Spirit Mountain Bike Park in Duluth Needs Your Vote in the Bell Built Grant for $100,000

Image Credit: C.O.G.G.S.

Voting in the Central Region for the Bell Built Grant which will award $100,000 to the winning finalist for funding a trail building project is on now until May 10th.  The Spirit Mountain Bike Park in Duluth needs your vote to become the Central Region Finalist. Watch the video below to see the World Class mountain biking that Spirit Mountain has to offer and how winning the Bell Built Grant will help finish a trail from their Master Plan.

Of the nine semifinalists, one finalist from the Eastern, Central and Western Region will advance to the National Finals where voting will be held from May 25th through June 5th.  After this voting period one winner of the entire $100,000 trail building grant will be awarded.

Your vote is needed to ensure that the Spirit Mountain Bike Park is the Central Region Finalist.  Winning the $100,000 grant will help the Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores (C.O.G.G.S) turn this great mountain biking destination into something even more amazing.  

"Spirit Mountain already offers the best lift-served riding in the Upper Midwest and the proposed new descent will up the ante by taking advantage of the mountain's abundant bedrock for steep rolldowns, hucks, and rock gardens."

Central Region voting is now live through May 10th.  Get your vote in today and spread the word.

Duluth, Minn: Top Things to Do for Holiday Fun

Bentleyville lights up Duluth's Bayfront Park. Photo by Lisa MeClintick

Duluth, Minnesota, with the magical backdrop of Lake Superior, has always been a favorite summer and fall getaway for Twin Cities residents and others across the state.

If you need another enticement to head north, here are the top things to do for the holidays in Duluth. It’s a winning weekend getaway with its own Christmas train, a superb Christmas light show with Bentleyville, excellent shopping and the always scenic allure of Lake Superior. Here's a run-down of Duluth's best holiday events:

1.    Stroll through Bentleyville Tour of Lights.

“Five…four…three…two…ONE!”

With a visual whoosh, Bentleyville Tour of Lights lights up as a waiting crowd cheers. Three million lights in a carnival of colors transform damp foggy December evening at Duluth’s Bayfront Festival Park into a festive wonderland.

Duluth Christmas lights with Up North themes

Volunteers pass out cups of cocoa and cookies, and crowds amble forward through tunnels of lights to gaze at the 12-story tree that looms above Bentleyville. It occasionally flashed in patterns, pulsing to holiday music that ranges from acoustic guitar carols to Jimmy Durante’s “Frosty the Snowman.”

The Bentleyville light displays outgrew founder Nathan Bentley’s Esko home and debuted in Duluth in 2009. It takes more than 900 volunteers almost two months to set up decorations that fill nine semi-trailers.

Displays range from dinosaurs and erupting volcanoes to the Nativity scene and Noah’s Ark. There’s a distinctive Northern flair, as well, with Santa on snowmobile, ore tankers and tall ships, a dogsled team that seems to surge forward, fish and frogs that appear to jump from lakes and a moose and an elf that portage a canoe.

Nice surprise--halfway through Bentleyville you can roast marshmallows while wrapped in the warmth and wood smoke from several bonfires.

Duluth's shipping celebrated at Bentleyville.

Bentleyville opens the week of Thanksgiving and runs nightly through Dec. 26. It takes about 45 minutes to see the displays, but you’ll need at least an hour if you have kids under 10 who want to visit Santa. The first 15,000 kids receive free knit Bentleyville hats. Admission is free (including cookies, cocoa, popcorn and marshmallows), but monetary donations are welcome, as well as food or unwrapped toys. Nearby parking is $5.

2. Ride the holiday train

Duluth's 2012's Polar Express pulled into Fitger's.

A conductor yells “All Aboard!” and kids (sometimes in pajamas) scramble to climb into the illuminated train cars of North Shore Scenic Railroad. The event has been known as the Polar Express in the past few years, but includes a new story as the Christmas City Express in 2013. The journey begins with boarding at the landing below Fitger’s where you can hear Lake Superior’s waves. The train then rumbles to Duluth’s 1892 Depot. Inside the Lake Superior Railroad Museum, a Lionel model train set whirs to action and a full-size steam engine chugs to life, spewing smoke and blowing its whistle as kids gather for an interactive reading of the book, “The Christmas City Express.”

Each child gets to visit with Santa before heading back to cookies and cocoa at Fitger’s ($16/person; 1-800-423-1273; www.northshorescenicrailroad.com).

North Shore Scenic Railroad also runs trains from Fitger’s to Bentleyville several times a night for $6/person.

