First is the least-crowded day to go to the State Fair

Published 7:56 am Thursday, August 24, 2017

By Nancy Yang

MPR News

If long lines and huge crowds aren’t your thing — but Pronto Pups and carnival rides are — listen up: The least crowded day to visit the Minnesota State Fair is also the first day.

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On average, the first Thursday — typically the first day of the Great Minnesota Get-Together — draws about 105,403 people, the “lowest” number of daily visitors during the fair’s 12-day run, according to attendance figures from the past five years.

Compare that to 229,331: the highest number of daily visitors, on average, for the last Saturday of the fair. In 2016, the fair even set a new attendance record, with 260,374 on its last Saturday.

Now wait a sec, you say. What if I can’t go to the fair on the first day because I have to work?

Your next-best bet is to plan ahead and take a personal day on either Tuesday or Wednesday. On average, each of those days draws just under 116,000 visitors.