Best North Shore adventures along Minnesota's Lake Superior

With crystal clear water and a stunning lakeshore, kayaking along Lake Superior can't be topped.

Top 10 things to do in Lutsen and Tofte, Minn. 

Photos & feature by Lisa Meyers McClintick

Looking for one of Minnesota's most scenic spots and best destinations for adventures? Point the car north and buzz up the North Shore along Lake Superior for a guaranteed great getaway.

Crystal clear waters at Bluefin Bay in Tofte 

One of our favorite places to stay is Lutsen and Tofte, only a few miles apart, but with a wide choice of lodging, plenty of outfitters for biking and paddling, the incredible Sawtooth Mountains, beautiful coves on Lake Superior and fantastic dining.

Here are our top picks for things to do and where to go in Lutsen and Tofte.

1. Get out on the water. Even if you've never gone kayaking or consider yourself so-so with a paddle, you can't pass up this opportunity on calm, serene summer days when Lake Superior's so clear, you can see deep down to volcanic ledges and tumbled-smooth boulders that seem to waver and shift with sunlight and shadows.

Temperance River State Park

Tamper down any niggling fears of capsizing and succumbing to hypothermia. There are plenty of guides to make sure you know what you're doing and have all the support you need. If you stay at Bluefin Bay or Lutsen Resort, complimentary kayaking comes with your lodging. You can also arrange paddling trips through Sawtooth Outfitters, which also does trips to the Temperance River, Palisade Head and sea caves, or Split Rock Lighthouse with a chance to paddle across the Madeira shipwreck.

Temperance River State Park

We did a trip starting at Tofte Bay, admiring rugged cliffs, envying those who own private homes tucked into woods and watching for streams spilling into Superior. Here, along this shore where we’ve vacationed for more than four decades, kayaking gave us a new perspective on a familiar and beloved place and a chance to relax with the tick-tock rhythm of paddling. Dip. Pull. Flip. Dip.

If you have young kids with you or the weather looks breezy, guides can take you inland to warmer, easier lakes.

2. Take a hike. Temperance River State Park offers beautiful trails along the mouth of the river and onto the Lake Superior shore, but don’t miss inland hiking along the river’s series of thundering falls that carved dramatic gorges and sculpted giant potholes. Hike back far enough, and you’ll reach its more placid beginnings and a great spot to hop rock to rock across the water.

Bike along the Gitchi-Gami Trail.

The park also connects to the Superior Hiking Trail, which heads north to Carlton Peak. You can also drive up Carlton Peak Road for a short, steep hike that rewards you with a 1,526-foot elevation view of the Sawtooth Mountains. The state park includes more than 50 campsites. 

3. Bike the trail: Tofte offers two paved sections of the Gitchi-Gami State BikeTrail: A three-mile stretch from Tofte that heads south to Schroeder’s Cross River Falls (gorgeous and easy to admire from the Highway). Another section starts on the northern edge of Tofte and runs for 7.3 miles to Ski Hill Road by Lutsen. 

Lake Superior cobblestones

North Shore lupine

4. Massage your muscles: Waves of Superior Spa provides pampering for stressed or achy muscles with massages, gentle acoustic music, a fireplace in the relaxation lounge and light lunches on a patio facing Lake Superior and adjacent Surfside on Superior townhomes. Regional influences include lake-tumbled rocks for hot-stone massage, spruce- or pine-scented massage oils, a ground wild rice body scrub and a blueberry-soy sugar scrub. Spa guests also can use the resort’s pool and whirlpool for the day. 

Surfside on Superior brings a modern look to the shore.

5. Explore history: Just south of Tofte, Schroeder’s Cross River Heritage Center is based in a beautifully rescued 1929 inn and general store. It blends the work of regional artists with historic displays, including a room that recreates the timber-frame style of architect Edwin Lundie. The center hosts an annual tour of Lundie cabins and distinctive vacation homes, as well.

6. Learn about fishing heritage. You can learn about Tofte's nautical roots and how early Scandinavian settlers made a living fishing Lake Superior and its rivers, and then selling or smoking whitefish, trout and salmon. The North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum includes indoor exhibits along with an interpretive boardwalk following the bay.

