It sounds like a joke until you see it. Every Wednesday through the summer, the middle of Nisswa fills up with several hundred people, most of them under ten, all shouting at turtles. It has been running for more than sixty years and it is genuinely the best free afternoon in the Brainerd Lakes.
Here’s how it works. Registration opens at 1pm and racing starts at 2pm at the official turtle track behind the Chamber building on Main Street. It costs $5 per racer, which gets your child a rented turtle and a collectable racing button for the year. You can’t bring your own turtle — state regulations, and the organisers are strict about it. Turtles are placed in the centre of a circle and the first to waddle out wins. That’s the whole sport.
Go early. Parking downtown fills up well before one o’clock on a warm Wednesday, and the good shaded spots around the track go first. Bring water and something to sit on.
We’re a few minutes from Main Street, so you can walk or park at the hotel and stroll in. Afterwards, the shops and ice cream are right there. Season generally runs early June to mid-August — check the Chamber’s page for this year’s exact dates before you plan around it.
