Other stories in "Travel with kids"

• Break on the lake
  In Minnesota, the traditional full-service, family-run resort is alive and well.
• The first American Girl
  Before Laura, before Kit, there was Caddie Woodlawn on the Wisconsin frontier.
• In Caddie and Laura's back yard
  In western Wisconsin, a loop tour explores the homeland of two real-life heroines.
• Laura land
  "Little House" fans trace Pa's meandering path, looking for echoes from the past.
• Little pageants on the prairie
  A scrappy pioneer family is brought to life each year in two towns that played a prominent role in the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
• Wisconsin for kids
  From farm to city to beach, the state is one big playground.
• Grand sand
  Along Lake Michigan, the Sleeping Bear Dunes are a giant playground for all ages.
• Fun with Dick and Jane
  Want to have a good time with your children? Then go back to basics.
• Whitewater 101
  In northeast Wisconsin, novice kayakers learn moves at a resort that refuses to die.
• Speed demons of Nisswa
  Swift turtles mix with power shoppers in a Minnesota lake-country oasis.
• Chicago with kids
  For curious children, this inviting city overflows with treasures.
• A week at the lake
  Other destinations beckon, but few can beat the classic Minnesota vacation.
• Agate stampede
  Every year, Moose Lake introduces budding rockhounds to the thrill of the hunt.
• Scenes from the fur trade
  At re-created forts, meet the adventurers who shaped the Upper Midwest.
• The last Little House
  Laura Ingalls Wilder's home in rural Missouri was the final stop on a famously winding path.
• Playtime in Milwaukee
  For children, this easygoing city is just the right size.
• Making waves
  Now that they’ve inspired a deluge of imitators, Wisconsin Dells’ popular indoor water parks are paddling hard to stay on top.
• Madison for all ages
  Famous for collegians, Wisconsin's capital also fascinates children.
• Snow asylum
  In the wilderness of northeast Wisconsin, a family resort stays on top of the heap.

Duluth rocks!

With a pizza train, a bike path and beaches lined with boulders, this is a kid’s kind of town.

In Duluth, you can lead a child to water — but just try leading her away.

“Mom, it’d be worth moving to Duluth just so we could go to this beach a lot,’’ said my daughter Madeleine, jumping from rock to rock at Brighton Beach.

Duluth, once the ugly duckling of Lake Superior, now is one of the best places in Minnesota to take children. On Canal Park, the lineup of tourist attractions can keep a family entertained for days. There’s the Great Lakes Aquarium, an Omnimax theater, a skating and bicycle path, a castle-style wooden playground, a giant ore boat to go through and freighters to watch going under the Aerial Lift Bridge. There are tour boats to ride around the harbor and, nearby, a railroad depot with trains to ride along the lake.

As parents discover, Duluth rocks for other reasons, too.

From the tip of Park Point to Brighton Beach, on the edge of town, Duluth’s waterfront is lined by endlessly entertaining rocks — rocks to climb on, to skip in the lake, to hunt through for agates and fossils. Their pull is magnetic: No matter what else we did, soon I heard, “Let’s go climb on the rocks.’’

Our first stop was the Lake Superior Marine Museum, where we saw the Canadian freighter Laurentien slipping out of the canal. The sonorous horns, the clanging bells on the lifting bridge, the screech of gulls and the lapping of waves create an air of excitement on Canal Park that makes it hard to leave.

Still, we drove over the bridge onto Park Point, leaving the car at the airport to walk along the Park Point Nature Trail, where Madeleine and Peter “snowboarded’’ down a sand dune on their feet and played on a beach covered with bleached driftwood.

Then we headed over to the depot to catch the North Shore Scenic Railroad’s Pizza Train. In a 1950s Budd Car, which has a built-in engine, we trundled along the Lakewalk, earning smiles and waves from walkers. At the edge of town, we stopped to take on hot pepperoni and sausage pizzas, delivered to us in our seats with cold cans of pop.

After the train turned around in Knife River, we went to the front and watched for deer with two little girls, whom the engineer urged to help blow the whistle every time a “W” sign popped up before intersections. 

“That was fun,’’ both children said without prompting.

We thought we’d missed the nightly s’mores roast on the Inn on Lake Superior’s lakefront patio, but there were still plenty of Hershey bars and marshmallows when we got back. As we held our sticks over the fire, we talked with Cheryl Shorter of Albertville, who frequently brings the children when her husband, Theron, does business in Duluth.

“We always have lots to do,’’ she said. “We play on the rocks and watch the boats go through; that’s extra special. And the kids like the Inn because they can ask for bikes.’’

The next morning, Madeleine borrowed a sturdy bike and, with me and Peter on in-line skates, set off along the 3½-mile Lakewalk. There were lots of pebble beaches, but the kids waited until we got back to Canal Park's jagged basalt boulders to play mountaineer and chase ladybugs.

