Bethel, MN Home for Rent

Bethel occupies a tiny pocket of land in the northern reaches of the Twin Cities metro area, about 35 miles from Minneapolis. The city is so small that most of its 500 residents could traverse the area on foot, but aside from a couple of local bars, there isn’t much to walk to. The marshy landscape of Sandshore Lake stretches out alongside a main thoroughfare, and forests grow in all directions. “We’re a one-square-mile town,” says Ginger Berg, a 25-year resident and Bethel’s city clerk. “You see sandhill cranes and ducks on the lake. It’s country life.” Railroad tracks — and the occasional freight train — roll through the central section of Bethel. In this area, ranch-style and shotgun houses sit on shaded lots measuring about a quarter of an acre. Some homes date to the 1970s, while others feature new construction. Streets are broad enough for two cars to pass easily, but only a few have sidewalks. On the outskirts, wooded rural areas separate the properties, which generally include more acreage. Sales are infrequent, but shotgun homes recently sold for around $300,000, while New Traditional builds sold for $300,000 to $360,000. The risk of hail, strong wind and winter ice