A Snowy Legend Begins
The story of the World’s Largest Snowman started in 1969 with Lloyd Koesling, a former barber and civic leader in North St. Paul. After visiting Disneyland and being inspired by the statue-building process there, Lloyd returned home bursting with excitement. He pitched the idea to the City Council, envisioning a snowman as a perfect symbol for our community. After all, every year the North St. Paul Jaycees created a massive snowman during the Snow Frolics Festival using snow left behind by plowing—so why not make it official?
Building a Community Icon
In 1972, the City Council donated a small plot of land for this ambitious project. Volunteers rallied together to help pour the foundation and construct the giant snowman. With welded rods forming the shape of its two big bodies and a smaller head, the team added sturdy arms and a cheerful red scarf. The head was crafted separately, topped with a tilted hat and a heavy eyelet for hoisting. Over 1,000 pounds of stucco completed the iconic structure. The total cost? Just $2,000, generously funded by the Chamber of Commerce!
A Grand Unveiling
After much hard work, on July 23, 1974, a volunteer crane operator lifted the head and placed it atop the body, solidifying its status as a beloved local landmark.
A New Home
For nearly 20 years, the Snowman proudly stood on North St. Paul’s Main Street before being relocated to its current spot at the corner of Margaret Street and Highway 36 (Central Park) in May 1990. This move was partially funded by Celebrate Minnesota, an organization dedicated to beautification projects. Today, the snowman stands as a hearty welcome to travelers and locals alike, making “Turn at the snowman” the go-to direction for finding North St. Paul in the metro area!
There are TWO requirements to log this geocache:
1. Since this is a virtual cache, there is no physical log book to sign. Simply take a picture of yourself with the snowman in the background. If you are shy then instead take a photo of your GPS or some other likeness of yourself, WITH the snowman in the background. Log the geocache online as usual and include the picture. The picture just needs to demonstrate that you were there yourself. Found It logs without a proper photo (posted within a reasonable timeframe) will be deleted without warning.
2. On the lower left hand corner of the information sign (coordinates provided) there is a BLACK AND WHITE photo of the snowman's head being lifted by a crane. On the sentence directly to the right of the that photo, please message me the last word of that sentence. Found it logs without sending the answer to this question (within reasonable timeframe) will be deleted without warning.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.