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Other stories in "North Shore"

• Dog days of winter
  Deep in a forest, novice mushers tag along with some huskies.
• Gales of November
  Along the North Shore, winter winds evoke visions of shipwrecks.
• Heirs to a hideaway
  High above Minnesota's North Shore, a spot at Tettegouche Camp is as prized as ever.
• The Lighthouse Express
  A vintage railroad takes passengers back to the past.
• Winter at Naniboujou
  On the North Shore, a Jazz Age lodge still inspires reverence.
• Cabin on a waterfall
  On Minnesota's North Shore, a state-park guesthouse is a prized hideaway.
• Summer's last resort
  On Lutsen Mountains, we find a sweet deal in late August.
• Quiet time on the North Shore
  Late fall is marked by stark beauty, cheaper stays and the gales of November.
• Hiking the North Shore
  For most, it's the preferred way to soak up the scenery.
• Artsy Grand Marais
  On Minnesota's North Shore, rough-hewn village is a cultural outpost.
• Dining on the North Shore
  Finally, the cuisine matches the scenery.
• Seeking the old North Shore
  On Minnesota's beloved vacation spot, change is coming fast.
• Skiing the North Shore
  On snow-laden hills, skiers glide on cloud nine.
• Introducing Minnesota's North Shore
  For stressed-out city folks, it's hallowed ground.
• Six ways to walk the Superior Hiking Trail
  On a guided trip, you can pay a lot or a little.
• Walk 'n' roll
  Thanks to a bike trail, backtracking on the Superior Hiking Trail is a thing of the past.
• Father Baraga's cross
  Where the Snowshoe Priest outlasted Lake Superior.
• Lessons at Lutsen
  Alpine skiing is more fun when you learn to do it better.
• Ice capers
  Along rivers and lakes, it's fun to play with Jack Frost.
• Grand Portage
  Once, a corner of northeast Minnesota was the center of the fur-trade universe.
• Beaches of the North Shore
  Agate-hunters, storm-watchers, picnickers — they all want to be close to the edge.

Where to stay on Minnesota's North Shore

Whatever you pick, reserve early in summer and fall.

In summer and fall, don't rely on luck to get a reservation on Minnesota's North Shore.

In the heat of summer, everyone wants to bask in Lake Superior's cooling breezes. In fall, everyone wants to see the fall colors. In winter weekends, skiers flock in.

Below are a few of the many places to stay; reserve as far in advance as possible for popular dates, especially Minnesota's school break the third weekend of October. For an overview, see Introducing Minnesota's North Shore.

Traditional mom-and-pop resorts

There are still small family resorts on the North Shore that have clean, tidy and updated cabins on lovely shorelines. Among them:

Split Rock Cabins has 10 nice housekeeping cabins on flat, grassy Lake Superior shoreline. It's just off the Gitchi-Gami Trail and a half-mile west of the Split Rock River, 218-226-4735.

Fenstad's in Little Marais has 16 classic cabins on the lake, nine with fireplaces, plus a sauna and playground, 218-226-4724.

Lamb's Resort and Campground in Schroeder, bordering the Cross River, has 14 cabins, 218-663-7292.

Cobblestone Cabins in Tofte has eight cabins and a wood-fired sauna right on the lake, 218-663-7957.

Solbakken Resort in Lutsen has cabins right on the lake, plus lodge suites and motel rooms, 800-435-3950.

Koeneke Shoredge in Lutsen has three cabins right on the lake, plus a small cabin without hot running water, 1-218-663-7588.

Gooseberry Trailside Suites, adjoining Gooseberry Falls State Park, isn't a resort. But skiers can get right onto park trails from the door, and it has four attractive two-bedroom suites, each with wood-burning fireplace, VCR, CD player, deck and full kitchen. There's a big sauna and a ski-waxing room outside, 800-715-1110.

Classic lodges

Cascade Lodge, between Lutsen and Grand Marais, has cabins, lodge rooms, motel units and a house. The resort faces the lake, but it's on the other side of the highway. 800-322-9543, www.cascadelodgemn.com.

Naniboujou, 14 miles east of Grand Marais, is a striking 1929 lakeshore lodge across from Judge C.R. Magney State Park. Its rooms are simple but attractive, and the restaurant is stuninng, 1-218-387-2688. For more, see Winter at Naniboujou.

