2019 Sept Lake Superior Loop Motorcycle Tour - (Day 1, Sat Aug 31)
As mentioned in the last post, the ride report written by Chuck Knodt was a great influence to my planning for this trip. I am not sure where Chuck started from, but he left Minnesota at St Croix falls and headed north through Wisconsin to Duluth. In Duluth Chuck used the famous lift bridge as the point where he started his circle journey at. From Duluth, he journeyed along the north coastline of Superior to Grand Marais MN, where he stopped for the first night.
Motorcycle traveling on Labor Day weekend has its risks. The greatest of these is the demand on the motel industry. We love Grand Marais MN, and that would have been the ideal location for our first night on the road. But I procrastinated and we couldn't get a room in Grand Marais; Beaver Bay became our destination for the first night.
Somewhere around 9:30 AM we swung our legs over the bikes seat and left home. We were not concerned with the late start because we traveled from home to Beaver Bay earlier this year. To be honest, we weren't even concerned about the route there. Well, that may not be entirely true. Right away we jumped onto I35 and blasted our way north to Sandstone MN. Sandstone MN, is known as the "First City of the North Woods". This is also where we got off the interstate and picked up the gorgeous north woods section of Hwy 23/61.
This section of Hwy 23/61 takes you through several state parks such as Banning and Jay Cooke State Parks. Hwy 23 is also routed alongside the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line into Duluth. I keep hoping to see a train along this right, but not today!
We stopped for s gas and bathroom break outside of the city of Sandstone. Then we headed North to the Veteran's Memorial Overlook, with a breathtaking view of the St. Louis River Valley. The overlook was established in 1947 and was dedicated to the men and women that served in both world wars.
After a break at the overlook, we headed north to Duluth MN and the famous lift bridge and Canal Park. Here at the lift bridge is where we planned to start our circular route around the lake. But with a festival happening at Canal Park, there was major traffic in the area. We decided not to start at the actual bridge, but chose an overlook close to the bridge as our starting point.
On the north side of Duluth there was road construction or some other other diversion that we had to route ourselves around. Leaving Duluth we got on to the N. Shore Drive and arrived at Two Harbors, MN. The famous Grandma's Marathon starts in Two Harbors and ends in Grandma's Salon near the Duluth Lift Bridge. In Two Harbors we stopped for a late lunch at Culvers and some fuel for the bike. I know, Culvers is not very adventurous, but we did this route earlier this year and just needed to feed us and fuel the bike. After we ate, we visited the Two Harbor light house park and train exhibit before heading north again.
It was Saturday, on the Labor Day weekend. Traffic on Hwy 61 along the Superior shore had a lot of traffic. We attempted to stop at Gooseberry falls, but the traffic in and out of the park was terrible. One of our usual overlooks is to stop at the Split Rock Lighthouse overview. On this visit we had to wait in line for a turn to get to the view unabated.
We arrived at Beaver Bay, MN for our first night at Camp 61. We stayed at Camp 61 earlier this year and found it comfortable, so here we are again. After unpacking the bike and getting comfortable we went for a hike to see the falls in Beaver Bay. The falls of Beaver Bay are typically overlooked by the average tourist. As you go thru town you cross over a bridge from which you cannot see the falls. If you get to Beaver Bay, get out and take a hike. Although there is a very good restaurant at Camp 61, dinner tonight is right next door at the Lemon Wolf .
Today we traveled 200 miles.
Come back next week to hear about breakfast in Grand Marais, our Canadian border crossing, and our first day in Canada!
Go ahead, hit that subscribe button! You know you want to...
Motorcycle traveling on Labor Day weekend has its risks. The greatest of these is the demand on the motel industry. We love Grand Marais MN, and that would have been the ideal location for our first night on the road. But I procrastinated and we couldn't get a room in Grand Marais; Beaver Bay became our destination for the first night.
Somewhere around 9:30 AM we swung our legs over the bikes seat and left home. We were not concerned with the late start because we traveled from home to Beaver Bay earlier this year. To be honest, we weren't even concerned about the route there. Well, that may not be entirely true. Right away we jumped onto I35 and blasted our way north to Sandstone MN. Sandstone MN, is known as the "First City of the North Woods". This is also where we got off the interstate and picked up the gorgeous north woods section of Hwy 23/61.
This section of Hwy 23/61 takes you through several state parks such as Banning and Jay Cooke State Parks. Hwy 23 is also routed alongside the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line into Duluth. I keep hoping to see a train along this right, but not today!
We stopped for s gas and bathroom break outside of the city of Sandstone. Then we headed North to the Veteran's Memorial Overlook, with a breathtaking view of the St. Louis River Valley. The overlook was established in 1947 and was dedicated to the men and women that served in both world wars.
After a break at the overlook, we headed north to Duluth MN and the famous lift bridge and Canal Park. Here at the lift bridge is where we planned to start our circular route around the lake. But with a festival happening at Canal Park, there was major traffic in the area. We decided not to start at the actual bridge, but chose an overlook close to the bridge as our starting point.
On the north side of Duluth there was road construction or some other other diversion that we had to route ourselves around. Leaving Duluth we got on to the N. Shore Drive and arrived at Two Harbors, MN. The famous Grandma's Marathon starts in Two Harbors and ends in Grandma's Salon near the Duluth Lift Bridge. In Two Harbors we stopped for a late lunch at Culvers and some fuel for the bike. I know, Culvers is not very adventurous, but we did this route earlier this year and just needed to feed us and fuel the bike. After we ate, we visited the Two Harbor light house park and train exhibit before heading north again.
We arrived at Beaver Bay, MN for our first night at Camp 61. We stayed at Camp 61 earlier this year and found it comfortable, so here we are again. After unpacking the bike and getting comfortable we went for a hike to see the falls in Beaver Bay. The falls of Beaver Bay are typically overlooked by the average tourist. As you go thru town you cross over a bridge from which you cannot see the falls. If you get to Beaver Bay, get out and take a hike. Although there is a very good restaurant at Camp 61, dinner tonight is right next door at the Lemon Wolf .
Today we traveled 200 miles.
Come back next week to hear about breakfast in Grand Marais, our Canadian border crossing, and our first day in Canada!
Go ahead, hit that subscribe button! You know you want to...
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