3. Kick off season with a parade

Duluth’s holiday events kick off with a Christmas City of the North Parade the Friday before Thanksgiving. The illuminated parade with about 70 units begins around 6:20 p.m. and heads up Lake Avenue.

A.G. Thomson House, Duluth.

4. Duluth mansions dress up for the holidays

December may be the best time to admire Duluth’s many mansions, a legacy of boom years when it claimed more millionaires per capita than anyplace in the United States. If you’re traveling without kids, you can stay in one of seven historic homes operating as Duluth's bed and breakfasts.

Each has its own charm and characteristics, but among our favorites are the Firelight Inn for its fireplace and spacious porch; A. G.Thomson House for its overall charm and hospitality and Olcott House for its unique music room. Solglimt offers another spectacular option with modern, artsy décor and fantastic location along the lake just past the Aerial Lift Bridge on Park Point Drive.

Firelight Inn B&B in Duluth.

5. Glensheen holiday tours

Glensheen Historic Estate, Duluth’s most famous mansion, opens for holiday tours through Jan. 5 with volunteers in period costumes and a self-guided tour that recreates a guest’s holiday visit to Glensheen in 1912. There’s a photo area also set up for families who want a memorable portrait and good excuse to wear fancy Christmas dresses.

6. Savor scenic slopes

Overlooking the city and the lake, Spirit Mountain offers 22 downhill ski runs and claims the Midwest’s largest terrain park. The resort also grooms 22 km of Nordic ski trails and tubing runs and operates the Timber Twister alpine coaster and double-seat Timber Flyer zipline year-round. Just be aware of the windchill.

Bentleyville

7. Hit the Edgewater Waterpark

Edgewater Resort and Waterparkprovides free bus shuttles to Bentleyville, and you also can board the Bentleyville train here. All rooms include passes to the tiki-themed activity pool, lazy river and slides, and you can pay extra for lakeside suites with balconies.

 8. Shop at Fitger’s and Canal Park

The easiest place to stay if you’re riding the train is Fitger’s Inn, a converted brewery above the tracks and overlooking the lake. The Fitger’s complex includes a few levels of boutique shopping, including a toy and book store, outdoorsy gear stores and women’s fashions. You’ll find more shops and a handful of impressive galleries at Canal Park, as well.

9. Learn about shipping

Ore tanker, Duluth, MN

If the lake hasn’t iced up—and chances are it won’t by early December—you can watch for iron ore tankers heading east from the Duluth Harbor. Let kids get behind the wheel in a pilothouse and explore the rich legacy of shipping at the free U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Maritime Museum.

10. Check out the new children’s museum

Check out the new location for the Duluth Children’s Museum, which moved from its location at the historic Depot to Clyde Park in 2012. It’s an up-and-coming area of the city with funky converted warehouses and lots of space for colorful, hands-on learning.

For more information and details, check out Visit Duluth.

St. Cloud-based Lisa Meyers McClintick wrote the guidebook “Day Trips from the Twin Cities” and “Minnesota Lake Vacations” mobile travel app.

Duluth B&B ranks among best in the nation

A.G. Thomson House blends history & comfort
Trip Advisor listed Duluth's A.G. Thomson House Bed & Breakfast at the top of its 25 Best B&Bs and Inns in the United States this week. It was among two Midwest winners for the 2012 Travelers' Choice award. Fleur-De-Lys Mansion in St. Louis, Mo., another great choice, also made the cut.

Angie and Tim Allen

It's a huge honor for A.G. Thomson's owners, Tim and Angie Allen, who make restoring and maintaining a historic mansion look easy. It helps that they have that perfect blend of optimal B&B talent: do-it-yourself remodeling expertise, interior decorating, graciously welcoming personalities and the culinary creativity for special-occasion breakfasts and afternoon treats.

A.G. Thomson House's living room where guests gather.

The living room along, with its beautiful shelving, warm reds and a lovely attached porch, could easily grace the cover of a home magazine. The spacious guest rooms also are expertly put together with high-end beds, beautiful linens, cozy nooks, gas fireplaces and a few extras like a sun porch or upper deck access. If you want a little extra privacy and to burrow in for a weekend, they also have suites in the mansion's carriage house.

The Superior Suite in particular ranks among the nicest rooms I've seen while exploring the region's B&Bs. It's more like a private apartment. If you do stay here, be sure to do a walking tour of the historic neighborhoods. Duluth, like Stillwater, Red Wing and Winona, boomed in Victorian times, with millionaires trying to outdo each other with grand, beautiful homes.

Lake Superior Suite

A sweet start to breakfast.

You'll likely need to walk off the multi-course breakfast anyway. Guests can eat in the formal dining room or dine privately in their room on entrees such as wild rice quiche, French toast with a wild-rice sausage patty, an egg puff with artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes or lemon-blueberry French toast. Extra courses might include a chilled peach and cantaloupe soup with Mascarpone, mango lassi parfait, pistachio and chocolate chunk muffins or white-chocolate and craisin scones.

An example of how gracious and sharing they are: Angie has posted many of the guests' favorite recipes on their website. It's a nice way to bring a little of the B&B experience home and to relive with each tasty bite.

Check out Duluth's other elegant B&Bs

Fireplace at Firelight Inn.

The downside to yet another national award for A.G. Thomson House is it might get harder to make a reservation, especially during peak months for weddings and anniversaries. If that's the case, take a look at www.duluthbandb.com. There are six other B&Bs in the city. Like the homes they're in and the owners who run them, each has its own appeal. 

Artsy fruit at Solglimt.

Old-home lovers can appreciate the exquisite woodwork and vibrant colors of the Mathew Burrows B&B. Musicians must sing or play a few high notes in Olcott House's music room with perfect acoustics. Firelight Inn on Oregon Creek boasts a grand three-season front porch and beautiful fireplace alcove. The Cotton Mansion and Ellery House round out the elegant, historic choices.  

If you prefer modern to historic or need to be on the beach that stretches along Park Point, Solglimt B&B offers another stellar experience with hands-down the best views of Lake Superior.

 --Feature & Photos by Lisa Meyers McClintick

Follow the dogsleds on Minnesota's North Shore

Mother-daughter mushing

Rita and her Stoney Creek dogsled te

By Lisa Meyers McClintick

For most Minnesota vacationers, dogsledding is one of the most exciting and authentic ways to enjoy the North Shore's winter scenery. If you have dog lovers in the family, even better.

I couldn't wait to take my 6-year-old twin girls on a mother-daughter mush earlier this month. Katie, declared the dogsled outing "the best day of my life!" as she tumbled out of our van and rushed to meet Stony Creek Kennels' sled team.

My friend, Beth, and I and the girls met owner Rita Wehseler about five miles up the Sawbill Trail near Tofte.

Her Alaskan huskies joyfully greeted the girls, jumping up, trying to lick cheeks and wagging tails. As Rita hooked them up to the sled, Grayling, a pretty female, repeatedly jumped straight up and down with excitement--all four feet in the air. It was like Call of the Wild meets Pepe Le Pew.

Rita's Alaskan huskies didn't seem much bigger than our own border collie mix, but 10 of them eagerly pulled all five of us. We were stacked into the sled toboggan style. With a blanket on top, we stayed warm for the 40-minute ride in 5-below-zero temperatures.

Heading into the forest

Like all dogsled teams, each husky has its own personality. Some are focused and natural-born leaders. Others not so much. Rita and her husband, Bill, have more than 40 dogs total. (Can you imagine keeping them all straight?) But it's obvious they are "the kids."

After a brief scolding--especially of a willful dog named French Fry--owner Rita Wehseler proudly yelled, "That's my boys!" and encouraged them onto Superior National Forest trails.

She'd give series of whistles to guide them up hills and around curves through pine glades and over rivers. These are trails few people see other than her and Bill, who grooms them. We did occasionally glide onto snowmobile trails, which were popular on a blue-sky winter day.

Rita helped run a dogsledding business in Alaska before returning to her home state about a decade ago. She was the first woman to finish the 250-mile Can-Am Crown  in Maine and has set speed records in the past few years.

For us, on a recreational ride, there was no effort. We simply leaned back, watched the trees and blue sky spool past while the dogs happily sped ahead.

Duluth's John Beargrease Marathon

John Beargrease Marathon

Dogsledding has historically been one of the easiest ways to navigate rugged, forested landscape along Lake Superior and the Upper Great Lakes. At this weekend's 28th John Beargrease Marathon you'll find international dogsledders who compete in this heritage sport and work to qualify for Alaska's Iditarod.

You can watch the teams at several way stations Sunday and Monday or join in the pre-race  events in Duluth starting this Friday.


More dogsledding opportunities

In addition to Stoney Creek, you can also dogsled with Arleigh Jorgenson, who is based in Grand Marais. He has been a leading musher with more than 30 years of experience. He guided trips for the last 13 years and has a 100-dog kennel that he runs with his son, Odin.

Read more about dogsledding in Minnesota from a previous 10,000 Likes post and see a video from a Brainerd ride at Cragun's Resort.

Take a virtual ride with Stoney Creek