“The Scandinavian Riviera,” as some locals affectionately call it, runs along Lake Superior from Duluth to Grand Portage, Minn., hard by the Canadian border. More prosaically, it’s the area along State Route 61.
My wife and I headed to Lake Superior’s North Shore, seeking Scandinavian roots along about 150 miles of shoreline. The evidence wasn’t hard to find. There was the Vild Von pizza at Sven & Ole’s in the lively town of Grand Marais. The ingredients included wild rice and Canadian bacon.
In the same town, at the Cook County Historical Society, former winners in the Miss North Shore Queen pageant had such names as Anderson, Hedstrom, Lindskog and Sjobers. At The Market, a Grand Marais store, merchandise included a Lonely Planet travel guide to Norway and Sweden. Nearby, the Viking Hus store sold Scandinavian gifts.
In the town of Finland, our guide at the Finland Heritage Site told us that the locals are still mostly Finnish and the center attracts Finns from all over the world.
So, of course, during the week, we had to sample the Swedish pancakes, Swedish meatballs and fresh lake herring. Though, had we seen it on a menu, we probably would have passed on the legendary lutefisk (Norwegian) or lutfisk (Swedish), made from air-dried or dried/salted whitefish and prepared with lye, not typical in fine dining.
The “Riviera” offers plenty of outdoor opportunities such as hiking, biking, fishing, birding, sailing, golfing, canoeing and kayaking, cross-country and downhill skiing — and even dog-sledding.
But if you’re looking for “urban” intrigue, the most interesting city on the North Shore is Grand Marais, about 110 miles north of Duluth and about 40 miles south of the Canadian border. It’s filled with eclectic attractions and stores (an old-fashioned Ben Franklin but no big-box stores) and numerous places to eat and drink.
One attraction, the North House Folk School, offers more than 225 courses in such unusual subjects as rosemaling (Norwegian decorative painting), Greenlandic Inuit kayak-building, and moose-hide and canvas mukluk-making. Need more? How about Swedish potato sausage-making, Scandinavian holiday baking, Norwegian fjord horse “pleasure driving” (whatever) and Swedish wire craft?
At the Cook County Historical Society, where our guide told us both sets of his grandparents came from Norway, we were told that the area originally was an Ojibwe village. After the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe, homesteaders who primarily were woodsmen, farmers and fishermen moved here from Scandinavia.
Of particular interest to us was Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply, a snazzy shop filled with all kinds of outdoor gear and equipment. The store offers a menu of outings, including a six-hour kayak tour in the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Besides sampling the Vild Von pizza at Sven & Ole’s, we tried The Crooked Spoon Cafe for lunch and were pleased with its “contemporary-casual fine dining” sandwich presentations. Our dinner choice, the Angry Trout Cafe, provides close-up views of Lake Superior and a menu featuring the lake’s herring, whitefish and trout.
Also in Grand Marais, this year’s Moose Madness Family Festival is not to be missed. Mark your calendar for Oct. 19-21.
For our first three Riviera nights we stayed at Cascade Lodge, midway between Lutsen and Grand Marais and surrounded by Cascade River State Park. The rustic Cascade Lodge offers several cabins and 12 rooms in the main lodge (complete with fireplace seating area and sweeping views of Lake Superior). A trail links the lodge to the Superior Hiking Trail.
The 282-mile trail (the last 10 to 15 miles are under construction) stretches from Duluth to the Canadian border.
The nonprofit Superior Hiking Trail Association maintains the trail and offers work trips, guided hikes, maps, guide books and clothing.
Those who wish to hike on their own can camp out along the trail or hike from lodge to lodge, shuttled to trailheads by the lodge or an independent company (218-834-5511, superiorshuttle.com) operating Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from late May to mid-October.
Most visitors hike between May and late October, except for hardier hikers and snowshoers. Most remarkable, though, is the story of Paul Hlina, the first documented person to “through-hike” the trail (in 1995). He had paralyzed lower extremities and did it all on crutches.
Our next stay was at Naniboujou Lodge, opened in the late 1920s as a private club whose charter members included Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey and writer Ring Lardner. The property fell on hard times during the Depression but has been beautifully revitalized.
The lodge dining room boasts Minnesota’s largest (200 tons, 20 feet tall) native rock fireplace, encircled by boldly colored Cree Indian designs painted on walls and the geometric, domed ceiling.
Naniboujou operates mid-May to mid-October; the week after Christmas; and weekends through mid-March. One caveat: There are no phones or TVs, and alcohol is not allowed in the public rooms due to the owners’ religious beliefs.
The next day we hiked in Judge C.R. Magney State Park, 14 miles northeast of Grand Marais, then checked into the lakeside Lutsen Resort, just off State Route 61 in Lutsen. (“Downtown Lutsen” means half a dozen stores and businesses in a minimall).
Billed as Minnesota’s first resort, the Lutsen was established in 1885, four years after Charles Axel Nelson moved from Sweden. He named his resort after the Battle of Lutzen in the Thirty Years War involving Sweden and much of Europe.
The resort’s complimentary activities are impressive, from guided sea kayaking and a wildflower hike (in season, obviously) to fly fishing and beach yoga.
We next checked out the modern, tony Bluefin Bay resort on Lake Superior in Tofte. Our lakeside room was just 25 or 30 feet from huge waves pounding the rocks.
The resort’s activities include guided hikes and kayaking, agate hunting, kids’ activities and programs led by U.S. Forest Service naturalists.
