Hey Guys!
We recently returned from our two week road trip exploring all 5 Great Lakes!
Our travel dates were June 25 – July 6, 2025.
If you’ve never seen any of the Great Lakes, I would highly recommend you visit at least one of them….they are truly amazing!
There’s something awe inspiring about standing at the edge of a lake so vast it feels like the ocean…now, imagine doing that five times!
From the wild cliffs of Lake Superior to the peaceful shores of Lake Ontario, we set out to visit all Five Great Lakes in one unforgettable trip.
We began our trip by flying into Minneapolis, MN, then drove 2.5 hours to reach the first of many hotel stays along our Great Lakes journey.
Tip: If you have time in Minneapolis, don’t miss Mall of America!
Our first night would be spent in the small, quaint town of Duluth, MN.
Nestled on the shores of Lake Superior, Duluth is a charming port city that perfectly blends natural beauty with industrial history.
Tip: As of July 2023, Duluth has a population of 87,860 people
One of the first things you will notice when you arrive to Duluth, is the iconic and historic Aerial Lift Bridge.
The bridge was originally constructed in 1905 as an aerial transfer bridge – one of only two ever built in the US.. It used a suspended gondola to carry people and vehicles across the Duluth Ship Canal.
In 1929, the bridge was converted into the vertical lift bridge that is capable of raising its center span 135 ft in just about one minute. This allows massive lake freighters and ships to pass through the canal while still connecting Duluth’s Canal Park to Park Point, the narrow sandbar that stretches into Lake Superior.
The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Read reviews here
After getting checked into our hotel, the Park Point Marina Inn, we headed to our room.
Our room was really nice!
Read Reviews here
The room had approximately 300 sq ft with 2 queen beds, a large bathroom and a small patio that overlooked Lake Superior.
After getting settled into our room, we headed out to find something to eat.
As many of you know by now, my husband is the ultimate burger connoisseur – always on the lookout for the next great burger joint wherever we go! And of course, this trip was no exception!
From small town diners to lakeside grills, he made it his mission to scout out the best burgers and seafood along our Great Lakes route!
So, we headed to a place he had found called Burger Paradox.
Burger Paradox opened in 2023 and is located in Duluth’s Lincoln Park District.
The outside of the restaurant didn’t look like much and felt a bit grungy. I was definitely a bit hesitant about going inside.
I kept wondering if my hubby had really done his homework on this place! 😉
Walking inside, the restaurant grabbed our attention with bold graffiti murals & twinkling lights.
It had a very casual, dive bar feel to it.
After grabbing a table, we took a few minutes to look over the menu,
They offered all kinds of creative smash burgers, wings and weird sounding sides.
I decided on the Galaxy Surfer burger that came with bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese and had them leave off the pickled red onions.
The hubby ordered the Fire Ant burger that came with pepper jack cheese, bacon, deep fried jalapeños, lettuce, spicy BBQ, smoked habanero aioli and had them leave off the sautéed onions.
The burgers were amazing and so was the service!
Read reviews here
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.
I’m going to stop here and continue our time in Duluth with my next blog post.
We had a late afternoon flight so we didn’t get to do much on our first day.
On our second day, we spend a full day exploring the North Shore Scenic Drive.
It was a long day, so I wanted to do a post just for that day instead of adding it to this one.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for Day 2!
UPDATE: Read Day 2 here, Day 3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here, Day 6 here, Day 7 here, Day 8 here, Day 9 here, Day 10 here & Day 11 here
Click here to see links to all of my blog posts