14 Best Things to Do in Duluth, Minnesota All Year Long

Exploring Zenith City

Back in the 1800s, Duluth was just a tiny spot on Lake Superior until iron ore, lumber, and grain put it on the map. Soon huge ore boats were sailing in and out, making Duluth one of the busiest ports in the world.

Since then, it’s grown into one of the best places to visit in Minnesota. Here are some of the top things you should add to your itinerary for when you visit.

Check Out the Bridge That Goes Up 5,000 Times a Year

You can’t miss this 135-foot bridge that’s become the face of Duluth since 1905. It started as a ferry bridge before changing to its current design in 1929. The bridge links Canal Park to Park Point and goes up more than 5,000 times a year for ships passing through.

The bridge’s horn is actually two train horns combined. During busy summer days, it might rise up to 30 times. Bridge operators train for two years before working alone. When they repaint the distinctive “Duluth green” color, they need 800 gallons to cover the whole structure.

Explore the Mansion With 27 Fireplaces

Step into the world of early 1900s wealth at this 39-room mansion. Built for mining businessman Chester Congdon between 1905-1908, the lakefront estate keeps its original furniture and had modern features like central vacuum systems.

You’ll find 27 unique fireplaces throughout the house. The library holds over 3,000 original books, including some rare first editions. Check out Minnesota’s first concrete boat slip at the estate’s boathouse.

In winter, try snowshoeing the grounds to see the beautiful architecture against the frozen lake backdrop.

Spend a Day at Canal Park

Canal Park has changed from industrial warehouses to a lively area with shops, restaurants, and things to do along the Duluth Ship Canal. It grew after the canal opened in 1871, creating a direct route to the harbor.

You can explore 14 historic buildings that kept their industrial look while serving new purposes. Track ships in real-time at the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center.

If you visit in August, catch Minnesota’s biggest blues event, the Bayfront Blues Festival. Shop in the restored 1908 DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace, once the biggest wholesale grocery in the Upper Midwest.

Drop by a Freshwater Aquarium

Get to know over 205 species at this freshwater-focused aquarium that opened in 2000. It highlights Lake Superior’s ecosystem through hands-on exhibits and big viewing tanks.

You can actually touch native lake sturgeon, fish that might live over 100 years. The aquarium helps bring back sturgeon populations in local waters.

Visit the Amazing Amazon gallery to see South American river life. Many exhibits use Lake Superior water, cleaned through a special system made just for this aquarium.

See the Stone Tower With Green Glowing Windows

Take in amazing views from this 130-acre park and its 75-foot stone tower. Built in 1939 thanks to Norwegian businessman Bert Enger who gave the land, the tower lets you see Duluth from every angle.

Wander through more than 200 kinds of perennials in the Japanese garden. Ring the Peace Bell, a gift from Duluth’s sister city in Japan that replaced one melted down for weapons in World War II.

Notice the green-tinted windows that cast an emerald glow inside the tower. Count all 105 steps from bottom to top of a structure that’s been hit by lightning eight times since it was built.

Drive Along Billion-Year-Old Rocks

Road trip through this 154-mile road that follows Lake Superior’s shoreline from Duluth to Canada, with dramatic cliffs and rocky beaches along the way. Built in the 1920s for car tourism, it takes you through eight state parks and many historic places.

The highway follows old Native American trading paths used for hundreds of years. The shoreline rocks date back 1.1 billion years to when Lake Superior formed.

Watch for more than 20 rivers and streams creating waterfalls as they rush into the lake. Stop at Palisade Head, the highest point at 350 feet above the water, where on clear days you can see 30 miles across the lake.

Visit the Shipwreck Museum

Learn about Great Lakes shipping history at this free museum near the Aerial Lift Bridge. Run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since 1973, over 400,000 people visit each year.

Look at items from more than 30 Lake Superior shipwrecks, including the recovered bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald. Try your hand at steering a virtual freighter through Duluth’s harbor on the pilothouse simulator.

See the original 1881 Fresnel lens from the Superior Entry Lighthouse. Then, browse through some of the 50,000 photographs documenting lake shipping from the 1860s to today.

Stroll Along Lake Superior

Stroll or bike this 7.5-mile paved path along Lake Superior’s shore that connects Duluth’s waterfront attractions. Built since the 1980s, it turned the industrial lakefront into a place for recreation with separate lanes for walking and biking.

Read more than 60 signs explaining Lake Superior’s history and ecosystem as you go. Notice the 2,500 tons of local stone used to build the walkway.

Look for agates, Lake Superior’s special semi-precious stones, at spots where you can reach the water. At night, see the path lit by 125 old-style lampposts that partly run on solar power in summer.

Tour a Massive Iron Ore Ship

Tour this 611-foot restored lake freighter that worked from 1938 to 1978 as US Steel’s flagship, carrying iron ore and coal before becoming a museum.

Compare the fancy wood-paneled guest rooms for company executives with the basic crew quarters. This ship has been in two Hollywood movies standing in for ocean liners.

During World War II, it carried ammunition, and in one trip could haul enough iron ore to make steel for 7,500 cars. It took 32 crew members working in three shifts to keep the ship running around the clock.

See the Lighthouse That Saved Lake Superior Shipping

Visit this famous lighthouse standing 130 feet above Lake Superior, guiding ships since 1910. It was built after a bad storm in 1905 damaged 29 ships and has become one of the most photographed lighthouses in America.

The original lens could send a light beam visible 22 miles away. Until 1924, people could only reach the lighthouse by boat, with all supplies coming by water.

Lighthouse keepers kept detailed weather records that now help us understand historical climate patterns. In 1931, the station was among the first in America to get radio equipment, making passing ships much safer.

Check Out the Garden Built on Top of a Highway

Enjoy over 3,000 rose bushes and 12,000 other plants against the backdrop of Lake Superior at this English-style garden. Started in 1965, it’s the northernmost public rose garden in America, specially designed for cold weather.

The whole garden sits on top of Interstate 35, making it one of the biggest “green roofs” in the region. Beyond roses, you’ll find 12 different plant collections including native pollinators and plants that need less water.

The garden tries new cold-hardy varieties each year. The soil uses a special mix of compost and volcanic minerals to help roses grow during the short northern growing season.

Walk Inside Historic Rail Cars

Explore one of America’s best collections of old locomotives and railway equipment in the restored 1892 Union Depot. Walk through passenger cars from different time periods and see engines up close.

Find the William Crooks, the first locomotive in Minnesota from 1861. Look through the largest collection of railroad blueprints in the Upper Midwest, with over 100,000 technical drawings. Admire the depot’s mix of Romanesque and French Norman architecture, with original hand-carved oak details throughout.

Witness Raptors in Flight

This 365-acre nature reserve is one of the best places in North America to watch bird migration. The ridge creates air currents that birds use during migration, sometimes bringing more than 10,000 birds past in a single day.

Hawk Ridge has been tracking how climate change affects migration timing, noting a two-week shift since the 1970s. Since 1972, researchers have put bands on over 115,000 birds to study their migration patterns.

You can participate in some unique experiences here, such as releasing a banded raptor through the “adopt-a-bird” program.