Surfside on Superior

7. Wake up to Lake Superior views. The lakeside condos at Bluefin Bay in Tofte make it easy to walk to breakfast or dinner, shop or visit the fishing museum. The resort includes the Bluefin Grille restaurant overlooking Superior, an indoor pool and an outdoor pool with a clear enclosure to protect it from lake winds.

Lutsen hiking on Moose Mountain.

South of Tofte, Surfside on Superior resort offers some of the North Shore’s most luxurious lodging with contemporary townhomes facing the lake. Huge picture windows and lofted master bedrooms make the most of the view, while full kitchens with red birch cabinets make it easy to stay put.

Both resorts are run by Bluefin Bay and include complimentary kayak lessons, the use of bikes and some dog-friendly lodging. 

8. Enjoy North Shore cuisine. Start the day with artisan breads, scones, pastries or granola pancakes at Coho Café. You can sit on the patio on warm days and cool off with creative salads and homemade dressings such as maple Dijon and strawberry rhubarb. Grab smoked fish dip and crackers to go for a lakeside picnic.  Don’t miss their pizzas, which include a Call of the Wild with locally made wild rice sausage.

Lutsen's tram ride is even prettier with fall colors.

9. Ride the Lutsen Mountains gondola. For an eagle-eye view of Lake Superior and surrounding forests, take a ride on the red mountain tram, which picks up visitors near the ski chalet, drifts above the Poplar River and lifts into the Sawtooth Mountains with a final swoop up the rocky ledge of Moose Mountain. Take the loop hike that circles the mountains and threads through shady trees and over craggy rocks. The resort also operates a fun alpine slide during the summer months.


10. Dine in Minnesota's Sawtooth Mountains. If you ride the mountain tram to Summit Chalet, you can grab a meal or just a cold beer (or hot coffee) with one of the best dining views in Minnesota. If you prefer a meal at Papa Charlie’s near the chalet, it hosts live music most weekends. (A bonus for parents: You can find some unique kids' meal items such as potstickers. (1-218-663-7281; www.lutsen.com).

Summit Chalet at Lutsen

Sunburst lichen colors lakeshore rock.

Need more info? Contact the Lutsen-Tofte-Schroeder Visitor Information Center, 1-218-663-7804 or Cook County Visitors Bureau.

Visiting in winter? Check out my feature on skiing, dogsledding and a bucket-list sleigh ride along the North Shore.

St. Cloud-based Lisa Meyers McClintick (lisamcclintick.com) wrote Day Trips from the Twin Cities and has been traveling to the North Shore for four decades. 

"Narnia" wonderland on Minnesota sleigh ride

Mark Patten with Duke and Captain at Okontoe's sleigh rides. Photos by Lisa Meyers McClintick.

Take a winter ride through lantern-lit forest

By Lisa Meyers McClintick

Remember the magic of "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" movie as Lucy steps into the hushed winter wonderland of Narnia?

We've found it here in Minnesota, where people from more than 50 countries and almost every state have found their way to Okontoe Sleigh Rides, a wonderful discovery on the Gunflint Trail.

Our son jokingly wanted to know if our driver, Mark Patten, was Santa. He did, after all, drive a sleigh, and have a rather commanding (yet nurturing) presence. He also lived somewhere that looks a lot like a heavily forested North Pole.

How north is north? If you had on enough warm clothes to plow four miles through the woods, you'd hit Canada.

Just to clarify, The Gunflint Trail isn't as rustic as it sounds. It's fully paved and deservedly considered one of Minnesota's Scenic Byways as it climbs up from the Lake Superior shore from the pretty harbor at Grand Marais and into the thickly flocked fir forest.

Bob and I, along with friends Kasey and Beth and our three kids, kept warily watching our mini-van's thermometer on the way. We groaned as it hit 8 below and cheered when it once (briefly) went to 5 below zero. Were we nuts for driving more than an hour from Lutsen Resort and flinging our overtired kids into subzero cold?

