Epic Sights, Delights, and Highlights on the North Shore of Lake Superior, Minnesota

The Trip

After meeting up at a hotel near the Minneapolis airport, we will get acquainted as we travel north to Duluth and then follow Highway 61 along the shore of Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. There will be many scenic views of the lake as we go north. This area is packed with attractions and we have selected classics that are the most famous and most interesting. During the trip, our planned stops include Split Rock lighthouse, Gooseberry Falls, Grand Portage National Monument, Pigeon High Falls (if time permits), and part of a day exploring the town of Grand Marais, which National Geographic calls the next great adventure town. One day, we will paddle an inland lake; on others, we will do some relaxed hiking, but seldom stray very far from Lake Superior. If conditions are right, we may see some “pop up” waterfalls in addition to as many of the dozens of waterfalls along our daily paths, as time permits. Our base will be lakeside hotels. Our first two nights in Duluth, we will have Duluth Harbor views and for the next four nights, only a tree or two will be between your hotel room balcony and Lake Superior as you sip coffee in the morning or have a nightcap after we return at the end of the day.

 Day 1: We will depart right after breakfast on Sunday morning from our hotel near the Minneapolis Airport, so you will probably want to arrive on Saturday. We will drive to Duluth, MN arriving in time for lunch (the first meal of the trip) at a Minnesota welcome center with a panoramic overlook of Duluth and the harbor.  Before we check into our hotel with lake view rooms in the Canal Park District, we should be able to see the century old historic Aeriel Lift Bridge in operation and visit the nearby Maritime Visitor Center.  Dinner will be at a local restaurant and is not included in the trip cost.

Day 2: After breakfast, we will gather up our cameras to head to Duluth Depot and board the North Shore Scenic Railroad for an excursion to Two Harbors and back.  Lunch will be at a Two Harbors restaurant during our layover there and is not included in the trip cost.  We will return to Duluth and have dinner out, which is not included in the trip cost.

Day 3: After breakfast, we will check out of our Duluth hotel and drive north with many views of Lake Superior with a stop at Split Rock Lighthouse  and other stops for views and waterfalls with a lunch stop at a state park.  We will check into our hotel in Tofte, MN and have dinner (not included in the trip cost) at a local restaurant.

Day 4: We will visit a nature center offering interpretation and education through a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior.  (See References.) We will have lunch there and then drive to the Wolf Ridge Environmental Center for a guided hike. Dinner, which is not included in the trip cost, will be at a hands-on family-owned restaurant with cozy dining and an outdoor patio.

Day 5:  After breakfast, we will drive to Grand Marais and tour North House School and make our own individual lunch pizzas in their harbor-side wood-fired brick oven.  The rest of the day, we will explore, discover, and indulge ourselves in artsy, quirky Grand Marais. Everyone will be on his or her own schedule and we will meet up for dinner to socialize and compare notes.  An optional trip may be available to Grand Portage National Monument where we can learn about its historic importance at the visitor center and, if we are in luck, we can talk to re-enactors at the historic site and/or Pigeon River High Falls, a thundering drop of 120 feet with an almost permanent rainbow.  Dinner is not included in the trip cost.  Among many other attractions but not included in the trip cost is the Hjordis (named after a Norse goddess), a 50-foot traditionally rigged steel schooner, which offers two-hour reasonably priced small group excursions on Lake Superior. (See References.)

Day 6: After breakfast, we will drive to meet our outfitter for a paddle at a lake near the Gunflint Trail. We will paddle our canoes to a lunch site and have a leisurely lunch.  That night, we will fix dinner at a park or at the lake.

Day 7: After breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and make our way back to Minneapolis with stops as time permits including a visit to Gooseberry Falls State Park. We will have lunch (not included in the trip cost) at a notable local restaurant north of Duluth.

Weather and other factors may require the leaders to adjust the trip. Everyone must be prepared to be flexible.

Getting There

We will meet up at a hotel near the Minneapolis, MN airport (MSP) where we have set up a room block. Availability will not be an issue, but pre/post trip rooms are not included in the trip cost. We will depart from there right after breakfast Sunday morning, so you will probably want to arrive Saturday. The hotel has an airport shuttle and includes breakfast. If you come in early, the hotel will shuttle you to nearby attractions like the Mall of America. Our van will transport us all week as we visit north shore attractions.

Do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until the leader has officially added you to the roster and advises that it is OK to do so once the trip has a sufficient number of participants. Weather and other factors can affect this or any trip, so you should consider trip insurance.

Accommodations and Food

We will be staying in rooms with a lake view in Duluth for two nights and at a lakefront hotel in Tofte, MN during the trip. The trip cost is based on double occupancy and includes Sunday night through Friday night. If space is available at the hotel and you want to pay for your own single room, you can arrange do this directly with the hotel. 

If you feel that you will need to bring between-meal snacks, please do so.

We will provide lunch and dinner on certain days. Some lunches and dinners are intended to be part of the local flavor of the trip and are not included in the trip cost. For other dinners out, it is not practical to prepare them due to our activities and lodging. Hence, there are several meals out that are not included in the trip cost. The leaders have made a number of trips to this area and have locally owned restaurants in mind for our restaurant meals. 

Plan to work together to prepare and clean up meals that we prepare. Count on interesting, varied, and nutritious meals. We will attempt to accommodate vegetarians and medical dietary restrictions. In designing our menu around dietary preferences, the last half of ingredients lists will be ignored. If you find it difficult to find suitable restaurant meals, this may not be the trip for you. Those with challenging restrictions may be asked to bring some of their own food and the means to prepare it to supplement group food. Please contact the leader if you require accommodation.

Trip Difficulty

This will be no more than a moderately difficult trip. We will do the trip as group at a pace that works for everyone, so plan to cooperate to this end. Each day we will be out doing activities for four to six hours each day including breaks and lunch. We will be on foot when sightseeing and hiking. Sightseeing will involve steps and short distances. Hiking will be on established trails and could include a beach walk. While the beach is pretty flat, there will be moderate hills when we hike. Hikes should not exceed a few miles each with breaks. Participants should have some experience with canoes or kayaks.

Equipment and Clothing

Detailed equipment and gear lists will be provided to participants after they are accepted for the trip. Temperatures can range from the 40s F at night to upper 70s F in the daytime, so layering is recommended.

Participants must have a daypack to hold clothing layers, one to two liters of water, a personal first aid kit (band aids, OTC meds, etc.), a two-piece rainsuit (not a poncho), hat with a brim and chin strap, and other essentials. Footwear and attire must be appropriate for our activities and conditions. For most activities, footwear must be closed-toe and tie, buckle, or clasp. 

References

• Sailing on the Hjordis: northhouse.org/programs/daily-sailing

• Sugarloaf: The North Shore Stewardship Association: https://sugarloafnorthshore.org/about-sugarloaf/

Conservation

When talking about the “north woods,” we have visions of pines towering over a thick carpet of pine needles. This does exist in remote areas, but man and climate change have drastically changed this historical forest along the lakeshore. As settlers and loggers cleared the land starting over a hundred years ago and the land became more open and dried out, fires became hotter and more intense. The ecosystem changed from pines to birch, grass and second-growth white pine. Deer populations increased, displaced the woodland caribou and decimated the pine seedlings, so the pines did not grow back as before. Birch seeds blew in and birch trees became more common. They only live so long and started dying out in the 1980s and dead birches now highlight the problem. Starting in the 1990s, restoration efforts have been focusing on a three mile wide strip following the coast from Duluth to Grand Portage. This has been difficult and spotty since, while 25% or the land is public, the rest is mostly in small privately owned parcels.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.