Duluth Things to Do

I lived in Duluth for 18 years... and I must say I enjoy Canal park as mus as (or more than) the tourists do. If you go here, explore the shopping down there but be careful for overpriced knicknacks and arts and crafts. Also, go sit by the Lift Bridge and watch cars and boats go by. My friend and I used to sit at the base of there bridge, in front of the safety arms and watch people go by.

Also, you can catch a ferry and go see some Lake Superior or go to Playfront is you have kids. Playfront is a big, old wooden playground. I don't recommend the aquarium. It is costly and full of trout and bass and other things i see at the grocery store. But I must admit, the kids really liked it.

Canal Park is cheap if you just walk around, go on the lakewalk and watch the lake. Fun stuff.

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Richard Bong is America's "Ace of Ace's", shooting down 40 planes in his career as a fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater in WWII. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman.
He was born in Superior, Wisconsin in 1920 and grew up nearby in Poplar,WI. He was only 24 years old when he died in 1945, the same day that the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan when the P-80 Saber he was test piloting crashed during a take-off when the engine failed.
He flew P-38 Lightnings during the war, of which there are only about 30 known survivors, making the P-38 in the museum worth around 1 million dollars.
The museum gives a brief but good overview of the war and spends time highlighting the home effort from women workers, girl scouts and the war bond effort.
There are numerous video narratives giving brief overviews on the various theaters of war, the Bong family and the women of the Duluth/Superior area.
Other artifacts on exhibit are various "souviners" taken home by American servicemen such as German and Japanese weapons, helmets and flags.
You can also use the flight simulators to fly a P-38. There is a two min. time limit and you need to get a code for the machines from the information desk to use them.

The museum is informative, entertaining and very much worth a visit. Plan for about 2 hours for a normal visit.

Hours
May through October: Open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
November 1 to May 1: Open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Holidays: Closed New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Phone toll-free 1-888-816-9944 for other holiday hours.

General Admission: $9.00
Seniors: $8.00
Students age 13 thru college $8.00
Children ages 6-12: $7.00
Children ages 5 and under:free
Family Rate (2 adults in the same household and up to 4 children under age 13):$25.00

This is a wonderful museum in downtown Duluth. A must see on your trip! They have all sorts of old trains (the large ones, not the models) and old artificats, really giving you a sense of the history of the american west. Some of the trains you can climb on and in. It will delight everyone -- from small children to adults! Recommended time: 2 hours

Summer Hours (Memorial Day-Labor Day) 9:30am-6pm.
Winter Hours, Monday-Saturday/10am-5pm;Sunday/1pm-5pm. Closed major holidays

(WiFi also available)

Spend some time on Lake Superior!

We drove down Lake Drive, where we went to the beach. It was too cold to swim, but we walked on the shore and enjoyed the sunset and breeze. The lake is large and beautiful -- its amazingly picturesque, almost surreal.

There are marina's all around the lake shore.

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I heard about the Richard I Bong WWII Heritage Center but hesitated to visit because I really am not a museum fan for History Buff, but was very pleasantly surprised when I visited. First, the building is cool! It looks like to airplane hangers attached in the rear. There are short movies inside showing things like Pearl Harbor (with narrators that were actually on the ships that were bombed) and other things. I had a trip in one of the Flight Simulators, fun!! They even have an authentic-fully restored P38 plane, similar to Richard I. Bong's. I hear that they had to literally build the building around the plane.

This is well worth your time. Plan for about 2 hours.

I found this little train by accident, not knowing there were 2 tourist trains in town. What a wonderful experience! The railroad passenger cars were from the early 1900's, we followed the St. Louis River for many miles, with no other people/houses/cars anywhere in site. The wildlife was incredible, I even saw a big buck swimming in the river and 4 Great Blue Heron. There was a history narrative given as we traveled. Don't miss this gem of a trip!

Located on the corner of 9th Ave. E. and 1st St., Karpeles makes for a very pleasant walk from (or to) Fitger's or east downtown area attractions. The museum (one of about eight nationwide) is owned by a former resident of Duluth who has amassed over a million historical documents. Themed choices from his selection are rotated museum-to-museum about every three months. The manuscripts are very interesting and explained well by the descriptions, and the ambience of the place is nice too.

I went there today (for the first time, despite being in this area for most of my life) and was very pleased with the "War of 1812" collection, featuring a declaration of war by the state of MA, a pre-made ertificate for future war heroes signed by George Washington before his death, and critical diplomatic correspondence between England and the U.S. Very interesting to see the original documents themselves.

--*ADMISSION FREE*--

This is a must for anybody who visits Duluth between May and October - an enjoyable walk on the boardwalk or bike / rollerblade ride on the paved path that makes up the Lakewalk. This three-mile trail follows the lake and makes for nice scenery, atmosphere, and just a great stroll. It "ends" at (or is near?) the very nice Leif Ericson Park, where, if you arrive at the right time, can see a beautiful show of roses.