I arrived in MSP around 9pm and drove to Duluth. From there we went on the next morning to the North Shore. We visited Two Harbors Lighthouse ( met a nice guide there who was very helpful), took the tour at Split Rock which was very interesting and had some nice walks. Then went to Gooseberry Falls and Temperance River, both of which had nice falls with very short hikes. I liked both. Tettegouche was okay, but we didn%26#39;t make it to the waterfalls. We ate at Splashing Rock Restaurant which had a great view of Lake Superior. They were very accommodating. Judge Magney Park was nice, but the hike to the waterfalls Devils Kettle is very long and uphill, so we turned around the went back. We hiked over an hour without getting to the falls. We went to Grand Marias. It is a nice walk to Artists Point. We ate at Sven and Ollies, which was very disappointing after you have eaten New York Pizza. It was pretty bad. Cascade Falls was right along the side of the highway on the way home and a beautiful waterfall. We stayed at the Superior SHores. I enjoyed it there. They had a beautiful walk out to Lake Superior across a bridge and I watched the sunset.
The next day, we went on to Duluth. The signage for Skyline Drive is confusing and we gave up trying to find it. We went to Leif Erickson Park which was nice, but missed the tour for Glensheen. I wish that we could have taken that tour. The mansion looked very interesting and I enjoyed walking around the grounds. We went to the Maritime Museum which was free and had some good exhibits, although I was not particularly into machines and navigation. We ate at Grandma%26#39;s Saloon. They have a nice outside deck which overlooks the harbora and the food had ample portions and was reasonable. The onion rings were very good. We then went on to Jay Cooke Park which had good waterfalls and rocks with that bridge across the river which reminded me of some movies. We went back to MSP and went to the State Fair. It was SO crowded that it was a bit exhausting, but the butter sculptures were cool. I then went on to the Mall of America. I really enjoyed the Mall. It was a shopper%26#39;s paradise.
We went on to Black Hills of SD and then returned on 9/2. We went to Minnehaha Falls Park, which was nice, Sculpture Garden, which was an interesting city park, and Cathedral of St. Paul and Basilica of Mary which were beautiful churches. I then ate at Mall of America at Napa Valley Grill, which gave good service and good food before catching my flight home.
Trip Report for 8/27-8/29 and 9/3
WOW - you really had a jam-packed weekend and got to see so many highlights, I%26#39;m impressed!
I like Sven and Oles but agree that it%26#39;s probably nowhere near NY style. I would have steered you to the Gunflint Tavern, my personal favorite. And how lucky for you to see big falls considering that much of MN has been in a drought lately.
The State Fair can be very tiring, esp if you%26#39;re not into crowds, like me. It%26#39;s best to visit early in the run of the fair at opening time. But the weather was so gorgeous and high gas prices probably played a role.
If you enjoyed your visit (which it sounds like you did) then spread the word and come back to visit some day!
Trip Report for 8/27-8/29 and 9/3
Yes, I will spread the word. I try to visit a different place every year. I think that Minnesota has a lot of nice places to visit. Some people just go to the typical tourist destinations and don%26#39;t see how much other places have to offer. I stayed at the Superior Shores at Two Harbors and it was scenic and peaceful walking along the water. I loved the Split Rock Lighthouse. Even though the State Fair was crowded and we do have State Fairs in NJ that are similar, yours is much bigger and I have never seen butter sculptures before. People laughed at me when I said that I was going to Duluth, but I found Duluth to be a nice city. I wished that I had taken the house tour of Glensheen Mansion, although I did watch the film and got an idea of it. The waterfalls were great. Just the hike to Devil%26#39;s Kettle was much longer than I expected and I had to turn around and not see it because it was so long.
I know that I have been to other places where the pizza was not up to NY style pizza. We have so many pizza places here. I liked the Grandma%26#39;s Saloon at Duluth and the Splashing Rock Restaurant at Grand Superior Lodge to eat though. Mall of America had good restaurants as well.
You know, anywhere along the North Shore is great to visit. I%26#39;m heading to Duluth for the second time and looking forward to seeing Glensheen. I don%26#39;t really advocate the touristy places because it often doesn%26#39;t present MN in true light. And I%26#39;d have to say the cities only have a small handful of really good pizza places, which I keep returning to!
You%26#39;re right about Devil%26#39;s Kettle. We stuck it out and hiked the whole thing. It was challenging but rewarding, probably one of the most difficult hikes we%26#39;ve done.
I%26#39;d also like to stay at Grand Superior sometime... so many places, so little time. And unless it%26#39;s driving distance, I also don%26#39;t visit the same place twice. Thanks for a great trip report!
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