The Steamboat Minnehaha's Return Hinges on One Last Trip Down a Ramp That's for Sale

The streetcar steamboat Minnehaha is in better shape now than when it last carried passengers on Lake Minnetonka in 2019. Since then its hull has been rebuilt with state money and the boat has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Volunteers have also kept it in a heated barn in Excelsior. It still can't sail, because the lake has no place left to put it in the water. The Lake Minnetonka Historical Society's June 2026 relaunch plan answers that problem. It also sets a deadline that has nothing to do with the boat.

The plan only works if a new boathouse in Minnetrista is finished before a private ramp in Shorewood is sold and redeveloped. That ramp is the old launch site, and the boat needs it one more time.

The Hull Got Fixed While the Boat Sat Dry

The Minnehaha was one of six identical boats the Twin City Rapid Transit Company built in 1906 to link its streetcar lines to Lake Minnetonka. Service ended in 1926. The company scuttled the Minnehaha and two of its sisters off Big Island. The boat was raised in 1980, restored, and went back into service as an excursion boat in 1996. It ran from 1996 to 2019, and the official steamboat site now calls it Lake Minnetonka's most important historical artifact.

The years in the barn haven't gone to waste. A hull rehabilitation project repaired four critical sections of the hull. The Minnesota Legacy Amendment project record lists a $104,669 Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund award running from January 2024 to January 2025. According to that record, the repairs prepared the vessel for recertification and for future operation once it has a launch site. The historical society's own relaunch update rounds the figure to $104,000. Either way, the expensive structural work is done.

Why a 55-Ton Wooden Boat Can't Use the Public Launch

The Minnehaha is 70 feet long and weighs 55 tons. According to the Sun Sailor, launching it takes three things:

• A long, gently sloped ramp
• At least 7.5 feet of water to suspend the boat in
• 24 to 48 hours sitting in that water so the wooden hull can swell and become watertight

Most of the shoreline around the lake is privately owned, which narrows the options to almost nothing. For 25 years the boat went in and came out each spring and fall at a privately owned commercial ramp in Shorewood. The steamboat FAQ says the owner allowed that access but never meant it to be permanent. The boat's size and draft rule out the lake's other existing ramps. Access ended in October 2019, and the Minnehaha was dry-docked in its Excelsior boat barn. The Star Tribune calls the old site an Excelsior launch. The Sun Sailor places the ramp in neighboring Shorewood.

The Minnetrista Plan Gives the Boat a Permanent Home

The historical society's search led to public land. Three Rivers Park District has let the society explore a site at Lake Minnetonka Regional Park in Minnetrista. A site and engineering feasibility study found the location compatible with the boat's needs for both a launch ramp and a winter boathouse. The June update names the engineering firm WSB as the author of that study. The new ramp would be separate from the public boat launch that already operates at the park.

The project has three parts: a storage building, a launch ramp, and an endowment fund. The historical society is preparing a capital campaign to pay for them. As of the Sun Sailor report, neither the start date nor the dollar goal had been set. The June update says the project still needs approvals from multiple regulatory agencies, plus formal lease and site-use agreements with Three Rivers Park District. We couldn't find a public record of any of those agreements being signed as of early October 2026.

Once the boat is running, the plan calls for passengers to board at a Lower Lake public dock. Cruising routes across the lake would come later.

Everything Depends on One More Launch From Shorewood

A finished Minnetrista boathouse still leaves the boat sitting in Excelsior. It has to get onto the lake once to travel to its new home, and the only proven way in is the old Shorewood ramp. The historical society has permission to use that ramp one final time after the new facility is complete. Liz Vandam, co-president of the Lake Minnetonka Historical Society, explained the risk to the Sun Sailor:

"The owner is trying to sell it. Once it's sold, it's going to be developed. And if she can't use that space, it will be tremendously difficult to get back on the water."

The June update is just as direct. It says the boat should be fully operational as an excursion boat and floating museum by 2028 if the original site remains available. It also says time is of the essence. In practice, the relaunch depends on these steps happening in order:

1. Three Rivers Park District lease and site-use agreements are signed
2. Regulatory approvals for the new ramp and building come through
3. The capital campaign raises enough to build the boathouse, the ramp, and the endowment
4. Construction finishes in Minnetrista
5. The Shorewood ramp is still available for one final launch when all of that is done

Steps one through four are within the historical society's control. Step five depends on when a private property sells.

The Target Date Has Already Moved Once

The timeline has shifted during 2026, and the published sources disagree depending on when they were written.

The Star Tribune repeated the 2028 goal in August, in a story about Big Island's short-lived 1906 to 1911 amusement park. Visitors once reached that park by streetcar and steamboat. Each source attaches a condition to its date, and the conditions are the same pieces listed above.

Wayzata Holds the Other End of the Route

Even with a launch ramp and a winter home, the boat needs somewhere to tie up overnight during the season. At its March 24, 2026 workshop, the Wayzata City Council took up a preliminary concept. The Minnehaha would dock overnight at the Wayzata Depot docks and run seasonally between Wayzata and Excelsior, as it did in past years. City Manager Aurora Yager framed the question as whether the council was open, in concept, to a home base at the Depot docks. The historical society said it needed that direction from the city before moving ahead with fundraising and final logistics. Speakers at the workshop said that funding, launch access, storage, and docking all have to come together at the same time.

The council took no formal action that night. Permission from the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District came up as another approval the docking plan would need. The later June update refers only to a Lower Lake public dock and doesn't name a city. The Depot arrangement is therefore still a concept, not a commitment.

Following the Minnehaha Story This Fall

The group running the relaunch is fairly new. The Museum of Lake Minnetonka merged with the Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka, Wayzata, and Westonka historical societies, and the combined Lake Minnetonka Historical Society began operating on October 1, 2023. It runs museums in Excelsior, Mound, and Wayzata and holds research archives and collections from around the lake. Membership is how the society keeps supporters updated on the relaunch. The Excelsior barn is heated and not open for public tours.

The society has one fall event listed. "Lake Minnetonka Myths and Legends" is a free talk at Excelsior Brewing Company on Monday, November 9, at 7 p.m. Registration is requested, with a suggested $5 contribution.

The private cruise season is still running for a few more weekends, from the same two ports the Minnehaha once linked. Al & Alma's calendar lists a sunset dinner cruise from the Wayzata Depot on Saturday, October 10, from 6 to 8 p.m. It also has brunch cruises from Mound and the Port of Excelsior on Sunday, October 11, and a Mound brunch cruise on October 18. Paradise Charter Cruises lists public cruises October 9 through 12, departing from 2 Water St. in Excelsior. Its October calendar shows no cruises after the 12th.

Lakeshore that is hard to find for a 70-foot steamboat is just as hard to find for someone looking for the right dock, slope, and water depth on Lake Minnetonka. If you're thinking about a home near the Wayzata Depot, Excelsior, or the Minnetrista shore, the Polovitz Group team can help you understand what each stretch of water allows. Start your lake-home search or market your property with our team.