A Weekend Up North
If you read my 10 Places to Travel Before 30 blog, you will remember that I listed several locations in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. By choosing these closer destinations, I may have foreshadowed our move to Minnesota.
Although I have been to the North Shore of Minnesota when I was younger, I have always wanted to return to explore it more. This weekend trip was the perfect lil getaway to start the summer and I highly recommend planning a trip to explore everything that the North Shore of Minnesota has to offer!
Day 1:
Road Trip & Breakfast
We hit the road early Friday morning to avoid any traffic in the metro & to get ahead of the weekend cabin goers that were heading North on I-35. We stopped in Duluth for brunch at The Social House in Canal Park before continuing up the shoreline. On our way, we made a pit stop at the Tettegouche Park Visitor Center for fresh air and a quick nature walk.
Afternoon Activity: Superior National at Lusen
We spend the afternoon at Superior National at Lutsen. Nate booked a tee time and played 18 holes while I rode along with him & the group we were paired with. This was by far one of the nicest golf courses I've ever been to; everyone working at the course was extremely nice and the views of Lake Superior were unbelievable!
Lodging & Dinner: Cascade Lodge
After finishing up at the golf course we headed to check in at Cascade Lodge, a nearly 100-year-old lodge located on Lake Superior that was renovated in 2020 to be more modern.
Along with the lodge the property includes several cabins, a playground, a firepit, and the Cascade Restaurant & Pub. After checking in we got ready for dinner & headed over to the restaurant. The menu had so many options to choose from.
We had the BEST burrata I've ever had for an appetizer and we each shared two different flatbreads for our entree. After dinner, we walked across the street and went down to the rocky shoreline to watch the waves come in. When we walked back up to the lodge the restaurant had live music outside so we sat and listened for a while before calling it a night.
Day 2:
Breakfast: Cascade Restaurant & Pub
We started our day out by grabbing breakfast at the Cascade Restaurant; I got the apple fritter french toast and Nate got the chorizo & egg breakfast sandwich. We also picked up our trail lunches from the restaurant before heading out for the day.
Daytime Activities: Gooseberry Falls & Slip Rock Lighthouse
Our first stop of the day was Gooseberry Falls State Park where we hiked all morning. It was great to get some fresh air and reconnect with nature. We also picked a great day to go, as the weather was perfect!
We then headed to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, found a picnic area, and settled in for lunch with a view of Lake Superior. I don't think I've ever eaten anywhere with such an AMAZING view. We had our trail lunches which included a sandwich, kettle chips, veggies, an orange, a granola bar, and a water bottle. I'm so glad we chose to add on the trail lunches, especially since they were only $10 each!
After lunch, we hiked around the park, skipped some rocks on the water, and sat & talked on the rocky shore. Next, we headed to Split Rock Lighthouse where we learned about the history of the lighthouse and the property. We got to walk through the old lighthouse keeper's home, the fog horn building, and of course the lighthouse! It was so cool to learn more about why that location was chosen for the lighthouse, the duties of the lighthouse keeper, and the different types of lights & lenses that were used in the lighthouse when it was in operation.
Dinner & Dessert in Grand Marais
We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in Grand Marais; checking out the cute gift shops, and the lighthouse pier, and even got caught in a quick 10-minute rainstorm.
For dinner we went to Hungry Hippie Tacos; which has created a menu full of fun tacos that have unique Minnesota influences; including wild rice frybread tortillas and smoked meats. To accompany our tacos we had to continue the Minnesota spirit by each having a Minnesota-brewed beer.
Dessert included making a stop for some ice cream at Superior Creamery and snacking on some fudge that we got earlier at Beth's Fudge & Gift Shop. Superior Creamery's ice cream reminded me of one of my favorite ice cream shops in the Black Hills; Leones' Creamery because their menu of creative flavors rotates so you can always try something new!
Day 3:
Morning Activity & Breakfast
Sunday was our go-with-the-flow, "no plans" day, so we packed up, headed back down the shoreline, and added a few stops along the way. On Saturday, we overheard someone talking about Black Beach. It happened to be close to where we were staying, so we wanted to check it out! Black Beach gets its name from the black sand that covers its shores, which is due to past deposits of taconite into Lake Superior.
Our next stop along the shoreline was Betty's Pies; a Minnesota staple! You don't get to have pie for breakfast every day, but you can at Betty's. Nate and I shared a slice of caramel apple crunch pie and toffee cream pie; they were very delicious!
Don't live near Betty's Pies but want delicious pie? One great thing about Betty's is that they ship their pies nationwide on Goldbelly, so even you can enjoy pie for breakfast!
Lunch & Duluth Activities
Once we got to Duluth we decided to walk around Canal Park; where we people-watched, crossed the lift bridge, and daydreamed about owning a sailboat. We also checked out the Lake Superior Maritime Visitors Center where we learned about the history of the different ships & industries of the Great Lakes. This is a great family-friendly museum that has a great view of the lake and also has a schedule of the large ships that are entering & leaving the canal.
To cap off the weekend we grabbed lunch at Grandma's Saloon & Grill which was right next to the Visitors Center. We sat upstairs and even got to see a large cargo ship go under the lift bridge while we ate; a great way to cap off the weekend.
Final Words & Photo Dump
Although the views were AMAZING I have to say the thing that stood out to me most from this trip was the FOOD! The North Shore is filled with many great restaurants & eateries making their own waves in the culinary world.
In addition, I highly recommend creating a road trip game for you to pass the time. Ours was counting canoes & kyaks on the tops of cars making their way to their destinations. In total, we counted 34 canoes & 16 kyaks and that was only after we started counting on the second day. Maybe we'll break our records next trip.
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