If you've spent any time on my blog, there's a good chance you found your way here through my most popular post, 5 Scenic Places to View and Photograph the Minneapolis Skyline From. It sends folks my way every month, and I get it, there's something about chasing the perfect skyline view that's hard to resist. For a while now I've wanted to give St. Paul the same treatment, so here we are. 

Minneapolis tends to hog the skyline spotlight around here, but its twin across the river more than holds its own. St. Paul sits up on a run of river bluffs, and that elevation is its secret weapon: you get overlooks where the downtown skyline, the Mississippi River, and a big stretch of sky all stack up in a single frame. Whether you're after golden light on the building faces, that blue-hour glow, or long-exposure light trails, here are five of my favorite places to view and photograph the St. Paul skyline.

High Bridge Overlook

First up is the High Bridge Overlook, tucked at the corner of Cherokee Avenue and Smith Avenue on the city's west side. From here you're looking out across the Mississippi with the downtown St. Paul skyline rising to the northeast, one of the best west-side vantage points you'll find. If you want to change up the angle, walk out onto the sidewalk along the High Bridge itself; the height gives you a clean line over the river straight to downtown. Late afternoon into sunset puts warm light on the faces of the buildings, and once the city lights flick on at blue hour, this spot really comes alive. 

High Bridge Overlook Address: 365 Cherokee Ave, St. Paul, MN 55107 — park along Cherokee Ave. 

 Love this view? See my fine art prints of this St. Paul skyline print in my online gallery, available on canvas, metal, acrylic, and in custom sizes.

Kidd Park

My second spot is Kidd Park, though the park itself is really just an open lawn; the view you came for is right across Prospect Boulevard. Stand at the bluff's edge and you're looking straight down Wabasha Street as it runs into the heart of downtown, which makes for a fantastic "street-leading-into-the-city" composition. Fair warning: the trees here can grow tall enough to crowd the view, though the city seems to trim them back every so often. A longer lens does great work here, compressing Wabasha Street and stacking it tight against the skyline, and bare winter trees open the whole thing up. 

Kidd Park Address: 22 Prospect Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55107 — free street parking. 

Love this view? See my fine art prints of this St. Paul skyline print in my online gallery, available on canvas, metal, acrylic, and in custom sizes.

Mounds Boulevard (by Metropolitan State University)

For my third spot, head to the sidewalk that runs along Mounds Boulevard near Metropolitan State University, between 6th Street E and Kellogg Boulevard. I usually park at the little cul-de-sac on 5th Street E and walk over from there. The payoff is a wide skyline view with I-94 cutting along below it, and where there's a freeway, there are light trails. This is also my go-to when I want to photograph the fireworks from CHS Field on Friday nights after the St. Paul Saints baseball game. Bring a tripod and plan for the 20 to 30 minutes after sunset; that's when the sky still holds color and a multi-second exposure turns the traffic into ribbons of light. 

Mounds Boulevard Map Location: 660 5th St E, St. Paul, MN 55106 — park at or near the 5th St E cul-de-sac. 

Love this view? See my fine art prints of this St. Paul skyline print in my online gallery, available on canvas, metal, acrylic, and in custom sizes.

Wicahapi Lookout

Spot number four sits up on the bluffs near Mounds Boulevard at the Wicahapi Lookout. (I knew this one as the Indian Mounds area for years; Wicahapi is the name it goes by now. It's a Dakota word, and this bluff is a sacred, historically significant place, so it's worth visiting with that in mind.) The view is a sweeping look at the Mississippi and the St. Paul skyline from the east, and on a clear day you can even pick out the Minneapolis skyline way off in the distance. Keep heading down Mounds Boulevard and you'll find more vantage points along the bluff, each with its own angle. Because you're facing west toward downtown, this is a sunset spot, the sky behind the skyline can go full color while the buildings drop into silhouette. 

Wicahapi Lookout Address: Cherry St, St. Paul, MN 55106 — there's a parking lot on site. 

Love this view? See my fine art prints of this St. Paul skyline print in my online gallery, available on canvas, metal, acrylic, and in custom sizes.

Harriet Island Regional Park

If you only have time for one stop, make it Harriet Island. Sitting right across the river from downtown, this park is loaded with great vantage points, honestly, you could spend a whole day here and not run out of compositions. The views from the bridge by the Harriet Island Trailhead are excellent, and the riverfront trail keeps the skyline in front of you the whole way. Follow it and you'll reach Raspberry Island (more great angles), you can climb up onto the Wabasha Street Bridge for an elevated look, and keep going past the Robert Street Bridge for even more. On a calm morning the river turns to glass and hands you a mirror reflection of the entire skyline, it's about as classic as a St. Paul photo gets. 

Harriet Island Regional Park Address: 49 Harriet Island Rd, St. Paul, MN 55107 — pay lots, plus street parking along W Water St. 

Love this view? See my fine art prints of this St. Paul skyline print in my online gallery, available on canvas, metal, acrylic, and in custom sizes.

If these skyline views speak to you the way they speak to me, you might enjoy seeing them on your own wall. My St. Paul skyline prints are available in a range of sizes and materials: canvas, metal, and acrylic, each made to order and perfect for bringing a piece of the city home. 

Want to see the artwork in person? I invite you to visit my studio in Gallery Aurora at the Northrup King Building in Northeast Minneapolis. It's open during select events and 12–4 PM most Saturdays, and I'd love to share the stories behind each piece with you. 

Northrup King Building address: 1500 Jackson St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413 

And if you haven't read it yet, here's the companion post that started it all: 5 Scenic Places to View and Photograph the Minneapolis Skyline From »