Maryland has the 'Eastern Shore' (of the Chesapeake). Minnesota has the 'North Shore' (of Lake Superior). Both are referred to by locals casually, as everyone who lives there knows what it means, but are probably unfamiliar terms to visitors. I know I didn't know what the Eastern Shore was for a while, in part because we lived inland a ways.
The outdoors are really nice in MN, in all seriousness. The times of year when it can truly be explored are limited, to be sure, but the state has considerable natural beauty, especially up north (of the metro, basically). One aspect of living here that's struck me on moving back is how much time people spend outside in the spring/summer/autumn and how busy the summer is in particular, with so many activities and adventures packed into a short window. The whole state is out doing something!
Many people have second homes, usually referred to as 'the cabin,' on a lake somewhere in the northwoods (could be in western Wisconsin as well). Many are modest and simple and only to be used during the summers, like they may not even have heat or many amenities. Some are a little fancier. Regardless going up north to the (a) cabin is indeed a big part of the Minnesota lifestyle. Not everyone has a cabin (like us), obviously, though there are plenty of other opportunities to do something similar.
The stretch of Lake Superior from Duluth to the Canadian border, called the North Shore, is perhaps the loveliest place in the state. Along the highway up there are a bunch of cute little towns on the water, quite a few cabin rentals and a number of state parks. I have a fondness for Grand Marais, in my mind the unofficial entry to the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness, where I was taken by my dad a few times as a kid. I still don't know if Sven and Oles actually tastes that good but it surely did after days of camping, portaging and rowing. Almost that far north is Lutsen, with the best skiing in the state. About halfway between Duluth and Grand Marais is the location of Split Rock Lighthouse, a famous and iconic structure. There's a lot more but these are many of the spots I'm most familiar with and thought required mentioning.
I'm going through all this because generally, as a Minnesotan, it's worth talking about and, more specifically we ourselves went up this last weekend. My wife took Friday off and we excused our eldest from kindergarten for a day and made it a family weekend. We drove up to Duluth on Friday morning, it's about a two and a half hour drive, and spent two nights there. The itinerary was kept simple and that was for the best, as even with the limited outings our kids were completely wiped at the end of both days.
Our primary objective was taking a train ride and we did that on Friday. In Duluth you can take a few different rides on the North Shore Scenic Railroad, including a day-trip up to Two Harbors (about 25 miles farther north) or a shorter ride through Duluth and barely up the coast before the engine turns and brings you back. They even offer a special pizza party trip that appears to be popular. We opted for the shorter (~75-90 minute) one and it was the perfect length. The kids enjoyed the novelty of the train, the views were nice, we moved around to a few different seats, got a snack and it was over. There's a little gift shop and a train museum (which we didn't see) too. My wife had been wanting to do this with our boys for some time and it was a good call. We were asked if we could do it again the next day.
On Saturday we drove up the shore and visited Tettegouche State Park, about an hour away. We passed Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock and I thought maybe we can work in more stops on the return but it was not to be, and that's okay. The goal at Tettegouche was a funny one, we simply wanted to throw rocks in the water, and there's a specific place to do this. After arriving I realized it had been more than ten years since I'd been there and I didn't remember exactly where the rocky beach was. Plus the park now has a fairly large visitor center that threw me off. Luckily there's only two directions to go toward the water, to Baptism River and to Shovel Point. To the right, to Baptism River, was the wrong choice but it led us to a cool rocky outcropping over the lake. Then we went the other way, to the left toward Shovel Point. Shortly after starting the path there's another split that takes you down to Lake Superior Beach, and that's the spot.
For whatever reason this is the resting place of a huge number of very smooth, and many very big, rocks, fluke of how the water hits the shore there or whatever. This is not what the waterfront is like everywhere (if anywhere) else on the North Shore. The rocks extend a good distance into the water too and that's the key. If you grab a big one and toss it (high!) into the first, I dunno, 5-10 feet of water you can hear the combination of splash and your rock hitting others on the bottom. It's a funny, distinct sound and the reason why I chose this as our destination for the day. It's also special because it's something my dad showed me when I was a kid and now I'm passing it on. In all the times I've done this (maybe 5?) I don't think anyone else has ever been there, and so it feels like this unique thing that only my family knows or does, whether or not that's actually true. Yes, we actually drove two hours round trip to throw rocks and it was a great time. It helped that the fall colors were just starting and the lake is always great to take in.
We stopped in Two Harbors at Castle Danger Brewery on the way back down. It's small inside but there's extensive outdoor seating and space which was ideal with the kids. The brewery had some fun beer to try that we won't see in stores around us, though I was still under the weather a bit from the previous week and didn't have much to drink. I'd go back.
That was our time on the North Shore, one slice of Minnesota that's hard not to love.
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