Thankfully not.

They immediately and delightedly ran up to Duke and Captain, the maple-furred Belgians who were pulling our sleigh that night. With the cold temps, though, we didn't dawdle long before squishing close together for warmth and welcoming the quilts the family piled upon us. Then it was off along the trails, gliding through the trees, past the amber lanterns and along the hushed expanse of Bow Lake with a steady jingle of bells.

Carols & history lessons

It was the most fitting setting we've ever had for breaking into a round of "Jingle Bells" and a few other songs that romanticize sleigh rides. For us, it was adventure and fun and novelty. Educational, too.

Mark had the kids imagine how wickedly cold and uncomfortable it would have been to be a turn-of-the-century teacher who had to spend two days making the trip from Duluth to Grand Marais in a sleigh. We knew how numb our fingers were getting, and we had only logged about 35 minutes and had the comfort of Thinsulate, down filling, and hand warmers.

That led to a great discussion of how lumberjacks survived with meager clothing and long days in the forest.

There's plenty of time to ponder life in a sleigh whether it's past and present, earthly or celestial. We admired the moon (not quite full but plenty bright) and constellations of Orion the Warrior and the Seven Sisters. We paused at an outdoor chapel and rustic camp and giggled at the designated Kissin' Tree. It encourages guests--especially couples--to pucker up. Small wonder the tree has witnessed its share of engagements. A sleigh ride for two ranks way up on the romance-o-meter.

Despite all the quilts and hand-warmers, we did get chilled and cut the ride short by five minutes. No matter. It made the post-sleigh ride welcome at the Pattens' historic 1907 Finnish homestead that much warmer. With lanterns and candles lit, Nancy ladeled out homemade hot chocolate as the kids spooned in mounds of marshmallows. A perfect way to wind down the evening.

Gunflint Trail, moose and wolves

The sleigh rides are especially ideal if you're staying on the Gunflint Trail. Gunflint Lodge and Bearskin Lodge are two that are convenient and open year-round. Bearskin is the closest and has lovely cabins on a spacious lake. Gunflint is larger and has lovely dining in the log lodge with deer roaming throughout the property.

If you don't want to base yourself that far north or in Grand Marais, it's do-able to make an evening outing of the sleigh ride from Lutsen.

On our drive back down the Gunflint Trail, we startled two moose. (Good to know: They like getting out of the deep snow and walking along the roads--especially with road salt to lick.)

If you get really lucky, you might even spot a wolf along the way. We saw a lone wolf along the Gunflint Trail a few years ago--a fleeting and thrilling experience on another unforgettable winter night.

MN Minute: The lull of winter waves on Lake Superior

I shot this morning moment in front of Lutsen Resort on Minnesota's North Shore Jan. 16, 2011.

Minnesota's North Shore: A winter wonderland

Photos by Lisa Meyers McClintick

Lake Superior's daily ice show 

Winter visitors to Minnesota's North Shore come for endless cross-country skiing, the state's most challenging and extensive downhill runs at Lutsen Mountains, snowshoeing at state parks, snowmobiling through Superior National Forest, and the many laid-back evening concerts.

It's all fun and easily fills a long weekend or more. But in my humble opinion, few activities beat seeing what Mother Nature tossed onto shore during the night.

Lake Superior is, after all, the world's largest freshwater lake. It stays open all winter, vast and immense, shimmering in every shade of moody blues. There may be quiet days, but the cold surf   gently laps and lulls you to sleep or angrily splashes against rocks and sculpts new layers of ice.

Cobblestones look encased in glass. Rocky outcrops drip with icicles like stalactites in caves. Snow swirls into intricate drifts.

The best time to troll the shore? Early morning when sunrise gilds the ice and snow and casts a warm yellow glow.


Views from Lutsen Resort's cove

These photos are from just one small stretch of America's North Coast--the one where the Poplar River burbles into Lake Superior by 125-year-old Lutsen Resort, the oldest continuously run resort in Minnesota.