Then we walked over the Minnesota Slip Bridge to the Great Lakes Aquarium. There was a lot to see: the scowling trout in the Baptism River habitat,  the giant sturgeon in the Isle Royale habitat, which Madeleine thought were sharks — “No? Oh, well, they’re cool anyway’’ — and the river otters: “If you think Peter is hyper, watch these guys.’’

At the Isle Royale tank, we watched divers hand-feed the slow-moving bottom-feeders.  As the quicker trout tried to intercept the food, the sturgeons’ mouths popped out like nozzles, sucking it down to the teeth in their throats.

After holding some crayfish and creating a miniature sandstorm, we walked back to the lakefront and had lunch at Amazing Grace, in Dewitt-Seitz Marketplace. Upstairs, we bought sweets at Hepzibah’s, whose wares made Peter so excited he offered to buy the shop for $8 million.

We only had time to do one more thing, so the kids decided they wanted to head back to Brighton Beach to play on the rocks.

There was an astonishing amount of sibling agreement on our trip —  basically, they liked everything. Could be that Duluth is a parent’s kind of town, too.

Trip Tips: Duluth with kids

Accommodations: Reserve early for summer weekends at Canal Park hotels. In winter and spring, check for Hot Deals at the www.visitduluth.com hotel listings. All of the hotels below have pools.

The Inn on Lake Superior is very child-friendly, with its s’more roasts and loaner bikes and wagons. It also has patios and balconies, (888) 668-4352. It faces the lake, as do the Comfort Suites, (218) 727-1378 and (800) 228-5150; the Hampton Inn, (218) 720-3000; and the new Canal Park Lodge, (218) 279-6000, (800) 777-8560.

A block away on Lake Avenue, the rooms at the Suites Hotel (formerly Hawthorn Suites) have full kitchens, and a hot breakfast buffet is included, (800) 527-1133. Downtown, the newest hotel is the Sheraton on Superior Street, (218) 733-5660, (888) 627-8122. The Holiday Inn, (800) 477-7089 or (218) 722-1202, can be a good value.

If you're worried about the weather, stay on the east end of Duluth at the Edgewater, which has a 35,000-square-foot indoor water park. (218) 728-3601 or
(800) 777-7925, www.duluthwaterpark.com.

Dining: On Canal Park, Grandma's has a convivial atmosphere. Older children may like the Lake Avenue Cafe or the new Hell's Kitchen. There also are a lot of chains: Green Mill, Old Chicago, Timber Lodge, Famous Dave's, Red Lobster.

Across from Fitger’s on Superior Street, Sir Benedict's Tavern on the Lake is a good place to have a sandwich on the patio and watch the world go by. Then go across the street to the Portland Malt Shoppe, a tiny brick building built in 1921 as a gas station.

Great Lakes Aquarium: It’s open daily. Admission is $12.95 adults, $6.95 for children 3-11. Look for discount coupons in the Northland Coupon Book and other brochures around town. (218) 740-3474, www.glaquarium.org

Train excursions: The 2½-hour Pizza Train goes to the Sucker River, halfway to Two Harbors, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday until Labor Day, then 5:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 19, $18 adults, $12 children; reservations required. For many other  excursions, check (800) 423-1273, www.lsrm.org

The Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad, run by train-buff volunteers, travels along the St. Louis River for 90-minute, 12-mile round-trip tours at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on weekends. It leaves from the Western Waterfront Trail parking lot at Grand Avenue and 71st Avenue West, across from the Lake Superior Zoo. Adults, $9.25; children 12 and under, $6.25. (218) 624-7549, www.lsmrr.org.

Harbor cruises: From the Duluth dock, across the slip bridge from Canal Park, the Vista Fleet gives 1½-hour narrated cruises from early May through October, $14, $6 children 5-14. Many other cruises are offered, including pizza cruises from the Barker's Island dock in Superior, (218) 722-6218, www.vistafleet.com.

Boat watching: The free Lake Superior Marine Museum gives daily programs and pier history walks in summer; (218) 727-2497, www.lsmma.com. For boat arrival times, call the hot line, (218) 722-6489. The Web site www.duluthshippingnews.com has wonderful photos and loads of information.

The Depot: Downtown, the Depot houses the Duluth Children's Museum, Lake Superior Museum of Transportation (including old locomotives), Duluth Art Institute and St. Louis Country Historical Society, (218) 727-8025, www.lsrm.org.

Beaches: Brighton Beach, or Kitchi-Gammi Park, is on the east edge of Duluth, just past the Lester River. For swimming, cross the Aerial Lift Bridge and drive to the Park Point Recreation Area, which also has a wooden ore-boat playground.

Duluth information: (800) 438-5884, www.visitduluth.com.

Last updated on June 21, 2008