauk Rapids 16 mi northeast, about 26 min by car
- Annandale 20 mi southeast, about 33 min by car
- Becker 27 mi east, about 43 min by car
- Atwater 28 mi southwest, about 45 min by car
- Cokato 29 mi southeast, about 46 min by car
- Monticello 33 mi east, about 53 min by car
- Buffalo 33 mi southeast, about 54 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB, the NEMICO news database.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- NCES EDGE (Public domain): public schools
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (Public domain): climate by month
- OpenFEMA (Public domain): disaster declarations
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- U.S. Census Bureau (Public domain): population, income, housing, education, commute
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- City of Cold Spring, Minnesota - Water Tower (28818830483), Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, CC BY-SA 2.0
- John Oster House, McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Eugene Hermanutz House, McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ferdinand Peters House, McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0
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