We had planned a four-mile hike the next day on the Superior Hiking Trail but were deterred by rain, so we enjoyed a Bluefin breakfast of eggs and wild-rice pancakes instead. When the rain slowed, we settled on a shorter hike to Caribou Falls before heading north to the Grand Portage National Monument and the Heritage Center, seven miles from the Canadian border.
Grand Portage was the rendezvous point for French, English, Canadian, Indian and mixed-race voyageurs during the peak years of the fur trade (1732-54). An excellent 20-minute movie by the National Film Board of Canada depicts their adventures in large trade canoes and arduous portages. The center also holds excellent historical exhibits, a reconstructed Ojibwe village and a restored North West Co. fur-trading depot. Volunteers in period attire explain what life was like around 1800.
The nearby Grand Portage State Park, on tribal land (Chippewa/Ojibwe), has a new visitor center, but the big attraction is the park’s magnificent and easily accessible High Falls, the highest in Minnesota, where torrents plummet 120 feet into the Pigeon River.
Heading back toward Duluth, we checked in at the impressive, sprawling Superior Shores Resort & Conference Center in Two Harbors. It’s on 60 wooded acres with more than a mile of coastline, wetlands and a pebbled beach.
The Two Harbors Light Station Museum on Agate Bay is open for tours May through October or by appointment. The fully automated light station is still in use and can be seen about 17 miles across the lake. Its light has been burning since 1892. Operated by the Lake County Historical Society, the light station is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The society also operates the Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast, offering a unique overnight experience.
Other attractions in Two Harbors include working iron ore carrier docks, Lakeview National Golf Course and Burlington Bay Beach, a favorite spot for “rockhounding” (searching for agate and other semiprecious stones).
Unfortunately, if you had planned to tune up your Scandinavian skills in the area, one of the most appropriate classes back at the North House Folk School — Sew Your Own Scandinavian Work Shirt — is filled for September. Uff da! But call and you can still get on the waitlist!
Getting there
The doorstep to the Scandinavian Riviera is Duluth, which on the quickest route is about 470 miles from Chicago. Out of Duluth, take Interstate Highway 35 north to State Route 61, where you can take either the “scenic drive” (take it) or the “expressway” (don’t) to the town of Two Harbors on Lake Superior.
The attractions
North House Folk School, 500 W. Route 61, Grand Marais. 888-387-9762, northhouse.org.
Cook County Historical Society, 8 S. Broadway, Grand Marais. 218-387-2883, cookcountyhistory.org.
Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply, 20 E. First St., Grand Marais. 218-387-3136, stoneharborws.com.
Grand Portage National Monument & Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center, one-half to one mile south of the west and east exits from State Route 61, Grand Portage. tinyurl.com/8l5otl5.
Grand Portage State Park, seven miles north of Grand Portage on State Route 61 just before the Canadian border, 218-475-2360, tinyurl.com/mmzzbp. Visitor center open daily.
Finland Heritage Site, 5653 Little Marais Road, Finland, 218-353-7380, http://www.finlandmnhistoricalsociety.com.
Superior Hiking Trail Association, 731 Seventh Ave., Two Harbors, 218-834-2700, shta.org.
Two Harbors Light Station Museum, 1 Lighthouse Point, Agate Bay, Two Harbors, 218-834-4898, lakecountyhistoricalsociety.org/museums.
Where to stay
Cascade Lodge, 3719 W. Route 61, Lutsen, 800-322-9543, cascadelodgemn.com. Lodge rooms range widely, from $59 to $159, and cabins from $53 to $309. Next door is the Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub.
Naniboujou Lodge, 20 Naniboujou Trail, Grand Marais, 218-387-2688, naniboujou.com. There are marvelous painted Cree Indian designs on the dining room walls and domed ceiling. Rates range from $79 to $115. The Naniboujou Lodge restaurant is outstanding.
Lutsen Resort, on Lake Superior, Lutsen, 800-258-8736, lutsenresort.com. Accommodations include lodge rooms, log cabins, condominiums, town homes and villas. Lodge rates range from $69 to $159, and the price goes up, of course, for condos, town homes and villas. Try the Lutsen Resort Lakeside Dining Room.
Bluefin Bay, 7192 W. Route 61, Tofte, 800-258-3346, bluefinbay.com. Lakeside rooms range from $109 to $149, and suites from $175 to $215. Try the Bluefin Grille.
Superior Shores Resort & Conference Center, 1521 Superior Shores Drive, Two Harbors, 800-242-1988, superiorshores.com. Lodge rooms go for $49 to $189, lodge suites $99 to $339 and “lakehomes” $109 to $479. Try the Kamloops restaurant.
Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast, Agate Bay, Two Harbors, 888-832-5606, lighthousebb.org. The four distinctive private rooms have Lake Superior views, but all guests share one bathroom, and children may stay there “upon arrangement.” Rates $135 to $145, subject to change.
Where to eat
There are many good, fun places to eat. Here are just some we tried, and also check out those at the resorts:
Sven & Ole’s Pizza, 9 W. Wisconsin St., Grand Marais, 218-387-1713, svenandoles.com.
The Cooked Spoon Cafe, 17 W. Wisconsin St., Grand Marais, 218-387-2779, crookedspooncafe.com.
Angry Trout Cafe, 408 W. Route 61, Grand Marais, 218-387-1265, angrytroutcafe.com. Open on the lakefront seasonally May through mid-October.
Information
Grand Marais Area Tourism Association, 13 N. Broadway, Grand Marais, 218-387-2524, grandmarais.com.
Two Harbors Area Chamber of Commerce, 1330 Route 61, Two Harbors, 218-834-6200, twoharborschamber.com.
