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Buffalo Valley Campground

Things to do and visit:

Duluth is a great place steeped in history with lots to do and see. It is also the gateway city to the North Shore of Lake Superior. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world with a surface area of 31,820 square miles! That’s larger than the state of South Carolina. The Ojibwe call it Gichigami [Big Water]. Longfellow made that Gitche Gumee and Gordon Lightfoot followed Longfellow. No matter what you call it, Lake Superior is immense, impressive and beautiful. It’s also a force of nature and that’s not just a cliché, it’s a fact. If the lake is cold and the wind is blowing off the lake the lake makes its own weather. The coldest I’ve ever been was in July on the North Shore. We’ll be there during the part of the year when the lake is friendly but in the winter when things get stirred up, Superior can send 30 ft waves crashing into shore. Don’t trifle with Gitche Gumee.

Our trip up the North Shore will feature waterfalls, light houses and Betty’s Pies [judged by many to be the best on Earth and all other nearby planets]. The ride up the North Shore will leave right after breakfast on Saturday morning. It’s not a really short trip but well worth it. When the ride returns, we’ll take a break and then have the sidecar games.

Duluth is not like most Minnesota cities. Duluth is a seaport that’s over a thousand miles from the nearest sea. The port of Duluth is actually linked to the Atlantic via 2,300 miles of connecting lakes and canals. In case you were wondering, Duluth was named for Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, the first known European to explore the area. He did a lot to establish trading relations with the local indigenous people, settled a long standing war between the Dakotas and the Ojibwa, was falsely charged with treason, apparently made a ton of money trading trinkets for furs and died of the gout.

The City of Duluth started to form in the 1850’s when rumors of a giant copper strike began to circulate. There was a treaty with local tribes in 1854 that sparked a land rush that eventually led to the development of iron ore mining in the area. Copper soon petered out and iron and timber were kings. In the next decade the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad ran a line from the Twin Cities to Duluth. That made Duluth into an official boom town. In January of 1869 there were 14 families living in Duluth and by the fourth of July that year there were 3,500 people there to celebrate. Duluth still puts on a great fireworks show over the harbor on the fourth.

By the early 1900’s the port of Duluth beat out the port of New York in terms of tonnage handled. At about the same time U.S. Steel spent over $6 million to build a first class modern steel plant in Duluth. As the steel biz and other industries slowed after WWII the focus shifted to tourism. In the 70’s and 80’s old building in Canal Park were gentrified and turned into hotels, shops, restaurants and cafes. That’s the Duluth you see today.

Occasionally someone will refer to Duluth as “The Air Conditioned City” because of the cooling effect of the lake. Summers are cool and comfortable down by the lake with highs in the 70’s. At the same time temps can be a lot higher up “on the hill” so it isn’t unusual for it to be raining at Miller Hill Mall and snowing at Canal Park. The average high in Duluth in June is 71 degrees with an average low of 48 degrees. That’s at the shore; we’ll be “up the hill” and can expect a bit higher temps. No guaranties though, bring something warm to wear when you’re by the lake and in the evenings.

There’s just no end of stuff to do and see in the city and nearby. If you want folks to think you’re high brow, tell them that you went to the Duluth Art Institute located in the Duluth Depot. You can then sneak off to see the Lake Superior Railroad Museum [that’s in the same building] and look at one of the best collections of trains anywhere. That’s not all, here’s a complete list of museums in Duluth…

The Depot
The Duluth Art Institute
Duluth Children's Museum
Lake Superior Railroad Museum
St. Louis County Historical Society
Great Lakes Aquarium - Canal Park
Great Lakes Floating Maritime Museum
Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center - Canal Park
Tweed Museum of Art - UMD Campus
William A Irvin Floating Ship Museum - Canal Park
Aerial Lift Bridge
Glensheen Historic Estate

One of my favorite things to do in Duluth is to go to Canal Park and check out the shipping schedule. It will tell you when the next big ship is going through the canal to the Port of Duluth. When the ships come through you are so close to them you think you can reach out a touch them. It gives you a whole new appreciation of just how big they are.

Extra added attraction! Check out the BMW Riders Association National Rally one week after our national and only 200 miles away on Michigan's Upper Peninsula! All brands are welcome.