Duluth - Who Knew?

I knew that I wanted to visit The North Shore of Lake Superior when I visited Minnesota for the first time last summer. And the most logical jumping off spot for this part of the trip was Duluth, Minnesota. Now the first things to come to mind when I thought of Duluth were: ice, snow, brutal cold, shipping, TheWreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, brutal cold, snow and ice.I certainly wasn't picturing a pleasant city on Lake Superior with a walkable lakefront. But that is what I found. And what a delight it was.









Duluth is a seaport city located on Lake Superior where the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota meet. Home of the popular University of Minnesota Duluth and it's highly ranked hockey team, Duluth has been voted as Outside Magazine's "Best Town Ever". We stayed at a brand new Residence Inn which featured breakfast and weeknight dinners with a very helpful staff. Upon checking in, they asked us what we were doing for the evening. "We aren't sure" we said. We were then directed to the Lake Walk and Canal Park and were told we definitely shouldn't miss it. So off we went!








Our first stop was Canal Park. A popular park in the shadow of the Aerial Lift Bridge, which is Duluth's most famous landmark, it is also home to Grandma's Restaurant and the extremely popular Grandma's Marathon. Held every June since 1977, it's billed as Fresh Air. Fresh Water. Fresh Race. It starts in the woods, goes along the coast of Lake Superior and ends at a pub.(when it was first started, there were only 150 participants and they couldn't get sponsors except Grandma's Restaurant) We were able to watch the lift bridge and see a ship head out onto the lake - mighty lucky I'd say!







The Lake Walk is a 7.5 mile boardwalk along the shores of Lake Superior which leads you to Canal Park. There are benches along the way to stop and watch the ships going in and out of the harbor. And hotels and restaurants along the way also. We stopped for an adult beverage at the likeable Canal Park Brewing Company where tables were set up on the patio for sunset viewing. And cornhole games were being played in the parking lot.








So Duluth, you really surprised me! I was sad to only have an evening to explore this friendly city with loads to do. My opinion might not be the same in the dead of winter but for that summer evening, it sure was fun.



Stay tuned next week as we drive the shore of Lake Superior!


Read other blog posts about our Midwest trip:

www.unpavedroad.blogspot.com/2014/08/wisconsins-north-woods.html
www.unpavedroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-norwegian-riviera.html
www.unpavedroad.blogspot.com/2014/04/field-of-dreams.html
www.unpavedroad.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-minneapolis-sculpture-garden.html
www.unpavedroad.blogspot.com/2015/05/chicagos-navy-pier.html
www.unpavedroad.blogspot.com/2015/07/chicagos-millennium-park.html
www.unpavedroad.blogspot.com/2014/07/chicago-eats.html
www.unpavedroad.blogspot.com/2014/07/50-states-in-50-years.html










Once again, I'm linking up with Friday Postcards at Walking On Travels, Weekend Wanderlust at A Brit and A Southerner, Weekend Travel Inspiration at Malaysian Meanders and Travel Photo Thursday at Budget Travelers Sandbox!

Comments

  1. Well, I'll have to admit that what you showed us of Duluth surprised me, too. I imagined it to be rather boring and chilly, not "The Best Town Ever." That Aerial Lift bridge is cool. I never heard of one and looked up a video of it. That must be so interesting to see in action.

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    1. Seeing the bridge in action was interesting and especially to my engineer husband - he really enjoyed it. I would love to go back sometime - in summer- and have more time to enjoy the Lake Walk. Thanks for visiting!

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  2. The restaurant in the middle of somewhere looks cool....

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  3. There was a point in time that my husband was potentially going to be moved to Duluth for work! At the time we were super excited about it mainly because of its location and only a few hours from family (at the time we were in England so being within driving distance to family sounded amazing) then we ended up moving to a sub-tropical island in Japan. Now that we are here in Japan I can't imagine living somewhere with harsh winters haha!

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    1. What an incredible difference from living in Japan to Duluth. You definitely were placed in the more exotic location as Duluth couldn't be anymore middle-of-america in location and style. And oh so harsh winters! Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Love the Aerial Lift Bridge; it is definitely a landmark.

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  5. I cannot believe how big the lake is it looks like you are sitting along the sea side.

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    1. The largest freshwater lake in the world, it does look like an ocean. I was amazed at how calm it was the whole time we were visiting.Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. Very cool! Looks like you visited at the right time of year for sure...

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    1. Definitely the right time of year - the weather was spectacular!

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  7. No wonder the aerial lift bridge is famous. I had never heard of such a thing. Looks like a great place to visit in Summer.

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    1. Very cool bridge, huh? Thanks for stopping by!

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