mini road trip, savage to duluth (Minneapolis, St. Cloud: hotels, college, casinos)

[bobbbyy]

Going on a road trip for a few days, heading to the North Shore, looking for must see and do stops. Were actually going up I-35 to Hinckley, then crossing into Wisconsin and heading up 35 to Duluth, then up 61 to where ever. Any thoughts/ideas for things to do and places to stay? Btw were going beginning to mid April.
-bobby

[What!]

There are hotels to stay in between those places. And there is the local scenery. When you ask about places to stay are you talking about fun nightlife? Maybe St. Cloud would work (that's if you are into college party people). Otherwise the nightlife in MN can be dull north of the Twin Cities area.

[newcastle]

There a lot of places to stay in Duluth and along the North Shore. I would check out Visit Duluth: Duluth's only offical tourism resource for lodging, dining, attractions, events and more! for lodging and attractions for the time period you are looking at.

Also, along scenic 61 near Knife River ( I think) is a nice cafe called Emily's with a B&B above it overlooking the river. It's pretty cool for a one night stay.

If you are into hiking, try the Superior Hiking Trail which runs along the ridge overlooking the shore. There are many jump on and jump off the trial points along the highway.

Good places to eat-Hell's Kitchen in Duluth has a good breakfast menu. Pizza Luce has a good breakfast menu too and Sara's Table is fantastic. Try Amazing Grace for a good cup of Joe and a snack.

Night life-hmm. Go to superior for clubs. For good brews try Fitger's or Thirsty Pagan Brewery in SUperior. Irish pubs-Two in Duluth along Superior street-they often have live music.

Stop by Gooseberry falls and you may see some neat ice dams and formations form the melt if winter decides to stay a bit longer.

Otherwise, I'm not sure what you are looking for. I hope that helps.

[bobbbyy]

Hey thanks all for your input. I went to the visitduluth website, obviously lots of information there, just wanted some personal opinions from people. I'll look into that B&B. Thanks again!
-bobby

[MidniteBreeze]

Here's another visitor's guide for you to check out for the north shore:

Minnesota North Shore Visitor Guide

You're visiting at kind of an "off" time, but that's good news for the wallet as many of the resorts will have cheaper rates this time of year. I don't know what *kind* of trip this is, but there are some very nice, romantic places to stay up there, i.e., Superior Shores in Two Harbors or Bluefin Bay near Tofte.

If you like casinos, there's Grand Casino in Hinckley and Hole in the Wall Casino after you get to Wisconsin. Grand Portage (almost to Canada on MN 61) also has a casino.

On the shore itself, I would recommend a visit here : Palisade Head - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[bobbbyy]

This trip is just a quick getaway for me and my wife. Need a break from work and everything. We went up to Duluth for one night, back when we were 18 I think, didn't really know where to go or what to do, but now we can take the time and stop and sightsee and do whatever that we couldn't do before. We live in Savage(south of mpls by 15-20 mins, or 1.5 hours with traffic) so it's not far at all(we went on another mn road trip to Alexandria to Bemidji to Grand Rapids then up 169 through the iron range to Cloquet and back home) so this will be a nice short drive. Thanks again for your replies!
-bobby

[MidniteBreeze]

Well, have a fun trip! (My hubby and I are doing a quick little "getaway" trip to Hayward, WI next weekend...I know what you mean about needing a break!) If the weather's decent, the Lakewalk in Duluth is always nice, and probably not too overrun with tourists that time of year.

[bobbbyy]

Another question: I am looking at aerial maps of Palisade Head, the map shows a road leading pretty close to the edge, anybody know if this is driveable, or just a walking path? Thanks,
-bobby

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by newcastle

There a lot of places to stay in Duluth and along the North Shore. I would check out Visit Duluth: Duluth's only offical tourism resource for lodging, dining, attractions, events and more! for lodging and attractions for the time period you are looking at.

Also, along scenic 61 near Knife River ( I think) is a nice cafe called Emily's with a B&B above it overlooking the river. It's pretty cool for a one night stay.

If you are into hiking, try the Superior Hiking Trail which runs along the ridge overlooking the shore. There are many jump on and jump off the trial points along the highway.

Good places to eat-Hell's Kitchen in Duluth has a good breakfast menu. Pizza Luce has a good breakfast menu too and Sara's Table is fantastic. Try Amazing Grace for a good cup of Joe and a snack.

Night life-hmm. Go to superior for clubs. For good brews try Fitger's or Thirsty Pagan Brewery in SUperior. Irish pubs-Two in Duluth along Superior street-they often have live music.

Stop by Gooseberry falls and you may see some neat ice dams and formations form the melt if winter decides to stay a bit longer.

Otherwise, I'm not sure what you are looking for. I hope that helps.

Nothing wrong with the Hell's Kitchen or Pizza Luce suggestions, but those are actually Minneapolis - based restaurants that opened up a Duluth branch! Savage is a Minneapolis suburb...

To the original poster, you're probably not visiting Duluth at the right time, as it's still going probably to be cold, ugly, mucky, and bare (no greenery until the turn of May). Mid-late May would be a much better time to visit the town and the shore, though it can even be somewhat cold then, but at least their will be leaves on the trees, no mud puddles everywhere, etc. That said, some nice things to see / do in Duluth are:

> Enger Tower: Very beautiful panoramic views of the city, east to west, from the top of this curious-looking tower, given as a gift from the King of Norway.

> Skyline Drive: Enger Tower is located off this drive, which runs all the way from Becks Road north / west of city limits to the eastern edge of the city. There are beautiful views all along the way.

> (Duluth) Superior Hiking Trail: This is a relatively new hiking trail (as opposed to the North Shore SHT) which runs from the western edge of the city to the eastern, sometimes using roads or the Lakewalk. My favorite part so far is the Ely's Peak hike. It's about a mile off of a minor road ... you can find it on the SHT website. The hike itself is hard but fun, a very steep climb of about 350 - 400 feet elevation that winds around a rocky hill, ending with a beautiful overlook (which is really nice in fall).

> Lakewalk: This is very popular with tourists and locals alike and runs along Lake Superior from Canal Park to Leif Ericson Park.

> The Depot: Nice little museum downtown, not far from the lakewalk

> Downtown in general: I usually like visiting city centers when I travel. Duluth's downtown is fun to walk across, at least on weekdays when it's heavily trafficked. There's also an indoor Skywalk that runs one level about street level and actually crosses over the freeway.

There are other things to, maybe I'll mention them later.

As for eating, I heartily recommend the India Palace right on the main drag downtown. The buffet is good but not spicy. If you want a wonderful, spicy Indian meal, probably one of the best in Minnesota, arrive at supper and order off the menu. It's a little bit expensive, but well worth it.

Other good restaurants not mentioned earlier: Burrito Union (Duluth's answer to Chipotle), China Station (unassuming Chinese joint in West Duluth with really good ma po tofu), Grandma's (classic Duluth establishment), Starvin Marvin's (truck stop), and others I can't think of at the moment.

[bowlingballhead]

Originally Posted by bobbbyy

Another question: I am looking at aerial maps of Palisade Head, the map shows a road leading pretty close to the edge, anybody know if this is driveable, or just a walking path? Thanks,
-bobby

It is a narrow, paved road that goes right to the top of Palisade. The state park keeps the gate to the road locked during the winter. I'm guessing because they don't maintain it out of season. I'm not sure when they start unlocking it again so April may be iffy, but you can still park at the bottom and walk up. Whatever you do, don't miss Palisade Head when you come up. On a clear sunny day, you can see forever.

Here's a pic from last summer: