North Shore

The North Shore of Minnesota, a 150 mile long shoreline from Duluth to the Canadian border, is a stunning and surprising stretch of the upper Midwest that should be added to your wishlist. We have loved visiting Maine, the White Mountains, the coasts of Oregon and Washington, as well as the Lake Michigan shoreline. The North Shore seems to blend the best of all of these regions while being uniquely Minnesota. 

Our first trip to Minnesota was to see Minneapolis, St Paul, and Rochester. While we enjoyed these cities a lot, we really wanted to see the state ‘up north’. We took advantage of a week as ‘empty nesters’ while our kids were at camp to leisurely visit the North Shore. 

To appreciate this region, it was important to us to understand the importance and size of Lake Superior. Superior is the biggest lake by surface area in the world at 350 miles long and 160 miles wide. It contains 10% of the world’s freshwater, has a maximum depth of 1332 feet and average depth of 439 feet, and holds 3 quadrillion gallons of water, more than 50% of all water held by all of the Great Lakes. Duluth is a major shipping port with 800 annual lakers, ships that sail on the Great Lakes. It is amongst the top 20 busiest ports in the United States. Duluth's harbor is open into January, when ice has to be broken up in the harbor and out toward the shipping channels. Minnesota iron ore pellets and taconite are major exports. 

We started our journey by spending a couple days to make the drive, taking advantage of our Harvest Hosts membership on the way up north. For our first night, we were welcomed to Basics Co-Op in Janesville, Wisconsin. This was a great stop. We were able to park in the back of a large parking lot and walk the dogs throughout the nearby neighborhoods. We shopped in the Co-Op to stock up on groceries for the coming week and grabbed dinner for the night. The following morning, we started later than planned so we could walk back in for breakfast sandwiches and coffee prior to continuing on our way. Out of curiosity, we took the exit for Wisconsin Dells to briefly check it out - plus we spotted a highly rated coffee shop. We found a large nearby parking, making this an easy stop. Although it was rainy, Bella Goose Coffee was still busy. Recharged with a nice coffee and a scone, we headed onward to Minnesota. Our stop at the final Harvest Host was Locally Laid Farm, a small family farm 30 minutes outside of Duluth. We set up in a field in a lovely setting. We started the next day early and missed the opportunity to meet the family and tour the farm. Locally Laid is a great family farm for an overnight stop. We grabbed coffee at nearby Bearaboo Coffee before proceeding on to the North Shore. 

Our base camp for the next five days was the City of Two Harbors Burlington Bay Campground. Two Harbors is 30 minutes northeast of Duluth on the shores of Lake Superior. With a port for iron ore, we were able to see a ‘laker’ in port and leaving the harbor. Two Harbors has a rich history in iron, shipping, and is the birthplace of 3M. Most sites in the campground have some level of water view with many directly on the water. We had an obstructed water view, with water and electric. The campground has two bath houses in the main campground, plus a third in a newer section across the road. Ice, firewood, and a small camp store are all on site. From the campground, we could easily walk down to a rocky beach, walk the Sonju Trail to explore Burlington Bay rock ledge, the lake side forest, lighthouse, Agate Bay, and walk to the waterfront downtown district. 

While work kept us at the campground during the day, we took advantage of the 9pm sunsets to explore in the afternoons and evenings.

We visited Grand Portage National Monument where we hiked on the Mount Rose trail, visited the living history encampment where we learned the history of this bay in regard to trade, and walked out on the dock into the bay. At Grand Portage State Park, we hiked the Falls Trail to the tallest waterfall in Minnesota. Seeing these falls makes it easy to understand why the traders traveling in canoes would call this area ‘Grand Portage’ as it would not be navigable by boat. While on this hike. we saw the Pigeon River, which separates the United States and Canada. 

At Judge C.R. Magney State Park, we saw the once mysterious Devil’s Kettle Falls; a nice 2-mile out and back along the river and to the falls, where half of the water flow was long thought to disappear going down the falls. It’s now been determined that it does rejoin the river before flowing into Lake Superior. While hiking the north shore, you will encounter lots of stairs and elevation changes.

Many trails along the shore start at rest stops or waysides, such as the Onion River trail that we followed up to the falls from Ray Berglund Rest Area. Other trailheads are found at combined state park and rest stop facilities, such as Tettegouche State Park. Tettegouche is home to two short hikes with great views: Shovel Point and Baptist River.

We hiked at Cascade River State Park on the short Cascade Falls Loop via Superior Trail for yet another great waterfall view. We heard and felt the waterfalls before seeing it! This was one of the few spots where we got to use our Minnesota State Parks parking pass. As we looked at the tentative agenda for our trip, we decided to purchase a $35 annual State Park pass, but quickly discovered we could have gotten by with a couple $7 day passes. It seems like we will just need to go back to visit more Minnesota State Parks!

Temperance River State Park, where we saw Temperance Falls via the Superior Trail, was a great series of falls. We learned that spring 2024 has been rainy and the waterfalls were flowing exceptionally well.

Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center Trail is not associated with the state park system, but worth a visit. This walk takes you out on a point of the bay with great views back at the shoreline. To park, there is a $5 day use fee, which was very much worth it.

Based on our AllTrails research, we thought Palisade Head, the tallest cliff on the North Shore rising 940 feet over the lake, was going to be an uphill climb. However, we were able to drive to the top on the day of our visit, which we suspect may not always be an option.

