Trip planning in ithe northshore

if we were to spend roughly a week in the northshore, would you recommend:

1) 3 nights in duluth, 3 nights in grand marais

2) 2 nights in duluth, 2 nights somewhere near lutsen, 2 nights in grand marais

3) other combination?

Thanks!

Trip planning in ithe northshore

tofte/lutsen is maybe about 35 miles from grand marais so you may not need to switch once you are there

I%26#39;ve made tofte my base when I do my annual trek for 6 nights

duluth is about 80 miles down the shore from there.

maybe one or 2 nights in duluth

the rest on the shore in the same place, but just venture out for day trips.

you can hit the canadian border / grand portage / pigeon river pretty quickly in the a.m.

blue fin bay is nice - so is americinn tofte

Trip planning in ithe northshore

I like option number two. Two nights in each place would be ideal. For the Lutsen part of the stay, look into Bluefin Bay or at Lutsen itself look into the Lutsen Lodge or the Poplar River condos.

What would you like to see while there? The areas between Duluth %26amp; Grand Marais are dotted with some of the states best parks. There are so many of them, I%26#39;d also suggestion option #2.

Also where will you be coming from? The cities? If you don%26#39;t like to upheave that much, you could try this: 2 nights Duluth, spend a whole daytrip heading north to GM, 2 days there, then another day trip heading south again - seeing what you missed on the 1st daytrip.

thanks all!

we%26#39;re coming from SE MN.

we just want a relaxing vacation, maybe a little bit of hiking, seeing the water falls, seeing the leaves turn color etc. and eat good food :)

some memorable spots -

hike for about 20 - 30 minutes up the Temperance River trail - very scenic as it%26#39;s right along the trail before any real elevation

Pigeon River high falls - on the MN side of the border - tallest in the state

Devil%26#39;s Track Canyon - maybe 10 min hike from where you can park your car - up the shore from Grand Marais.

If you%26#39;re up for it - to the top of Eagle Mountain - very peaceful hike. I%26#39;ve hiked it a few times and ran into no one else. It was just me and the pooch.

Oberg Loop - an easy climb up, then seven scenic vistas at the top - 1/2 with lake view - about 5 miles up the shore from Tofte

thank you for all the suggestions! sounds just like what we want to do!

how long does it take to get to the top of Eagle Mountain? 2 hours? 4 hours?

I%26#39;d say 90 min to 2 hrs going up

and maybe an hour at a good clip on the way down.

Right before you hit ascent, you%26#39;ll pass a serene lake - very peacful, and at the top, you might find it hard to know when you have really reached the top - so many vistas with views, but go until you see the stone with the metal plaque.

thank you! i really appreciate all the information!

funny - I found a few sites where they say it%26#39;s five hours round trip - but I don%26#39;t remember it being that long -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Mountain_(Cook_County,_Minnesota)-1

boundarywaterscanoearea.com/activities/hikin…

If you are talking about this year, you%26#39;d better get on the reservations NOW.

I was in Duluth over the weekend, and there were lots of people even though there wasn%26#39;t much fall color yet. It was Northshore Inline Marathon weekend, but less than 3,000 people skated. We stayed at the Red Roof Inn in Proctor (on top the hill before heading down into the harbor) and they were pretty close to full.