Winter

Last weekend, Scott and I took a winter weekend away. I know going to where there is MORE snow in February in Wisconsin is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is ours. And besides, every now and again, you just have to get out of Dodge.

We’ve been underwhelmed by the winter Wisconsin has had this year. While the east coast has gotten snow day after snowy day, we’ve gotten tiny little nibbles of snow here and there, and none of it very good for skiing. Before the winter left us, we wanted to get out and roam some snow-covered trails, so we headed on up to Minnesota, to the North Shore of Lake Superior. Surely there would be snow 6 hours closer to the arctic!

There almost wasn’t.

A Saturday in Duluth, Minnesota

Friday and Saturday it was mild and drizzling, so we spent some time in Duluth, Minnesota. We wandered and ate and wondered some more.

Some suggestions for what to do in Duluth when it’s raining in February:

Walk the Lakefront Trail

First, wear layers. Warm clothes, comfy shoes, and a waterproof jacket. Get as close to nature as possible in the city by walking along Lake Superior on the Lake Walk. The trail will take you to the downtown waterfront area, with lots of shops and restaurants. Our favorites were Duluth Pack (kind of like an REI, but a little more north woods-specific) and Northwoods Confections (chocolate!). You will also be treated to views like this from the aerial lift bridge:

No one scolded us for loitering, so that’s good.

We stopped by the Lake Superior Maritime Center, partly for a break from the light drizzle, and partly because Scott is obsessed with all things ships. He routinely says that he should have gone to sea. Not sure if I should take that with a bit of rejection or not. The have some neat interactive exhibits and the chance to see the evolution of shipping on the Great Lakes via tiny model boats on up to 1,000 cargo ships. We enjoyed the short diversion. And bonus: it’s FREE.

We also enjoyed meandering down Superior Street in downtown Duluth. You can tell that this city is slowly recovering from the 2008 recession, with newer businesses and some very eclectic shops. Our favorites were Duluth Coffee Company (the perfect Dark Chocolate Mocha = not too sweet, not too bitter) and a hole in the wall antique shop called Port City Antiques. We spent at least an hour browsing through their collection, some of it very local to the area and some of it not. They had an impressive collection of maps, which is kind of vacation thing that we look for, and we came home with one depicting the railroad lines and cities of Wyoming in 1898. We’ve been to Wyoming a few times, and not seen anything like it there.

At the suggestion of a friend, we ate Saturday night at the Duluth Grill. It’s a little out of the way, on the south end of town set in a commercial district, but it was amazing. The food and service were so good that we actually went back on Monday morning for breakfast on our way out of town.

Snow! And The Actual North Shore

If Friday and Saturday were a little drizzly and dreary, Sunday made up for it. We awoke to cooler temperatures and lightly falling snow. This was the shoreline at Larsmont Cottages were we stayed:

After a couple hours of lazy reading and lots of coffee-drinking, we layered on the clothing, packed a lunch, grabbed a trail map, and headed out. A kind lady at the front desk pointed us inland for some better snow, so we drove to the Lake County Demonstration Forest. We started on snowshoes, and met another kind Minnesotan who pointed us on into a trail that we wouldn’t have seen without her and it was perfect. Trees surrounded us, the snow continued to fall gently around us, and we were the only two people on the trail the entire time.

After a good snowshoe, we decided to break out our cross country skies for the first time all year and ski the trail we’d seen some other people on. It was OK snow – the fresh powder on top helped, but the slick stuff underneath made for some rather unavoidable slips and falls, at least for us skiing newbies. After a short while, we turned back, happy to have at least skied a little. We devoured some ham and cheese sandwiches in the car, and then headed to Two Harbors, another port city on the lake. As we drove we passed a log yard with hundreds of piles of logs, all stacked as high as this. I had Scott slow down so I could snag a picture out the window, the stacks were so impressive.

The wind at Two Harbors was so fierce that we didn’t make it long at their harbor. I’m sure it’s lovely in the spring, but below freezing with a strong wind off the lake was a bit too much to handle. We decided to drive north to Split Rock Lighthouse, a place we’d been told we had to see if we went up this way.

And it was amazing, even if all the buildings were closed and we couldn’t see inside. We checked out the lighthouse, which is a much shorter walk than the map makes you think, and then wandered down the hill on another snow covered trail, wising we’d put our snow shoes back on. It was gorgeous and we cannot wait to go back when it’s a little warmer and we can do some more hiking.

We drove “home” and enjoyed a couple more hours of reading at the cottage, with the snow falling outside and the fireplace on. We had dinner at the resort restaurant, the Ledge Rock Grill, which was OK. If you need a convenient dinner while staying in the cottages, it’ll be fine, but don’t seek it out for any special reason.

And then on Sunday, we had to pack up and go home. I really miss this view:

Have you been to Minnesota’s North Shore? What activities would you add to this list? 

P.S. Like snow? Check out Yellowstone National Park in the winter. It’s a dream!