Four Ways to See Minnesota From Above
U-Spatial provides direct access to four aerial imagery collections spanning the state, two metro counties, and the Twin Cities as a whole. Data from a 15-year statewide archive down to near-infrared imagery of the metro core.
What This Data Shows
Together, these four collections cover different questions rather than duplicating each other. Most projects end up combining at least two of these rather than relying on just one.
Need long-term, statewide change? NAIP flies the whole state every two to three years since 2008. Need something hyper-local? Hennepin and Ramsey County both sharpen the geographic focus, with Hennepin's ten collection years offering the densest local timeline in the archive. Need to distinguish vegetation from pavement from water at a glance? Twin Cities imagery adds a near-infrared band none of the others include.
Compare the Four Collections
NAIP (Statewide)
- Best for: Long-term, statewide change tracking
- Years available: 2008, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023
Twin Cities
- Best for: Vegetation, water, and land cover classification
- Years available: 2005, 2016 (near-infrared band)
Hennepin County
- Best for: Dense local timeline, fine-grained change analysis
- Years available: 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018
Ramsey County
- Best for: Recent, high-resolution current-conditions analysis
- Years available: 2015, 2017, 2018
Built to Work Together Seamlessly
One Shared Drive, Four Collections
All four collections live on the same U-Spatial shared network drive, so there's no separate account or request process to juggle between them.
Built for Layering
Because all four use standard raster formats, it's straightforward to stack a county-level collection over NAIP or Twin Cities imagery for the same study area.
No Software Add-Ins Required
ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and QGIS all open these collections natively, nothing extra to install before you start.
Getting Access
All four collections are available directly to UMN students, faculty, and staff at no cost, through the same shared network drive.
Steps:
- Follow the University's guide to connecting to a shared drive or network folder.
- Access the data at the this path: \\ad.umn.edu\umn\us\Administrative\us_administrative\GIS\U-Spatial\UMN_Users\data
- Navigate to the data path and select the collection and year(s) you need.
Trouble connecting? Contact the U-Spatial Help Desk.
Documentation & learning resources
Guides to help you understand, download, and process the data.
How to Connect to a Shared Drive
Step-by-step setup instructions from University IT.
View IT Setup Guide →MN Geospatial Commons
Additional Minnesota aerial imagery and derived products.
Explore MN Geospatial Commons →
Statewide LiDAR FAQs
Which collection should I use for my project?
It depends on your geographic scope and timeline.
Use NAIP for statewide or long-term change analysis, Hennepin or Ramsey County imagery for fine-grained local studies, and Twin Cities imagery when you need the near-infrared band for vegetation or water classification.
Can I combine multiple collections in one project?
Yes, many projects do.
It's common to pair a county-level collection with NAIP or Twin Cities imagery for projects that need both fine local detail and broader regional or statewide context.
How often is this imagery updated?
This varies by collection.
NAIP adds a new statewide flight roughly every two to three years. County and metro collections are updated as new imagery becomes available from those sources. Contact the Help Desk to confirm the most current year for a specific collection.
What resolution is this imagery?
High enough for parcel- and field-level analysis.
All four collections are captured at sub-meter to one-meter resolution, suitable for identifying individual fields, buildings, and land cover changes at a local scale.
What software works with this imagery?
ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and QGIS all handle it directly.
No special add-ins are required to view or analyze any of these collections in standard GIS software.
What It Costs
Free for the UMN Community
All four aerial imagery collections are free for every UMN student, faculty, and staff member, accessed directly through U-Spatial's shared network drive.
Costs Beyond the University
NAIP is public federal data, freely available to anyone directly from the USDA at no cost. Hennepin County, Ramsey County, and Twin Cities imagery are provided to UMN through U-Spatial's own arrangements with each source. Those outside the University should contact the relevant county GIS department or MetroGIS directly to ask about access.
Ready to Access Minnesota's Aerial Imagery?
Connect to the shared drive and start working with whichever collection or combination fits your project.