Mortgage Loans in Lake Minnetonka
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All About Lake Minnetonka
Lake Minnetonka, MN
Lake Minnetonka is an inland lake located approximately 15 miles (24 km) west-southwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The lake lies within Hennepin County and Carver County and is surrounded by 13 municipalities. At 14,528 acres (59 km2), it is Minnesota’s ninth largest lake and is popular among boaters, sailors, and fishermen. It is also one of Minnesota’s most affluent residential areas.
Lake Minnetonka was formed approximately 10,000 years ago as the Laurentide Ice Sheet receded northward. The lake is a collection of kettle lakes connected by channels and marshlands which, along with 18 islands, comprise its irregular shape and 125 miles (201 km) of shoreline. Lake Minnetonka is divided into two halves, the Upper Lake in the west and the Lower Lake in the east, which reflect the easterly flow of water in the lake’s watershed. The deepest point of Lake Minnetonka is 113 feet (34 m) in Crystal Bay. The average depth of the lake is approximately 30 feet (9 m). With a surface area of 14,528 acres (59 km2), Lake Minnetonka is the ninth largest lake in Minnesota. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Minnetonka)
Things To Do In Lake Minnetonka:
Come Spend A Day In Lake Minnetonka!
Some of the most popular attractions on Lake Minnetonka are restaurants. Lord Fletcher’s restaurant in Orono has been one of Lake Minnetonka’s most popular establishments since opening in 1968. Maynards Restaurant, established in Excelsior in 1998, is currently regarded as Minnesota’s most popular waterfront restaurant. In recent years, downtown Excelsior and Wayzata have become popular Twin Cities culinary destinations as many new restaurants continue to appear there.
The Old Log Theater, located in Greenwood, first opened in 1940 and is now Minnesota’s oldest professional theater organization. Alumni of the theater include actors Nick Nolte and Loni Anderson.
Paisley Park, the former home and recording studio of the late musical icon Prince, is located approximately two miles south of Lake Minnetonka in Chanhassen. The complex is now open to the public as a museum.
Lake Minnetonka is home to several regional parks owned by Three Rivers Park District. The largest and most popular among these are Lake Minnetonka Regional Park in Minnetrista and Noerenberg Gardens in Orono. Three Rivers Park District also maintains two regional bike trails near the lake. Two other large public parks on Lake Minnetonka include Big Island Nature Park and the Excelsior Commons.
Boating, sailing, and fishing are the most popular activities on Lake Minnetonka. Boats of all sizes and horsepower may be legally launched on Lake Minnetonka, but speed and noise restrictions do apply.[4] The lake has four active yacht clubs and an antique and classic boat society known as the Bob Speltz Land O’ Lakes Chapter of the ACBS. Several cruise companies operate larger excursion vessels on the lake, the largest of which is 83 feet (25 m) long. Lake Minnetonka’s magnificent homes are a common highlight on these sightseeing, dinner, and brunch cruises.
Other common activities on Lake Minnetonka include swimming, kayaking, and standup paddleboarding during the summer, and ice fishing, snowmobiling, and ice yachting during the winter.
Several community festivals are held around the lake each year. Some of the larger events include James J. Hill Days in Wayzata, Apple Day in Excelsior, and the Spirit of the Lakes Festival in Mound. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Minnetonka#Attractions_and_activities)
Education in Lake Minnetonka
About Lake Minnetonka Educational System
Public schools
The city of Minnetonka is covered by three independent school districts. The Hopkins School District, which encompasses the central and eastern part of Minnetonka; the Minnetonka School District, in the western part of city north of Lake Minnetonka; and the Wayzata School District, which covers an area along the southern boundary of the city. Some students attend public schools in other school districts chosen by their families under Minnesota’s open enrollment statute.
Public Schools in Minnetonka (Minnetonka School District)
Elementary School
Clear Springs Elementary
Groveland Elementary
Scenic Heights Elementary
Junior High School
Minnetonka Middle School East
Minnetonka middle school west
Senior High School
Minnetonka High School
The Minnetonka School District also includes four schools outside of the city of Minnetonka: Deephaven Elementary School (Deephaven, MN),Excelsior Elementary School (Excelsior, MN), Minnewashta Elementary School (Shorewood, MN), and Minnetonka Middle School West (Chanhassen, MN)
Public Schools in Minnetonka (Hopkins School District)
Elementary Schools
Gatewood Elementary School
Glen Lake Elementary School
L. H. Tanglen Elementary School
Junior High School
Hopkins West Junior High School
Hopkins North Junior High School
Senior High School
Hopkins High School
The Hopkins School District comprises two thirds of the city of Minnetonka, the entirety of Hopkins, and portions of the cities of Golden Valley, Edina, St. Louis Park, Wayzata, and Plymouth. In addition to schools located within Minnetonka, the Hopkins School District also includes four schools in the cities of Hopkins and Golden Valley: Eisenhower Elementary School/Xin Xing Academy (Hopkins, MN), Alice Smith Elementary School (Hopkins, MN), Meadowbrook Elementary School (Golden Valley, MN), and Harley Hopkins Early Childhood/Family Center (Hopkins, MN). (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnetonka,_Minnesota#Education)
History of Lake Minnetonka
Lake Minnetonka is rich in history!
