Places to visit near Duluth without the Tourist Traffic

One of the many adventures for most Minnesotans or Midwesterners is a trip to the Duluth area. I’m fortunate to have grown up vacationing near Duluth on several occasions and now having a brother who lives near Duluth. This summer we took a family trip and my goals were simple- enjoy family and stay away from heavy foot traffic. That’s exactly what we did. We stayed away from Canal Park and all the wonderful (but busy) things there are to do there. David and I love to ask locals what their favorite spots are whenever we travel. They are the best map! Fortunately for us we’ve always had my brother to ask when it comes to Duluth. So this post is all about the BEST kept secrets in and around Duluth!

First Up- Gordy’s High Hat/ Gordy’s Warming House.

My dad loves Gordy’s High Hat. David and I aren’t too crazy about it but we do LOVE the warming house!! The two places are located in Cloquet just 20 miles south of Duluth. They are separate buildings divided by picnic area’s and a kids recreation park. We like to go here for dinner our first night because the drive is so LONG it gives the kids what they need – ACTIVITY- and gets us fed. If you have lunch or dinner at Gordy’s we highly recommend their fish. Yes it is fried. They do have some great salad options as well. After we eat dinner we usually let the kiddos burn energy at the park and let our tummy’s settle. Then we cool down with ICE CREAM. By far my favorite ice cream shop. They have probably 20 different flavors of hard ice cream. Plus their coffee is pretty great too! They offer a full coffee bar in the warming house. Two of my favorite things Coffee and Ice Cream.

Next- KOA Cloquet/Duluth Campground

The campground was a little more than what we had expected to pay but summer in/near Duluth is peak season and we absolutely loved the campground and location. Again located in Cloquet just 20 miles south of Duluth. Don’t have a tent to pitch or a camper? They offer log cabins too! They have a great pool that the kids took advantage of EVERYDAY and Lily loved competing in their weekend scavenger hunt. Beautiful grounds, great location! We’d highly recommend them.

Kismet Candy Store

Another hidden gem is Kismet Candy Store. This was our families first time here and we enjoyed it. HUGE store. Kids enjoyed finding weird things like snake gummy’s and cheese flavored dried bugs. David and I enjoyed finding some nostalgic candies like runts and candy cigarettes. Fun stop. Who doesn’t love a candy store stop on Vaca?! This place is again located in Cloquet

Strawberry picking

We actually heard about several farms with other berries as well. We went to the farm across from my brothers farm (Northern Harvest Farm in Wrenshall, MN). There are so many farms in the area- google the berries you love or are in peek season and go pick some!! YUM.

Duluth Huskies

If you love baseball go catch a Huskies game. The field is beautiful (stadium needs some work) but we had a great time and the team is really good which makes the game fun to watch!

Jay Cooke State Park

We love this area. Such a great place to hike. If you want to be adventurous take a raft down. There are several places that take groups down the river. If that’s not your cup of tea do what we did and park at the visitor center, cross the walking bridge and hike on one of the many trails in and around the river.

Visit Wisconsin!

Superior, WI is much less busy then Duluth and you can find some great little shops, eateries and we we even got some bowling in here in Superior!

Staples, MN- Tower Pizza

Last but not least if you are traveling East through the Brainerd lakes area you have to stop at Tower Pizza. Best pizza I’ve had- maybe ever. My husband has fond memories from 30 years ago. He says not much has changed besides some updates in the dining room.

This blog was simply a fun post for me. None of these establishments have paid me to advertise.