The beauty changes each day--even each hour. Morning mist curls and wafts across the lake like steam in a kettle. Midday blues melt to the horizon, making it difficult to see where the lake ends and the sky begins. On the clearest days, we saw outlines of the Apostle Islands. On some afternoons, clouds gathered thick and steely gray and fat flakes fell in thick winter curtains.

Needless to say, 2011 has delivered a winter wonderland for anyone hearty enough to get out and explore it. It's worth the extra layers. Just have the hot cocoa ready to go.

North Shore slideshow
(Slideshow music excerpt from Rachel Portman's "The Ocean," from the "Cider House Rules" soundtrack.)  

More Great Lakes vacations on 10,000 Likes: Lake Michigan's winter beauty in Door County, Wisconsin.

Christmas chocolate cravings

Canelake's delightfully old-fashioned Iron Range candy shop.

Upper Midwest's best candy shops

It's a pregnant woman's fantasy: chocolate-covered dill pickles and even chocolate-covered green olives. How can you not give in to curiosity and give them a try?

My mom and I found these savory, strange sweets at Carole Widman's Candy Company in Fargo, North Dakota, last winter. It takes a bit for your tastebuds and brain to process an utterly unpredictable taste combination--mostly with the olives. It requires you to chew slowly, let it linger, say "Hmmm..." and then try it again. It's a strangely addicting combination of sweet and salty, and I'd have to say I preferred the olives. The dill of the pickles seemed too overwhelming.

Since we're probably all recovering from the sugar and calorie comas of Halloween's predictable treats--Reese's, M&Ms and Kit Kats--it's a good time to seek and celebrate what's different and what creative candy makers at small chocolatiers are serving.

Think of it as a sensory gift, too, a sweet hit of aromatherapy. Remember that magical French mint whiff you'd get walking past Fanny Farmer stores?

If you're not drooling yet, give it a minute. Here are a few tasty picks from Minnesota and the Dakotas. Most offer mail order for Christmas if you can't get there in person.
Watertown Confectionery, Watertown, SD

This store nestled into a wonderful old-fashioned  downtown serves my favorite chocolate-covered potato chips. The kettle-style Dakota chips are thick and crunched up for maximum density and texture. Even better: try the clusters jalapeno-flavored potato chips drenched in chocolate. It's a surprisingly brilliant combination: a kick tempered with sweetness and a dash of salt.

Owners Mike and Vickie Marotz also are known for their South Dakota cow pies and chocolate mints you can smell throughout this tidy, spacious shop--unless it's coffee roasting day. Breathe deeply and enjoy.

Carole Widman's, Fargo, ND
If the novelty of chocolate-covered pickles and olives seems too out-there (or you can't eat them right away before they expire), go for a fresh take on traditional hand-dipped chocolates. We loved the sunflower-seed-studded bars of chocolate (a perfect nod to local crops) and the crisp-crunch of chocolate with flax seed. That, too, gives a nod to local farming and bites like a more delicate Nestle Crunch Bar with a nutty, fun kick of roasted flax.

Their most famous chocolates? Chippers, chocolate-covered potato chips, heavy on the chocolate.

The pink-themed store seems like a candy newcomer buried in a strip-mall by big-box stores, but Widman's business has been around for about 100 years. Other family members run stores in Grand Forks and Morris, Minn.

Canelake's, Virginia, MN

If you love that stick-in-your-teeth butterscotchy goodness of Butterfingers, you'll love Canelake's "Hot Air," an old-fashioned foam candy dipped in chocolate. Of course it's much airier and more puffed up than a Butterfinger with its unusual texture. 

This downtown Virginia institution with its vintage red-and-white-striped storefront screams nostalgia in the best way possible. The Canelake's candymakers have been stirring buttery caramel, adding real cream, roasting nuts, and cooling hand-dipped chocolates on marble tables since 1905.

You can buy assortments by the box or put together your own mix with minty Swiss chocolates, chocolate-caramel-pecan frogs, glazed and chocolate-dipped apricots and just about any nutty, fruity or creamy candy-store combination.

