Maritime trappings flavor this lively port city on Lake Superior

Travel America, Sept-Oct, 2005 by Mike Michaelson

Minnesota by the sea? Technically, yes. Although the city of Duluth is close to the geographic center of North America and 2,342 freshwater miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it is nonetheless an important international seaport, thanks to the St. Lawrence Seaway. Annually, Duluth handles about 150 international freighters--"salties" in local parlance-along with close to 1,000 iron ore boats.

The contemporary city of 80,000 is totally tourist friendly, a zesty getaway destination even for those pinched for time. It blends indoor and outdoor diversions ranging from whitewater rafting, steam train excursions, and a famed hawk-watching ridge to museums, an Omnimax theater, and Shakespeare in the park.

Duluth is built into a steep, rocky cliffside, producing hilly streets that earn it the waggish sobriquet "San Francisco with ice." It is threaded with hiking and biking trails and offers definitive scenic drives past hardwood forests and tumbling waterfalls.

A don't-miss attraction is Great Lakes Aquarium, completed in 2000 at a cost of $33.8 million. With 10 percent of the world's surface fresh water on its doorstep, it focuses on fish, birds, and animals found in and near Lake Superior and other large lakes. It contains 70 species of freshwater fish and is home to birds, snakes, salamanders, turtles, frogs, and crayfish.

Visitors are invited to participate through interactive displays that include touching a live sea lamprey and taking the wheel of a virtual 1,000-foot-long freighter as it negotiates Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge. They can ride a virtual reality submersible along the floor of the lake to see what lives there and what's been left there. They also can pilot boats through the Great Lakes water table, test their strength against wave power, and experience the Great Lakes' unpredictable weather.

Five major habitats include a cove with river otter; a deep-water habitat; a fast-flowing stream with rainbow and brook trout; a slow-moving fiver with walleye, perch, and smallmouth bass; and a habitat with sandstone cliffs, sand beach, and sea cave.

Duluth has developed its bustling waterfront for recreational use. Watching ships on Lake Superior, the world's largest freshwater lake, is a major tourist pastime. On busy days, up to 3,000 flock down to watch traffic on the shipping canal.

Also popular is observing the ups and downs of Duluth's landmark Aerial Lift Bridge, which was first raised for ship traffic in 1930. The center span raises to a height of 138 feet to accommodate today's large vessels. Over the course of a shipping season it makes about 5,500 lifts.

Lake Superior is known not only for its size but for treacherous waters that have claimed more then 550 ships. Perhaps the most famous shipwreck is that of the Edmund Fitzgerald, immortalized in Gordon Lightfoot's haunting folk ballad.

On November 10, 1975, battered by heavy seas and winds gusting to 90 m.p.h, that whipped up 16-foot waves, the 729-foot-long freighter, once the largest on the Great Lakes, went down in seconds with all 29 crew members. Today, the Fitzgerald, broken in two, lies on the floor of Lake Superior in 530 feet of water. Her cargo of iron ore, loaded at Superior, is still aboard, as is her crew. As Gordon Lightfoot said, the lake never gives up its dead.

They are, however, remembered. Split Rock Lighthouse, restored to its 1920s appearance, recalls the men of the Fitzgerald and other mariners lost in Great Lakes shipwrecks. Visitors may climb the tower to view its Fresnel lens and tour the lighthouse keeper's home.

Duluth has an international sculpture garden and a zoo that is home to more than 25 endangered and threatened species, including snow leopards and peregrine falcons. Find performing arts, including ballet and a symphony orchestra, at a building locally known as "The Depot." It occupies the old Duluth Union Depot, built in 1892, once a gateway for immigrants and a fine example of Chateauesque-style architecture.

Top restaurant choices include Grandma's, a locally popular chain known for weekly specials like beef kabobs and cheesesteak. New Scenic Care lives up to its name with dramatic views of Lake Superior. Specialties feature pecan-crusted walleye and three-berry pie. Contact: Duluth Convention & Visitors Bureau, (800) 438-5884; www.visitduluth.com.