As much as I love making travel itineraries, sometimes it’s nice not to have concrete plans and just show up to your destination ready to relax and see what the area has to offer. For years Ryan’s family has been vacationing on Minnesota’s North Shore. Although we’ve been there many times, each trip has been different and memorable in its own way. The area offers many options for things to do, but my favorite is hiking. If you’ve never been, it’s definitely worth the drive for breathtaking views of scenic landscape.
Click HERE for an interactive North Shore map of Minnesota
Here is what our North Shore itinerary looked like this year:
North Shore Day 1 –
Timing a road trip with a toddler is essential, so we ate lunch at home and left at nap time. We made a quick stop in Duluth for sandwiches to-go at Northern Waters Smokehaus (ordered online about 45 mins out). Then, on to Two Harbors for a stop at one of our favorite breweries: Castle Danger. They did a great job of managing a safe environment. See my post for recommendations on how to choose a safe restaurant. Then, we settled in to our rental cabin at Temperance Landing.
North Shore Day 2 –
We slept in, enjoyed a slow relaxing morning drinking coffee and listening to the waves crashing. Then, drove to Caribou Falls for a fun short waterfall hike. We spent the afternoon relaxing and exploring the coastline around the property.
Noth Shore Day 3 –
On our way to Grand Marais we stopped for a beautiful hike along the Cascade River. Then, played a fun round of mini golf at Put N Pets Mini Golf course. We packed a picnic and found the perfect spot next to the shoreline for our relaxing lunch. When we got back we took Micah to the pool/hot tub at Surfside, and spent the rest of the evening at the cabin.
North Shore Day 4 –
After our leisure morning skipping rocks we headed out to the Ray Berglund Wayside. This is where we started our hike along the Onion River, and it did not disappoint: lush forest, rushing river, and scenic Lake Superior. We came back to the cabin for a late lunch before Ryan and I drove to Superior National for a round of golf on the Mountain 9. Superior National has 3 stunning 18-hole golf courses! They had a rough winter and the greens were suffering because of it, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the serene beauty around every corner. We ended the night with a beach bonfire under the cotton candy sky.
North Shore Day 5 –
We thought Micah would enjoy the gondola ride at Lutsen Mountain and we were right, he LOVED it! At the top we found a trail that was a part of the Superior Hiking Trail system that lead us halfway around the backside of the mountain … we passed through 2 double black diamond ski runs (eek!). This trail was narrow and steep, and quite an adventure since we didn’t know where we were going, but we made it! After the hike we had a picnic lunch at the base of the mountain. Before heading back Ryan and I stopped at North Shore Winery for a cider tasting and glass of wine. We ended the evening relaxing back at the “lodge.”
North Shore Day 6 –
We decided to tackle the Kadunce River … seriously one of the coolest hikes I’ve ever done. Photos don’t do it justice, but I took plenty! That evening Ryan and I had a little date night at Papa Charlie’s for dinner. We made it back in time to watch the beautiful moonrise over Lake Superior.
North Shore Day 7 –
This was the only day we had a bit of rainy weather. We took a drive to “Pink Beach” Iona’s Beach in Two Harbors. We stopped at Split Rock River to begin hiking but the rain started to get heavy so we headed back. After things cleared up in the late afternoon Ryan and I explored the Cross River. There is a cool view of the river right off of HWY 61 and we found a small hiking trail that lead down to Lake Superior.
North Shore Day 8 –
We took our time to pack up and head home via HWY 61 scenic route. It was a wonderful week and the perfect mix of adventures and relaxation.
Checkout my Instragam for more highlights and comment below with any questions!
Happy Trails!
SS
2 Comments
Can you make me an itinerary for my trip? This is so thorough!
Leah, thanks so much for reading! I’d love to help – send me an email to [email protected] with your current travel plans and we can further discuss itinerary details. Looking forward to working with you!