The lodge of Lutsen Resort is a classic, with picture windows overlooking the beach. The lodge rooms are small and old-fashioned, but the resort also rents villas, condos and cabins, 800-258-8736.

Vacation condos/resorts

In Tofte, Bluefin Bay has many kinds of units, from standard with hillside view to luxury suites with whirlpool and fireplace; its biggest assets are lake views, from its rooms and also from a large outdoor hot tub that is shielded from wind by a glass wall, an outdoor pool and a sauna.

There's also an indoor pool complex, restaurant and the popular Coho Cafe. Its activities staff is refreshingly competent, offering gear, shuttles and advice year-round. In the off season, it offers good deals, 800-258-3346, www.bluefinbay.com.

On Lutsen Mountain, Caribou Highlands Lodge has a restaurant and attractive lodge rooms, condos and townhomes, 800-642-6036. Eagle Ridge, next door, also is attractive and very convenient for skiing, 800-360-7666.

In Grand Marais, the East Bay Suites replaced the beloved East Bay Hotel but still allows pets and has the same great location on a pebble beach downtown. The small-town coziness is gone, but the suites are handsomely furnished.

Hotels

Cove Point Lodge in Beaver Bay is an attractive lodge on the lakeshore and within 10 miles of Gooseberry, Split Rock and Tettegouche state parks. It also has cottages. 800-598-3221, www.covepointlodge.com.

The Americinn in Silver Bay may be a good place to take kids; it has a 110-foot spiral water slide and rates include breakfast with waffle bar. 218-226-4300, www.americinnsilverbay.com.

In Grand Marais, the Grand Marais Hotel Company, 800-247-6020, manages five properties,  the Aspen Lodge, Shoreline Inn, Spruceglen Inn and Cobblestone Cove Villas, downtown, and Super 8, on the edge of town. The newly built Cobblestone Cove Villas, facing the harbor, and East Bay Suites, facing the lake, are well-appointed and popular with well-heeled tourists.

There are still several old-fashioned motels on the periphery of Grand Marais, including Nelson's Travelers Rest.

Bed-and-breakfast inns

In Two Harbors, the Lighthouse B&B has three spare but tasteful rooms, $145 on summer and fall weekends, $135 weekdays. They share one bathroom, and there's a half-bath in the basement. The Skiff House, on the grounds adjoining the visitors center, has its own bathroom and hot tub, $145-$155. The inn is run by volunteers from the historical society, 1-888-832-5606, www.lighthousebb.org.

Near Tettegouche State Park, the new log Baptism River Inn B&B has four rooms, each with a double whirlpool, 877-353-0707.

Four miles north of Grand Marais, the Superior Overlook is a pleasant B&B on the lake, with two rooms and sauna, 877-387-9335.

In Grand Portage, Sweetgrass Cove Guesthouse and Bodywork Studio has three rooms, $145 including breakfast and use of the sauna and outdoor hot tub. Spa services are available onsite, 1-866-475-2421.

For other B&Bs, check the North Shore Bed & Breakfast Association site.

House and cabin rentals

If you’d like your very own beach, Cascade Vacation Rentals out of Lutsen rents privately owned houses and cabins between Lutsen and Grand Marais, 800-950-4361, www.cascadevacationrentals.com.

State-park lodgings

Tettegouche State Park has two highly prized places to stay. The luxurious Illgen Falls Cabin is atop 45-foot Illgen Falls on the Baptism River, off Minnesota 1 (see House in a park).

On the other side of the park, accessible only a ¾-mile gravel road over which guests must tote all their supplies, are the four rustic cabins on Mic Mac Lake (Heirs to a hideaway).

Camping

There's camping at six of the North Shore's seven state parks. Split Rock, which doesn't have very many sites, is the hardest-to-get reservation in the state, followed by Temperance River and Tettegouche. Gooseberry Falls, Judge C.R. Magney and Cascade River also are in the Top 10 most popular camping parks.

Campsites at the inland Crosby Manitou State Park, east of Finland, are easiest to get. Grand Portage State Park is for day use only.

Campsites can be reserved a year in advance at 866-857-2757 or online at www.stayatmnparks.com; for details on parks, check the DNR Web site, www.mnstateparks.info.

In Grand Marais, the Grand Marais Recreation Area, 888-998-0959, has 300 sites on the lakeshore and is next to the municipal pool and the North House Folk School.

Last updated on October 26, 2008