Prior Lake Tutors

About Prior Lake

Originally occupied by the Native American Dakotas who hunted and fished the area, the city of Prior Lake, Minnesota surrounds Upper Prior Lake, Lower Prior Lake and Spring Lake with settlers arriving in the 1830’s to farm and trade with the Dakota. Fur was the top commodity for well over 100 years but as the big game and fur bearing animals disappeared residents turned to agriculture. The area began to grow with the coming of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad in 1872. In fact, the city was given its name in honor of Charles Prior, a pioneering railroad builder, who was instrumental in connecting Prior Lake with the twin cities. Incorporated as the Village of Prior Lake in 1891, first telephone service came to the area in 1900. The railroad brought new residents and tourists alike with Prior Lake becoming a sought-after destination for vacationers from Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Indeed, Prior Lake is a perfect vacation spot with lakes, miles of hiking trails, golf courses and more than 50 parks. A Prior Lake tutor will keep you ahead of the academic curve so you can enjoy this outdoor paradise. The lake itself, broken into two pieces by a narrow channel in the center of town, is a haven for wildlife where visitors can see endangered bird species such as the common loon, trumpeter swan and bald eagle. Lakefront Park on the shores of Lower Prior Lake offers boating, fishing, sandy beaches and all the other amenities of a public park. Fishing flourishes on both parts of Prior Lake with bass, crappie and walleye in abundance. Ice fishing is excellent and other winter activities include snowmobiling, cross country skiing, ice skating and the annual “Polar Bear Plunge” when the bravest Prior Lake citizens take a dip in the frozen lake as a charity fundraiser.

To the south of Prior Lake, Cleary Lake Regional Park also offers plenty of activities for those who enjoy the outdoors. The park includes both summer and winter recreational offerings with hiking, biking, fishing, skiing, sledding, and something called skijoring. Skijoring involves a person on skis being pulled by a horse or dogs and is often competitive in nature. For more outdoors fun, a short trip east to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge will reward visitors with 2,400 acres of wetlands, lakes and forests as well as over eleven miles of hiking and biking trails. The Refuge is home to more than 50 species of mammals and 200 species of birds including red fox, beaver, wood ducks and great blue heron.

Prior Lake is also home to the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, opened in 1982, which is owned and operated by the Shakopee Sioux Community. Mystic Lake offers 150,000 feet of casino gaming, a 600-room hotel and a 2,100-seat showroom for live entertainment. For art lovers, Prior Lake is only a short drive away from downtown Minneapolis which offers several museums and galleries. Opened in 1879 as a one room gallery, the Walker Art Center is today one of the finest contemporary art museums in the world drawing over 700,000 visitors each year.