The first people who inhabited the Lake Minnetonka area were likely indigenous natives who migrated to the region at the end of the last ice age circa 8000 BCE. Later peoples who inhabited the area between 3500 BCE and 1500 CE are often referred to collectively as the “Mound Builders” because they constructed large land features serving spiritual, ceremonial, burial, and elite residential functions. The Mound Builder culture reached its apex circa 1150 CE and ceased to exist circa 1500 CE.
By the 1700s Lake Minnetonka was inhabited by the Mdewakanton people, a subtribe of the Dakota Nation. Although their primary settlements lay within the Minnesota River Valley, the Mdewakanton frequented Lake Minnetonka to hunt, fish, and collect maple syrup. Spirit Knob, a peninsula near present-day Wayzata, held spiritual significance for the Mdewakanton. Following the Dakota War of 1862, however, the Dakota were banished from Minnesota and forced to leave the area.
The first Euro-Americans known to have visited Lake Minnetonka were two teenage boys, Joe Brown and Will Snelling, who canoed up Minnehaha Creek from Fort Saint Anthony in 1822.[1] For three subsequent decades, however, few other Euro-Americans visited the lake or even knew of its existence.
Lake Minnetonka was officially named by Minnesota’s territorial governor, Alexander Ramsey, in 1852. He had been informed that the Dakota used the phrase Minn-ni-tanka (“Big Water” in the Dakota language) to refer to the lake. Excelsior, the lake’s first settlement, was established the following year. The first steamboat on Lake Minnetonka, a small side-wheel steamer named the Governor Ramsey, was launched in 1861. Travel to Lake Minnetonka remained relatively difficult, however, until the Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad extended a line to Wayzata in 1867.
Peter Gideon, an early Minnesota horticulturist, moved to the Lake Minnetonka area in 1853. In 1868 he successfully bred a species of apple that could withstand Minnesota’s harsh winters and named it the “Wealthy” in honor of his wife. This breakthrough later made possible the developments of the Haralson and Honeycrisp apples in 1922 and 1974, respectively. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Minnetonka#Early_history)
Lake Minnetonka Neighborhood
Check out Lake Minnetonka Neighborhood
Minnetonka is a medium-sized city located in the state of Minnesota. With a population of 51,669 people and 14 constituent neighborhoods, Minnetonka is the 17th largest community in Minnesota.
Minnetonka home prices are not only among the most expensive in Minnesota, but Minnetonka real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Minnetonka is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 90.25% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Minnetonka is a city of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Minnetonka who work in management occupations (14.55%), sales jobs (14.48%), and office and administrative support (12.64%).
Also of interest is that Minnetonka has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
Like elsewhere in America, most people in Minnetonka use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Minnetonka‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the bus. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Minnetonka. 56.84% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.
The per capita income in Minnetonka in 2010 was $49,320, which is wealthy relative to Minnesota and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $197,280 for a family of four.
Minnetonka is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Minnetonka home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Minnetonka residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Minnetonka include Norwegian, Irish, Swedish, and English.
The most common language spoken in Minnetonka is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Russian. (source: https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mn/minnetonka)
Dan Zufall
Producing Branch Manager // NMLS #452556
Dan Zufall is a top 1%, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 & 2019 Five Star Mortgage Professional, 8 time Super Mortgage Professional, licensed Wealth Management Advisor, and the leader of the Intelligent Mortgage Planning Team. For the past 24 years, Dan and his team have been providing award-winning service along with sound financial education for their clients looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate. Dan is licensed to serve his clients’ financing needs in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, and Wisconsin.
On a personal level, Dan is a devout family man, and he enjoys spending quality time with his wonderful wife (college sweet-heart), as well as watching his teenage son play a variety of sports. Dan is an obsessed golfer himself, but his son is a heck of a lefty pitcher, quarterback, and basketball player so golf will have to wait! Dan and his family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in 2014 to expand the business, but they are blessed to be able to spend their summers on the Lake in Minnesota where he and his wife grew up.
Licensed in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, & Texas.
AZ Team (602) 529-8478MN Team (952) 777-2285
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