New listing$1,895,000
342 Ferndale Road N · Wayzata
5 bd4 ba4,820 sqft
The neighborhood
What Excelsior is actually like to live in
Excelsior is Wayzata's south-shore counterpart, and to a lot of buyers it feels warmer and less formal.
The draw is Water Street — a real main street of restaurants, shops, and patios you can walk to from the surrounding blocks. In summer the docks and the commons fill up.
It sits in the Minnetonka 276 district, so families get the schools and the walkable-village life in one place.
You can still find a non-lakefront home here for less than the north shore, then walk five minutes to the water. That is the trade a lot of my buyers are happy to make.
On the market
Homes for sale in Excelsior right now
A live look at what’s moving, pulled from NorthstarMLS. The full IDX search opens once the feed is wired in — for now these are representative of the Excelsior market.
New listing
Price reduced$1,249,000
18 Bracketts Point Road · Orono
4 bd4 ba3,610 sqft
Just sold$2,650,000
205 Lake Street · Excelsior
5 bd5 ba5,240 sqft
New listing$624,900
9411 Preserve Trail · Eden Prairie
4 bd3 ba2,940 sqft
The lifestyle
What it’s like to live here
Schools
- Minnetonka ISD 276 — top-tier district
- Excelsior Elementary in the district
Commute
- 20 min to I-494
- 30 min to downtown Minneapolis
Parks & Trails
- Excelsior Commons and beach
- Excelsior docks
- Dakota Rail Regional Trail
Dining
- Water Street restaurants
- Lakeside patios in summer
- Coffee and shops on Main
From Bryce
“Excelsior gives you the walkable-lake life for real money less than Wayzata. You are in the 276 schools, you can walk to dinner on Water Street, and the beach is right there. For a lot of families it is the best fit on the whole lake.”
Bryce Caldwell · RE/MAX Results · Excelsior specialist
Local knowledge
Bryce’s picks in Excelsior
Dining · Main Street
Water Street
Walk the whole strip on a summer night. That's the town.
Local favorite
Park · Beach
Excelsior Commons
Public beach and green right on the lake. Free.
Google 4.7
Park · Trail
Dakota Rail Trail
Flat, paved, runs along the lake. Great with kids.
Google 4.8
Good to know
Common questions about Excelsior, MN
What is the median home price in Excelsior MN?
The median list price in Excelsior is approximately $925,000 as of June 2026, according to NorthstarMLS. Lakefront and downtown-adjacent homes carry a premium above that figure.
What school district is Excelsior MN in?
Excelsior is served by Minnetonka Public Schools, District 276 — the same top-rated district as neighboring Deephaven and Shorewood.
Is Excelsior MN a good place to live?
Yes — Excelsior offers a walkable downtown on the water, a public beach, the Minnetonka 276 school district, and a genuine small-town feel. It is generally more affordable than Wayzata across the lake.
Market report
Excelsior market update — June 2026
34
Active listings
48 days
Avg days on market
$438/sqft
Price per sq ft
$925,000
Median list price
Excelsior has been trending up as buyers priced out of Wayzata cross the lake for the same walkable life. Downtown-adjacent homes move fastest — proximity to Water Street is doing real work in these prices.
Source: NorthstarMLS · Updated June 2026
Local intel
Living in Excelsior
Everything about Excelsior and the lake around it — the schools, the water, the trails, and where to eat.
Food & drink
The Best Restaurants in Excelsior: A Water Street Guide
Water Street has quietly become the west metro's restaurant row — Layline, Mirabelle, and 318 Cafe within a block of each other, plus Maynard's on the lake. Here's where to eat and when they're open.
6 min read
Things to do
Big Island Nature Park: The Boat-Only 56-Acre Park With Amusement-Park History
A 56-acre Orono nature preserve you can only reach by private boat — with ADA-accessible trails, a beach, and a wild past as an early-1900s amusement park and a veterans camp.
6 min read
Lake life
The Streetcar Boat Minnehaha and Excelsior's Streetcar History, Explained
The Minnehaha is a 1906 streetcar boat built to meet Twin City Rapid Transit trolleys at Excelsior and Deephaven. Here is its story — and the honest reason it is not sailing in 2026.
7 min read
Schools
Which School District Is My Minnetonka Address In? (It Could Be Any of Three)
The city of Minnetonka is split across three school districts — Minnetonka 276, Wayzata 284, and Hopkins 270 — so two houses on the same street can feed different schools. Here is how to check before you write an offer.
6 min read
Waterfront guide
The Best Bays to Buy On Lake Minnetonka — A Local's Ranking
Lake Minnetonka is really a chain of bays, each with its own price, boat traffic, and feel. Here's how I steer waterfront buyers to the right one.
7 min read
Lake life
The Best Bays to Buy On Lake Minnetonka: A Bay-by-Bay Guide
A bay-by-bay ranking of where to buy on Lake Minnetonka — the deep-water resale bays (Lower Lake North, Lower Lake South, Smithtown), the walkable prestige bays (Wayzata, Browns, Excelsior), and the quiet no-wake coves — with real depth numbers and price anchors.
8 min read
Nearby
Neighborhoods near Excelsior
Shorewood
from $550KQuiet, wooded, and next to Excelsior — the 276 schools with a little more yard.
Deephaven
from $800KOld-growth lanes and dock rights minutes from the channel. Established and quiet.
Wayzata
from $900KWalkable downtown, lake access two blocks from dinner, and the #1 school district in Minnesota.
Buying in Excelsior
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