This is the land of sky blue waters: Minnesota’s North Shore, where the world’s largest freshwater lake has forged ahead with tourism opportunities. You can feel it gazing at Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes, 350 miles long and 160 miles wide.
You can get closer along the scenic Gitchi-Gami State Trail where a paved bike path takes you through scenery that shows off the four seasons or along the Gunflint Trail, a 63-mile paved highway, revealing one of the largest wilderness areas in America. It’s a portrait of rugged land-studded lakes and a paradise of wildlife from bears to bald eagles.
But it’s not for everyone. The first time I drove along Highway 61 from Duluth to Grand Portage, I was intimidated by this mega dose of Mother Nature. The challenge of sticking my head under a canoe to take it from one end of an uninhabited island to the next was a strange ritual, but then I was a novice at that time. It all started when I picked up a guide called North Shore Visitor.com, “your mile-by-mile guide to Lake Superior’s North Shore Scenic Drive” while in St. Paul for my 50th high school class reunion. It was like finding a lost love after half a century and there was no turning back. I rented a car and drove on Highway 61 all the way to Grand Portage where a National Monument was a reconstructed northwest company fur-trading post from the late 1700s.
I made a reservation at Minnesota’s oldest resort, Lutsen’s, dating to 1881 when Charles Axel arrived on the scene from Sweden, and as a youth was the captain of a fishing tug. He married, established a homestead and built a large home by 1883. The first paved road followed in the 1930s.
Somehow a slew of Chicago gangsters found their way to this rustic resort, such as Al Capone, John Dillinger and Baby-Face Nelson; history doesn’t recall if they used a map or if they were in a getaway car. This Scandinavian-inspired resort is now a collection of spacious Sea Villa Townhomes, handcrafted log cabins, Poplar River Condominiums and Cliffhouse Townhomes. Condo or cabin, regardless of what you reserve, there is huge Polar Bar from Alaska the Nelsons brought during the 1960s that stands guard in the hallway greeting guests; there is no mistaking you are on the North Shore with crystal clear Lake Superior at your front door.
The 145-mile drive between Duluth and Grand Portage on Route 62 reflects the Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish history that weaves a tale of harsh winters, flower-filled springs, lazy summers and blazing autumn leaves. It’s captured best in the pristine town of Grand Marais where the work of Minnesota artists and photographers can be found in local galleries.
Highway 61 begins in Duluth at Canal Park 154 and leaves you in Grand Portage. The journey reveals some of the most stunning, untouched scenery in the U.S. Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian heritage has given way to historic sights, nature trails, ski resorts and a noticeable absence of fast food stops. If you’re in the Viking frame of mind and body and want a taste of a local specialty, lutefisk, it’s served around Christmastime. If it tastes rather odd, it could be because this codfish concoction is marinated in lye. But that’s another story.
White in the winter and deeply green in the summer, the North Shore can be appreciated best by car. There won’t be many traffic jams, and chances are you’ll still have time to stop to tour the Split Rock Lighthouse, built in 1910 and just 20 miles northeast of Two Harbors.
Read all about it at www.exploreminnesota.com or call Explore Minnesota Tourism at 888.868.7476.
Pam Price is from St. Paul, Minn. and the co-author of the first edition of “Day Trips from Los Angeles,” published by www.globepequot.com.