Great! Lakes Candy Kitchen, Knife River, MN
 You'd never know this adorable red-and-white shop used to be Mel's Fish store. This long-time Knife River icon seems like such a natural fit for a sweet little candy shop. Pamela and Patricia Canelake and Pamela's husband, Dennis--grandchildren of the Canelake's founder--bought the building and replanted the family's chocolate roots in 2007.

Like Canelake's, one of Great! Lakes Candy Kitchen's best-known sweets is the chocolate-covered sponge candy dubbed "Air Crunch." Among their other standouts are spicy ginger caramels with a hint of cinnamon, a maple cream bar covered in chocolate-covered peanuts, chocolate-covered sea salt caramels, and the wittily named U Betcha Bars--a generous caramel square dipped in chocolate and rolled in walnuts. It's on a stick, which is a fun nod to Minnesota's legendary on-a-stick state fair food.

Indecisive? A Knife River Nibbler box can take care of that. And if you're missing Mel's Fish, you'll have to go to Russ Kendall's for your smoked fillets, but grab the candy shop's tribute to Mel first: a chocolate fish.

Find the best views of Minnesota's fall colors

The maple leaves are starting to flame into shades of red and gold, making it a great time to plan fall drives. Whether you seek a daytrip or a weekend, here are some of my favorite fall destinations in Minnesota. Don't forget to check the Department of Natural Resources fall color report for the best timing.



Aim high for a fall hike:
Lutsen Mountains

While colors along the North Shore can be pretty, they get more vibrant as you head inland. Best view we've ever seen? Standing on Moose Mountain, facing a brilliant Magic Mountain. The experience is escalated by the ride there. The ski resort's mountain tram glides across the burbling Poplar River before heading up into the steep Sawtooth Mountains. It was enough to give a three-year-old the willies one year.

There's the Summit Chalet at the top where you can warm up with a light meal and hot coffee or cocoa while facing the sapphire blue expanse of Lake Superior. There's a great loop hike around Moose Mountain. Back at the resort, the alpine slide offers another thrill. Like the mountain tram, it's open Thursdays through Sundays until Oct. 24.  If you love golf, splurge on a round at nearby Superior National, one of the state's premier courses. Its advantage: elevation, the rugged Poplar River, and Superior scenery.

Phelps Mill near Fergus Falls.

There are lots of inland forest roads throughout Cook County. Check with location attractions for designated fall color routes and make sure you've got a good Minnesota atlas, as well. GPS is nice, but we swear by DeLorme maps first and foremost.


Prairie Pothole country:  
Otter Trail Scenic Byway
 
If you want to ditch the leaf-peeper crowds and enjoy gently rolling roads, this 150-mile route rolls through the surprisingly beautiful prairie pothole country. The best introduction to this unique western Minnesota terrain can be found at the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center on the outskirts of Fergus Falls. Created through the National Wildlife Refuge service, it explains the importance of these lakes to the thousands of birds that flock to this section of Minnesota and into the Dakotas.

Near Glendalough State Park

One of the prettiest scenes in the area has always been the 1889 Phelps Mill, a pretty red-and-white structure reflected in its own mill pond. You can walk right in to view displays and a film on the area's wheat boom.

Keep heading north for a sweeping view of fall color at Maplewood State Park. Atop its Halloway Hill Trail, the view encompasses hillsides of sumac and hardwoods, South Arm Lake, Lake Lida and Pelican Rapids.


In the spirit of Oktoberfest: New Ulm 

Fall is an ideal time to climb up to "Hermann the German," a monument high above New Ulm where the view  encompasses the Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway. (You'll have to use your fall color imagination with the photo on the left, taken in the spring.)

New Ulm boasts several historic bed and breakfasts, tasty restaurants and the beloved Schell's Brewery. The brewery, Schell mansion and historic gardens (pictured below) naturally complement autumn with tours and tastings. Even better: It celebrates its 150th anniversary this year--a huge accomplishment for a small company that survived the U.S. Dakota war, Prohibition and competition of corporate breweries. It's something to think about while hollering "Prost!" at Oktoberfest the first two weekends in October. It's certainly cheaper (and less crowded) than a trip to Munich, and you can get your fill of lederhosen and oom-pah-pah music.

