We will be coming in August to drop off our kid, and then want to take a few days off to enjoy and celebrate the start of a new phase in our life and marriage (empty nesting - yeah!)
Locals: Tell me where to go and what to do! Is Grand Marais too far or worth it? Where should we stay? What should we eat? What should we do?
Thanks!
I would personally recommend some of the bike trails we have around the lakes and metro area, they’re great.
A couple days in Duluth is fun. Stay near the canal bridge/on the lakefront. Grand Marais is pretty far up there.
We did the Mill tour of the old Gold Medal factory, Corps of Engineers lock and dam tour. Fort Snelling, Paddle boat dinner cruise/tour, Train Transportation Museum, Minnesota History Museum, some other small museums in St Paul.
When were were downtown St Paul at lunch time, there was an assortment of different food trucks parked around the square. It was a nice day so we picked one, & ate outside.
We were going to do a tour of the Vikings football stadium but the tickets were sold out.
If the Minnesota State Fair is going on, that’s a fun thing to check out
keep it coming, everyone! we were thinking of maybe one of the thousand lakes… a nice Air BnB?
You should be able to AirBnB no problem - Twin Cities or Grand Marais. We love GM and the Superior National Forest but are biased. The 4.5 hour drive that Google Maps says from our house in the Metro is probably aggressive so if you head up there, plan for additional drive time. Once you get on 61 out of Duluth you can get stuck behind someone going 30 . . .
Check out Lake Minnetonka (there’s enough lake there to satisfy your curiosity about the land of 10,000 lakes) and the city of Wayzata, which is charming. For art museums there’s the The Walker and MIA. St. Paul has a really lovely downtown and Como Park Botannical Gardens and zoo are always a pleasant visit.
Eat Street has interesting restaurants but just use Open Table because there are GREAT places all around the downtown metro. In good weather the restaurants open up to outside dining.
The cathedral and the State Capitol are on opposite sides of 94 and both are worth a visit.
The state fair is one of the biggest in the country and runs for 11 days beginning 8/23 through Labor Day. UMN runs busses from it’s Minneapolis to St. Paul campus - do NOT park near the Fair (too expensive, too crowded). The bus runs on a proprietary road and only takes a few minutes.
Duluth and Grand Marais are both wonderful and well worth the drive. If you want to experience lake life a bit, the Brainerd/Nisswa area or Alexandria are both good options. Airbnb has great options, but my favorite resort ever is Grandview Lodge in Nisswa. Truly one of a kind.
Thanks for the GVL info - hadn’t even thought about that direction. Will I be overwhelmed with other people’s kids, or is there enough for couples who don’t really enjoy other people’s kids?
Thanks to everyone! Keep the information coming.
One needs extra time for the stop at Betty’s Pies.
Agreed that Duluth might be far enough for a short trip like this and staying in the canal area is a good idea. There is scenic hiking around there.
“One needs extra time for the stop at Betty’s Pies.”