Cold Spring is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States, at the gateway of the Sauk River Chain of Lakes, an interconnected system of 14 bay-like lakes fed and connected by the Sauk River.

[7] German-speaking Catholics settled in the area, lured by the Slovenian missionary priest Francis Xavier Pierz, who had submitted letters and advertisements to the major German-language newspapers across the U.S., such as Der Wahrheitsfreund (The Friend of Truth), and in Europe, urging "good, pious" German Catholics to come to the Sauk River Valley, which he called a "land flowing with milk and honey" and safe from disease and anti-Catholic oppression.

[10] The city was thrust in the national spotlight on September 24, 2003, when then 15-year-old Jason McLaughlin shot and killed two classmates in the Rocori High School shooting.

Cold Spring is in Wakefield Township geographically but is a separate entity.

Ancestry breakdown of residents is German (67.6%), American (5.9%), Swedish (4.0%), Irish (2.4%), Norwegian (1.7%), English (1.2%).

Top employers in Cold Spring include: Minnesota Highway 23 serves as a main route in Cold Spring and Interstate 94, the major highway of the region, is nearby, linking Minneapolis, St. Paul, Fargo, Chicago, and Milwaukee.

Cold Spring is also served by County Roads 2 and 50, providing north–south access in and out of the city.

Cloud Regional Airport, as well as the city's Amtrak and Greyhound stations.

Cold Spring is served by ROCORI Independent School District 750.

ROCORI stands for the three adjacent communities that primarily comprise the schools: Rockville, Cold Spring, and Richmond.