Even without the festival, the town's German heritage  is beautifully reflected in its shops, architecture and food. The chamber rents well-done and free walking tour podcasts of its historic downtown. Leave time to explore its curvy, wooded Minnesota River byway and detour into the countryside to sample wines at Morgan Creek Vineyard. It will be livelier than usual on Oct. 2, when visitors come from across the state to squish grapes through their toes at the Cambria Grape stomp.

For more fall festivals and scenic drives, check out www.exploreminnesota.com.

Take a Minnesota dogsled ride: click video below

Travel to Minnesota's dogsledding destinations

Riding behind a dogsled team with brisk winter air rushing into your face should be on every Minnesotan's bucket list. You don't even have to spend much. For $10 a person, you can get a 10- or 15-minute dogsled ride around Gull Lake or across a golf course most snowy Saturdays at Cragun's Resort in Brainerd, Minnesota. All you need to do is bundle up and hang on for a winter vacation experience like few others.


Chaos, cacophony, quiet
Earplugs might help, too, especially if you're the first dogsled rider of the day. Be prepared for cacophony. A team of huskies jacked up for a run ranks at the same excitement and noise level of a classroom of ADHD boys with baseball bats, trampolines and pinatas. They are charged! The handlers have a major job trying to hook up dogs bouncing up and down, scrapping with each other and yelping and howling with joy.

Then you're bundled up in the dogsled, the leader yells "Gee!" and barking turns off like a switch. The dogs, in all shades of brown, black and cream, strain forward and quickly gain momentum. There's a beautiful shooooosh of movement and a magical silence barely touched by a few creaks from the wooden sled and whispered rhythm of running dogs.

Contagious exuberance
Sitting behind the Minnesota dogsled team, I wondered if their feet even touched the ground as they flew across snow, tongues flapping to the side of their mouths, mismatched eyes focused forward. It was a rush to recline into the sled and watch bare trees and thick pines spool past. On one ride, we hit a sharp corner and tipped into the shrubs. We laughed and got back on. The dogs' exuberance was contagious to the point of epidemic. After the ride was over, it was just as much fun to watch the canine team--barely winded--take off with more first-time riders in tow.
Where to have a dogsledding vacation
Cragun's Resort, Brainerd has the best deal I've found if you're short on time and money. Guests can sign up for a slot when they check in. It does sometimes book up, or need to be canceled depending on weather. Brainerd, Ely, Duluth, Lutsen-Tofte and Grand Marais are all good places to find dogsledding outfitters who will arrange a private half-day or full-day. Prices typically start at $90-$100 per person and go up from there depending on the length of the dogsled ride and whether meals are included.

Other good bets for a shorter sample: Plan ahead for Cook County's annual Volks Ski Fest. It hosted dogsledding in Tofte and at Bearskin Lodge on the Gunflint Trail last Saturday. The festival runs all this week, celebrating winter fun with sleigh rides, snowshoeing and the chance to try some of the area's 400 kilometers of groomed trails.

Further down the Gunflint Trail, historic Gunflint Lodge has three dogsledding weekends each winter with two left: Feb. 3-7 and March 3-7. Prices range from $345 per child for a three-night option (lodging/meals/activities) to $596/per adult for a four-night package.

Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge in Ely ranks as Minnesota's nationally known dogsled experience, with options ranging from $1200 all-inclusive, multi-day trips to affordable half-day trips starting at $100/person. They have one weekend a year devoted to a parent-daughter experience, with an emphasis on writing in addition to learning about dogsledding. The International Wolf Center in Ely has four spots left for its annual Mush with Dogs, Howl with Wolves program Feb. 19-21 ($470/night).

Finally, if you want to soak up the energy and excitement of the sport, travel to Duluth for next weekend's annual John Beargrease Dogsled Marathon, a prequalifier for Alaska's legendary Iditarod. There's a cutest puppy contest noon to 2 p.m. at the Fitger's complex Saturday, Jan. 30. The race begins Sunday, Jan. 31, and runs through Wednesday, Feb. 3.