Duluth, Minnesota: Embracing Winter in Superior Ways

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An appealing port city on the southwest shore of Lake Superior (popularly referred to by its Ojibwe Tribe name Gitche Gumee), Duluth is overflowing with natural beauty, rich history, and abundant outdoor recreation. It is a year-round destination but is most popular in the summer and fall. However, visiting Duluth in the winter is a special experience, with stunning landscapes of snow and ice, a wide variety of outdoor (and indoor) adventures, and blissfully few crowds.

Duluth is an underrated but important city in the United States. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world. The Port of Duluth is the largest inland port, accessible to oceangoing ships, in the world. In other words, this place is kind of a big deal! Ships arriving from the Atlantic travel 2,300 miles to reach Duluth, (about an 8-day journey), to import and export their goods.

As important as the shipping and manufacturing industries are in Duluth, tourism becomes more and more vital with each passing year, and the city has been rising to the occasion. Most visitors arrive via Interstate 35 (I-35), which was expanded to reach Duluth from the Twin Cities between the 1970s and early 1990s. The busy freeway is cleverly designed to run through a series of tunnels in the busiest parts of the city, largely hiding it, preserving the lake views for residents, and providing easy walkways between the lakewalk area and the downtown district and neighborhoods on the hills above.

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Canal Park

Canal Park is the heart of Duluth. Entering the city from the south, as most do, the first glimpses of the city are largely industrial. But within a couple of minutes, the Aerial Lift Bridge comes into view, and then idyllic Canal Park. The park sits on the shore of Lake Superior, and the rest of the city rises above it on a steep hillside.

The iconic Aerial Lift Bridge is located at the south end of Canal Park and is a symbol of the City of Duluth. Originally built in 1905, it was converted into a vertical-lift bridge in 1930 and remains in operation today. It was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1973.

The bridge allows enormous ships carrying iron ore, coal, limestone, and grain to pass underneath it, and into the harbor.

Between March and December of every year, it is mesmerizing to watch the bridge rise 135 feet in just one minute, and see the ships, sometimes more than 1000 feet long, maneuver into the harbor. The ship and the bridge operator exchange a “salute,” a series of long and short horn signals. Roughly 900 ships are scheduled to pass under the bridge each year.

Originally constructed in 1986, the beloved Duluth Lakewalk is a highlight of the city. This year-round attraction consists of more than 7 miles of paved, lighted trails along Lake Superior, with separate sections for pedestrians and bicyclists. Lakewalk users can wander past the Aerial Bridge, to the free Maritime Museum, past lighthouses, through numerous international art installations, to the Vietnam Memorial, through beautiful Leif Erikson Park, along beaches, and past many hotels, shops, and restaurants. Sunrise and sunset are especially beautiful times to explore the lakewalk.

Scenic Drives

The lakewalk provides an up-close view of Lake Superior. But the 25-mile Skyline Parkway, which winds through the entire city of Duluth, high above the lake and the Saint Louis River, provides equally spectacular views from above. It passes through Spirit Mountain, numerous parks, a nature reserve, and over historic bridges, several creeks, and a river. There are multiple overlooks to stop and enjoy the scenery.

Snow Sports

Hardy Duluthians embrace the cold and snow; snow sports abound. Walking, snowshoeing, and fat tire biking are all wildly popular. Nearly 50 miles of the Superior Hiking Trail runs through Duluth and much of it is available for winter recreation. Trails through Brewer Park and on the Piedmont Trail System have spectacular overlooks over Lake Superior, the Saint Louis River, and views into Wisconsin.

Lester Park River Trail overlooks a valley with the Lester River running through it. Though the river isn’t visible through all the snow in the winter, it is a beautiful scene and, once it’s completely frozen, many people hike, snowshoe, and ski right over the the river.

Cross-country ski enthusiasts are especially lucky. The city maintains trails in six different parks dedicated solely to cross-country skiing, with areas for skate skiing as well as tracks for classic skiing. (A ski pass is required, good throughout the state, for $10/day or $25/year at the time of this writing.)

Hartly Nature Center features numerous mixed-use trails for a variety of winter activities. It also offers rentals for cross-country skis, snowshoes, and fat tire bikes, as well as boots with studded traction on the bottom for walking on icy trails.

**Before heading out on a winter adventure, it is a good idea to download the AllTrails app.  It provides driving directions, trail maps, descriptions, and reviews of the trail condition. It is useful in Duluth, but also all over the country, and in much of the world. The membership has a nominal annual fee.

There are a half-dozen public ice skating rinks throughout Duluth, with some offering free rentals.

If downhill skiing, boarding, and/or tubing interests you, Spirit Mountain, just a few miles south of Canal Park, is the place to go. It features 22 runs, 5 lifts, and a terrain park. 2-hour tubing sessions, including night tubing on weekends, are available for people aged 3 and older. Spirit Mountain also offers 18 miles of groomed cross-country ski trails. There are various pricing structures, depending on the activities in which one wishes to partake. (Though the City of Duluth owns Spirit Mountain, the cross-country ski pass is not good there.)

Museums & Glensheen Mansion

There are a surprising number of museums and indoor attractions around Canal Park. All sites listed below are in, or within a short walking distance to, Canal Park, with the exception of Glensheen Mansion.

The Great Lakes Aquarium (open daily 10 am – 6 pm) is devoted almost exclusively to freshwater fish, amphibians, reptiles, raptors, and animals, with a focus on Lake Superior. Featuring a sturgeon touchpool and lots of hands-on exhibits, it is very kid-friendly. The H20, exploring water and watersheds, is quite popular, and splashing is encouraged. Unsurprisingly, a favorite activity is watching adorable Agate and Ore, the resident otters, play and swim.

