Duluth Things to Do

The Lake Superior Zoo is a great place to spend an afternoon or a day. It has sixteen acres of exhibits and is home to more than 25 endangered or threatened species from around the world. One of our favorite exhibits is the polar bears, Bubba and Berlin! There is an underwater viewing area so you can watch them floating around and sometimes, Bubba can even be enticed to play ball with you! They also have picnic grounds and a cafe on the premises!

Glensheen Mansion sits on 7 acres of Lake Superior Shoreline and includes beautifully manicured grounds, carriage house with a carriage collection, gandner's cottage (he lived there until his death in 2004) and a clay tennis court. The home was built by Chester and Clara Congdon and was inherrited by their daughter, Elizabeth who lived there until her murder there in 1978. Her son-in-law was convicted of the murder but many speculate the main one behind it was her adopted daughter, Marjorie. The tour gives no mention of the murders (a night nurse was also killed that night) by orders of the family, but books are available about it at most other gift shops. She was killed in the 2nd floor bedroom on the right as you come up the stairs. The night nurse was found dead on the stairway landing. If you are not interested in touring the mansion itself, you can get just a grounds pass and walk around the estate.

The William A Irvin is permanently docked along the Duluth waterfront down by the DECC. It is very interesting to tour and get a look at the hatches of the ships and just how big they really are. The staterooms and dining room are gorgeous. Wear sensible shoes because there is stair like ladders that you climb.

Okay, the lakewalk is just plain lovely, from the sometimes tacky and overpriced Canal Park tourist traps all the way to anti-climatic terminus around 21st Avenue East. Don't plan on walking all of it, unless you really want a hike.

My suggestion is to park near the rose garden, take the lakewalk through Leif Erikson park, see the viking boat and stroll to Fitgers for a fine lunch, window shop, and make your way back pausing at the Portland Malt Shop (if it's summer) for a malt.

Enger Tower, a gift from the King of Norway, is a solitary point on the top of the Duluth Skyline. While it is a lovely spot to view the bay, the lake, and the city, you will be delighted by the well tended gardens that surround it. It is a good place to bring a picnic lunch or grill out with friends.

Check out the Peace Bell in the gardens, a gift from Duluth's sister city in Japan.

More than beautiful lake views and touristy shops, Duluth's waterfront also offers an expression of art. Along the waterfront you will find an outdoor gallery of international sculptures. The series represents the social, cultural and historical values of Duluth and its Sister Cities in Vaxjo, Sweden; Thunder Bay, Ontario; Petrozavodsk, Russia; and Ohara, Japan.

Pictured is "Spirit of Lake Superior," a bronze sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist Kirk St. Maur of Payson, IL. It celebrates the Anishinabe (Ojibwe) American Indian culture of past, present, and future. The symbolic figure wears the old style (18th & 19th century) puckered moccasins and carries a birch bark tray used for winnowing wild rice.

Our ticket to tour the S.S. William A. Irvin also included a self-guided tour of the tugboat Lake Superior. Although the tugboat is MUCH smaller than the freighter, we were still surprised at how large a boat it was. She has a history all her own described in interpretive signage on board. We were welcomed to explore the engine room, cabins, captains quarters, wheelhouse and decks.

The Lake Superior was built in 1943, for the U.S. Army. She saw duty in World War II, and later was turned over to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to serve commerce on all five Great Lakes. She assisted in construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and in more recent years operated in Lake Superior and the Duluth Harbor.

The William A. Irvin's 2,000 horsepower steam turbine engine, which was on three levels of the ship, used 1.2 tons of coal per hour. The powerful engines and propelling machinery are all in working order and to see them, even though they are sitting idle,still inspires awe.