DULUTH WEEKEND TRAVEL GUIDE

Duluth, Mn

Duluth is a must-see city with an industrial history and an outdoorsy lover’s dream! Growing up in the Midwest, I have always loved all the beautiful Fall leaves?? A visit to Duluth has been at the top of my bucket list during Fall, so we decided to adventure to the beautiful Midwestern town. There’s something about the bright orange, yellow, and red leaves blowing around and the blue and pink skies across the horizon of Lake Superior that makes it one of the most beautiful places. 

We headed to Duluth Sunday morning and stayed until late afternoon Monday. The best part about traveling later in the weekend is it’s not super crowded! We started the trip out, traveling a little further to the Lutsen Mountains Ski Resort. We wanted to ride the gondola up the mountain to see the colorful fall leaves around Lake Superior. Then we worked our way back into Duluth and explored Sunday, late afternoon, and all-day Monday. When traveling to Duluth, I recommend trying to narrow down the number of places you go to so you can fully enjoy each site you visit. We can’t wait to go back and explore even more of the beautiful city! 

Where We Stayed-

Fitgers Inn is a premier historic lakefront hotel where you can shop, eat, relax, and sleep! They offer a wide variety of amenities, including three restaurants, two nightclubs, a salon & spa, fifteen shops, all within the 1885 renovated historic Fitgers Brewery! The best part is you can walk right outside to walk around the gorgeous Lake Superior. 

What To Do-

Lutsen Mountain Summit Express Gondola?

Lutsen Mountain Summit Express Gondola? – One of my favorite adventures of the entire trip was visiting the Lutsen Mountains and riding the Summit Express Gondola. There’s no better way to experience the Fall leaves than from rising 1,000 feet up over Lake Superior. The Ariel gondola is one of the North Shores most popular attractions. The ride up the mountain is five minutes, and once you get to the top, you can hike around and see all the beautiful lookouts or get a bite to eat at the Summit Chalet. They serve lunch, snacks, and drinks! Then explore the mountaintop hiking trails, scenic overlooks, and gorgeous colorful leaves. Then whenever you’re ready to go back down the mountain, you scan your card and have a five-minute ride on the gondola down the mountain! It costs $25 for adults to ride the gondola and $17 for children. Then on the way back to Duluth, we stopped at some beautiful outlooks and hiking trails! 

Ursa Minor Brewing Company-

Ursa Minor Brewing Company- When asking for recommendations for Duluth, so many people recommended Ursa Minor Brewing Company! They have craft beer, wood fired pizza, live music, and such a fun atmosphere! When it comes to beer, I’m not a huge fan, and Noah absolutely loves it, but I’m always willing to give it a try? I can honestly say for the first time in my life, I found a beer that I LOVE! It’s called Pucker Up Butter Cup, and it’s a sour beer loaded with lemon flavor and boosted with blueberry! It’s so delicious tasting, especially paired with some wood fire pizza. We ordered the Nomad and Nutella Pizza? The Nomad pizza had sausage, red onion, mushrooms, parmesan, and house red sauce. It was the best wood-fired pizza I have ever had! For dessert, we got the Nutella Pizza, which was delicious and the perfect amount of chocolate. 

Enger Park & Tower-

Enger Park & Tower- Enger Park overlooks the entire city of Duluth, and it features a majestic tower that you can climb all the way up to the top. From the Enger Park Tower, you can see all the breathtaking views of Lake Superior. As you walk through the trails of Enger Park, the Fall leaves are just stunning? 

Shopping in Canal Park-

Shopping in Canal Park- Before we headed home, we walked around Canal Park shopping! We stopped at Duluth Pack, and I found the cutest Patagonia vest for Fall. They have the cutest outdoorsy clothing and Duluth souvenirs! 

Where We Ate-

Black Woods Grill & Bar–

Black Woods Grill & Bar- For dinner Sunday night, we ate at Black Woods Grill & Bar, and the food was phenomenal. I ordered the Coconut Shrimp with baby red potatoes, and it was delicious. Noah ordered a burger, and he said it was the most flavorful burger he had ever had. Our next trip to Duluth, we will be back! 

Northern Waters Smokehaus-

Northern Waters Smokehaus- Monday, we shopped in Canal Park and then ate lunch before heading home. We stopped at Northern Waters Smokehaus for a sandwich, and it was delicious. Make sure to call ahead or order online and pick up your food to go. Because of COVID, there not yet open for dine-in, but there to go ordering makes it so easy to grab a tasty bite to eat! I had the Fuzzy Bunny sandwich, which had green onion cream cheese, roasted red peppers, cucumbers, shredded cabbage, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro, and a shot of sesame oil on ciabatta bread. It was one of the best sandwiches I have ever had?