Towns Near Little Falls, Minnesota
Morrison County is a handful of small towns tied together by the railroads that built them and the churches that still mark their centers. Five of them sit within a short drive of Little Falls.
Ringing the county seat are Randall to the north, Pierz to the east, and Bowlus, Sobieski, and Flensburg to the south and southwest. Each is small, each grew from railroads and lumber, and each carries the German or Polish Catholic heritage that shaped central Minnesota. For attractions across the county, see things to do around Little Falls.
| Pierz | East of Little Falls · about 1,400 people · named for missionary Father Francis Pierz; St. Joseph's Church and the summer Freedom Fest |
|---|---|
| Randall | North of Little Falls · about 600 people · a Northern Pacific Railroad town founded in 1890, gateway to Camp Ripley |
| Bowlus | South of Little Falls · under 300 people · Polish roots and the Soo Line Trail |
| Sobieski | Southwest of Little Falls · about 210 people · a Polish Catholic settlement named for a king |
| Flensburg | West-southwest of Little Falls · about 210 people · a railroad-and-mill village from the 1880s |
| Swanville | West of Little Falls on Highway 27 · a small dairy-and-farm town with a cooperative creamery, bank, and K–12 school |
Things to Do Around Little Falls
The Soo Line Trail, Camp Ripley and its military museum, Pierz Freedom Fest, golf, and river country — the wider county in one guide.
See the guide →Pierz
Named for the missionary priest who recruited German Catholics to Rich Prairie, home to St. Joseph's Church and the summer Freedom Fest.
Read → TownRandall
The "Little City with a Big Heart," founded in 1890 on the Northern Pacific line and the gateway to Camp Ripley.
Read → TownBowlus
A Polish farm town of under 300 and the trailhead where the Soo Line Trail meets the Lake Wobegon Trail.
Read → TownSobieski
One of the county's oldest Polish settlements, named for King John III Sobieski and built around St. Stanislaus.
Read → TownFlensburg
A quiet railroad-and-mill village southwest of Little Falls, the fifth of the county's Haven of Mercy Catholic towns.
Read →The thread running through all of them is faith and immigration. To follow it, read Churches of Little Falls and Morrison County and the county's cemeteries, or return to the Little Falls guide.
Michael Paycer
Michael Paycer grew up in Little Falls, Minnesota. Today he is a Senior SQL Server Database Administrator Consultant based in Saint Cloud, and he keeps this Little Falls guide as a personal project about his hometown.
Sources & further reading
- Morrison County Historical Society
- Morrison County Community Development — Our Communities
- Wikipedia — Morrison County, Minnesota
External sites are provided for reference. Event dates, hours, and admission change annually — confirm current details with the official source before visiting.