Believe it or not, the North Shore of Lake Superior has a Black Beach. The sand of the Black Beach is a byproduct of taconite production from the nearby iron ore processing facility. It’s not Iceland or Hawaii maybe, but this Black Beach is a cool sight to see and a quick stop near Silver Beach.

Another opportunity to use our state park parking pass was Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. There are multiple ways to visit Split Rock, but we thought the State Park was great as we saw the lighthouse from the waterfront and then hiked up toward the lighthouse. We took the Superior Trail up and Gitchi-Gami State Trail back down. 

Gooseberry Falls State Park is a very popular stop! We walked the crowded Five Falls via Superior Trail and enjoyed seeing the rushing waterfalls. The Superior Trail runs 300 miles along the North Shore and the Gitchi-Gami State Trail has 33 miles paved so far with a goal of 86 miles of non-motorized trail connecting Two Harbors and Grand Marais.  

Two Harbors has the Lighthouse Trail and Sonju Trail. Although construction on the trail was taking place during our visit, we could leave the campground, walk along the beach, though the wooded Sonju Trail, around the rocky point of the Lighthouse, over to Agate Beach with views of the port, through the downtown waterfront business district, and back to the campground for a nice three mile walk or run.

Finally, we stopped at French River McQuade Harbor and Rest Area near Duluth which had a nice harbor walk and a great place to let the dog stretch their legs as we watched the fishermen come and go.

We touched a lot of the parks and trails, but left hundreds of miles unexplored. Many of the waterfalls, shoreline, and beaches are very close to Route 61, the highway connecting Duluth to Grand Portage, but all of the parks have many more trails where you can escape the crowds. ​

Our favorite area of Duluth was the Lincoln Park Craft District. We had great coffees at 190 Coffee and Tea and enjoyed drinks on the patio at Bent Paddle Brewing Company. We loved the tacos at Hungry Hippie Taco. We bought a cool piece of local art from North & Shore, enjoyed checking out local food and wares at TNT Exchange, checking out the packs made on-site and upstairs at Frost River, and health and wellness finds at REN Market. 

We found a lot of great shopping, food, and coffee along the North Shore as well. There was so much we enjoyed, but our favorite spot was Cedar Coffee Company in Two Harbors. We had lunch here four times! They made good coffees using Duluth Coffee Company beans and had salads and sandwiches that we loved. SpokeNGear Cyclery and Cedaero share the building as well. SpokeNGear is a bike shop and Cedaero makes cycling bags onsite. We found a couple packs and also discovered Voile Straps. These straps are designed for bikepacking, but the 15” might be the greatest water and power cord straps we’ve ever discovered for the Mantis. Although we have it have at home, we had to visit Culver’s while in Two Harbors. We got quick meals and groceries at Cook County Whole Foods Co-Op in Grand Marais and Zup's in Silver Bay. Finally, we stopped at Betty’s Pies. Betty’s Pies is a destination of its own as it’s a North Shore institution. We had a delicious slice of Carmel Apple Crunch Pie.

Our final stop was a last minute decision. With short notice, we were able to book two nights at Lakehead Boat Basin Marine and RV on Lake Superior in Duluth. This location is ideal for Canal Street, Lakewalk, and a downtown Duluth visit. Lakehead offers 30 RV sites in the Marina and near a hotel, where the bathhouse is located. A unique location for sure, but we found it ideal for our visit. We explored a lot of Duluth!

We have a great Co-Op at home, the Neighborhood Co-Op, and we were so excited to come across four Co-Ops on this trip, including two in Duluth, Hilltop Co-Op and Denfeld Co-Op.  

Near the Aerial Lift Bridge, which is a must see, is Canal Street and the Lakewalk. We enjoyed walking both. We walked the Lakewalk down to Lief Erikson Park and explored Fitger’s. We had a nice dinner at The Boat Club, where we had good fish, steaks, and cocktails on the water front. Yellow Bike Coffee and Trailfitters, both also in Fitger’s, were also stops we enjoyed. 

Canal Street is the tourist hub of Duluth. This is near the resorts and home to a lot of restaurants, bars, and shopping. Our first stop on Canal Street was Love Creamery, a favorite stop for ice cream. We enjoyed the Vegan Toffee. Love Creamery also has a location in Lincoln Park Craft District. Our second stop was Duluth Pack, which is another made in Minnesota bag and apparel shop. We found great tacos at Chacos Taqueria and the hot sauce with habanero and raisins was outstanding. Canal Park Brewing is a busy brewery, we stopped for drinks and brussels. Finally we had sandwiches at North Waters Smokehaus, made with freshly smoked meats and fish that are smoked onsite. 

We wrapped up our visit with two distinct attractions. First we walked the Park Point Rummage Sale. This sale is four miles long with 125 yard sales, along with concessions, attracting thousands of shoppers. Finally we decided last minute to take a 75-minute bay and port boat tour onboard Vista Fleet. This was a great opportunity to see the city from the water and learn more about the city and port. 

Our week was filled with hiking, exploring, and enjoying great food and coffee. Duluth is a great city to explore and gateway to a beautiful stretch of the country along the North Shore. Again, this isn’t New England or the Pacific Northwest, but might deserve a spot on your bucket list just the same.