The Marine Museum covers the history of commercial shipping on the Great Lakes, and includes full-sized replicas of ship cabins and a wheelhouse, in addition to numerous scaled models and interactive displays. Notably, there is a large display and a fascinating short documentary film about the tragic, sudden sinking of the Edmond Fitzgerald in a storm in November 1975, killing everyone on board. Despite valiant efforts, their bodies were never recovered. The saga was immortalized by Gordon Lightfoot with his song The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald.

“The church bell chimed ’til it rang twenty-nine times,
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee.
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.”  – The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Just steps from the Marine Museum is the retired and moored lake freighter, the William A. Irvin, which was in service carrying iron ore and coal in the region from 1938 – 1978, and is now a floating museum. Though the interior is not open for tours in the winter, visitors can walk around the exterior of the 610-foot vessel. (From early May to mid-September, interior tours are available.)

The magnificent Glensheen Mansion is located along scenic Highway 61, overlooking Lake Superior, on the northeast side of Duluth. The mansion, built as a family home for Chester and Clara Congdon and their 6 living children at a cost of $854,000, (more than $30 million today), was completed in 1908. Chester was a prominent attorney (and later a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives) and was heavily involved in the early development of iron and copper mining around Lake Superior, leading to his fortune.

The 12-acre estate was built to allow the Congdons to be self-sufficient and included large vegetable gardens, an orchard, a greenhouse, a cow barn, a boat house, and a water reservoir. The family home had 27,000 square feet of living space and 29 rooms.

Chester passed away in 1916, but Clara far outlived him, remaining in the home until her death in 1950. The estate stayed in the family until Chester and Clara’s last surviving child, Elizabeth, died in 1977. (**See below.) The philanthropic family had arranged decades before to donate the entire estate to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, which operates it as a museum, offering self-guided tours along with many special events, both indoor and outdoor.

Each room of the home that is open to the public is perfectly preserved. Interesting and thorough placards describe the purpose of the room and which member(s) of the family used it. The mansion also has an extensive art collection, displayed throughout the public rooms.

**Elizabeth was in fact murdered in the mansion, along with a nurse who was caring for her. The shocking, sordid tale is told in the book Will to Murder by Gail Feichtinger. Interestingly, there is no reference to the murder in any of the information provided in the mansion tour or literature (though they do sell the book in their gift shop).

Eating & Shopping

There is no shortage of eating and shopping opportunities in Duluth, and particularly in the Canal Park area!

Some favorite restaurants include:

Family-owned Canal Park Brewing Company is a great choice for lunch or dinner, or just to grab a drink and a snack. Their award-winning craft beers are brewed right at the lakefront site, using solar and wind energy. (As someone who doesn’t care for beer, I want to point out that they also have some nice wines and a full bar.) They pride themselves on using local, sustainably sourced, and often organic ingredients in their creative and delicious food. The brewery is beautifully located on the lakewalk and has outdoor seating with fire pits providing warmth on milder winter days.

For those looking for a good, old-fashioned diner serving traditional, inexpensive all-day breakfast and lunch, look no further than Uncle Loui’s Cafe, in downtown Duluth, about a mile from Canal Park. Delicious!

For a real treat, hop in the car, drive about 15 minutes to the far northeast side of Duluth, and head to the New Scenic Café for freshly baked pastries, lunch, dinner, and/or dessert. It is somehow all at once intimate and sophisticated, yet casual and friendly. Their constantly changing menu offers lots of creative dishes, such as a saffron seafood Danish smørrebrød or mushroom brioche, as well as more traditional dishes such as perfectly cooked steak frites, escargot, or a game platter. Add to that a lovely wine list, an engaging and enthusiastic staff, and a beautifully decorated venue, and you have yourself a mighty special meal.

Favorite shopping in Duluth:

The DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace in Canal Park is a Duluth landmark and began as a warehouse and manufacturing site in 1909. It was completely renovated in 1985 and re-invented as a multi-use building with delightful locally-owned retail shops and restaurants, as well as offices and other small businesses. It is home to the Northern Waters Smokehaus, above.

Accessible either from the lakewalk or Superior Street, the Fitger’s Complex offers more than a dozen interesting and unique shops, including The Bookstore at Fitger’s, the expansive active outdoor shop, Trailfitters, and the wonderful Duluth Kitchen Co., as well as a spa, and multiple restaurants and bars.

Heading southwest on Superior Street from Fitger’s, there are many local retail shops, as well as the fun and popular Duluth Trading Company (which, of course, originated in Duluth, but now has over 60 locations).

Where to Stay

As is probably evident from the rest of this article, Canal Park is the best place to stay when visiting Duluth. With the Aerial Bridge, the lakewalk, the museums, and scores of restaurants and shops, not to mention the splendid Lake Superior views, it is an outstanding location.

Pleasant, clean, and exceptionally well-located hotels include the Hampton Inn Canal Park (the nicest Hampton Inn in which we’ve ever stayed), and Canal Park Lodge (best if you’d like a balcony). Both are easy walking distance to most things listed above.

For more of a resort-type experience, the historic Fitger’s Complex has a bit of everything. It’s in a different area of the lakewalk, about a mile from the bridge, but still convenient for many things, especially downtown shopping. Its unique rooms feature such things as original brick walls, fireplaces, and vaulted ceilings. The expansive property includes a charming mall with multiple restaurants and local shops.

No matter where you stay in Canal Park, it’s worth paying a little extra for a room with a view “of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee”!