St. Olaf College campus is located on the northwest edge of town. You will see the south entrance to campus on MN Rte. 19 just before you enter Northfield proper when driving in from I-35. MN Rte. 3 crosses MN Rte. 19 at a traffic light (there is a Subway and Hardee's and fire station at the intersection). Continue across Rte. 3 to get into the downtown area and the Archer House. The Country Inn is just north on Rte. 3 while AmericInn and Super-8 are both about 2 miles south on Rte. 3 just past the traffic light at Jefferson Parkway.
Northfield's claim to fame is that the townspeople fought off the James-Younger gang when the latter tried to rob the local bank. There is a museum in town (in the old bank on the corner of 3rd & Division Streets) and September festival that commemorate the event. Just in case you were wondering, the name "Northfield" has nothing to do with geography, but comes from the town's founder, John North. The town motto is "Cows, Colleges, and Contentment". We are also the home of Malt-O-Meal breakfast cereals, as you'll note from the hint of malt in the air when the wind blows up from the factory.
For those interested in jogging there are trails in the Carleton Arboretum (parking along Rte. 19) when the ground isn't too wet. There is also a paved bike trail that starts behind the Kwik Trip gas station on the corner of Rtes. 19 & 3. It is about 5 miles long, relatively flat and good for jogging, walking or roller-blading.
There are a few restaurants in the downtown area, mostly pub-type places, but also Chinese and Indian food. There is a pretty good Mexican restaurant south on Rte. 3, but it is often crowded. The St. Olaf student dining hall (Stav Hall) in the Buntrock Commons building has all-you-can-eat food for under $10/meal. It's pretty good food for a campus cafeteria with many options (including vegetarian). On the 2nd floor of Buntrock is the Cage, where you can get coffee, burgers, sandwiches, etc., but it's only open during normal "business" hours.