Canal Park

Early one morning I coaxed my friend to join me for a walk in Canal Park to take in the beautiful sunrise over Lake Superior. It was our first full day in Duluth and I wanted to take advantage of as much of this amazing city as I could.
We walked over the Aerial Lift Bridge and explored a bit of the Lakewalk near the Maritime Center. I walked down both piers to take pictures of the lighthouse and the bridge from multiple angles. Even at sunrise we were able to watch several boats sail under the bridge. It’s quite a sight. Canal Park is a popular place and for good reason.
I took way too many pictures. But how could I not? Canal Park is quite possibly one of the most beautiful and scenic spots in all of Duluth regardless of the time of day. I would recommend a sunrise walk as a great way to ease into another gorgeous day in Duluth.

Pretty neat park just outside the downtown area of Duluth. The whole area is called Canal Park, as well as the designated city park adjacent to the bridge where the maritime center is located. Paid parking is present, and if you drive, you should definitely pay because they have many officials walking around all day everyday writing tickets. During my 1 hour of parking on my last day in town, I saw numerous cars receive citations.
A must visit for families and all other types of visitors.

This area is the show case of Duluth for Tourists and locals. There is plenty to do and see. The biggest problem here can be parking during summer. Its always fun to watch a ship pass by.

Canal Park feels like a hybrid of the Midwest and east coast. It feels like home — and is freeeee!
If you come to Duluth but didn’t spend a good amount of time on the shores of Canal Park, then ya dun goofed. There’s a lighthouse, sculptures, outdoor fact sheets and artifacts, a fun shoreline, restaurants, and the drawbridge, to name a few things. There is a shipwreck still sitting at the bottom of the lake, right by the shore, that is interesting to read about but horrifying to imagine. The museum in the park is free as well, and you will feel like a big adult-​baby when you cannot resist getting behind the ship’s wheel and spinning it like a drunken pirate. Waving and cheering for the big ships that come honking in under the lift bridge is another neat aspect — it makes me feel like I’m waving at the Titanic which is fun until I remember how horrible an analogy that is.
Dipping my feet into the cold water on a summer’s day is one of life’s simple pleasures. So is running around like a total ass and feeding seagulls (even though I usually hate when people act like this). I don’t recommend it, actually. It’s rude and attracts too many seagulls and one of them shit right in my eye.

Fun spot to wander around for a couple of hours. Beautiful scenery, free telescopes to borrow, watch the ships come in and the drawbridge. It’s so quaint and relaxing. Short walk to the major streets to grab a bite from chain spots and to that mall with all the restaurants.

What can I say? It’s a busy place. It’s a tourist attraction. There are hotels, shopping, arts/​crafts, food places and even Club Saratoga (if you want to see a few dancers or maybe some jazz). You get a great view of Duluth and Lake Superior and seeing the big ships coming and going from the harbor is quite something.

Great place to hang. Relax, and walk on the shore of lake superior. Wonder some store in canal park. A relaxed day, every time. The best part of Duluth!

Tourist central. The best time to come is in early spring or late fall (in Duluth that’s basically May and September) when the crowds have left and the place is cool, crisp, and open.
The crowds all come here for a reason though, and even on popular summer days it’s still a great place to go meetup with fellow tourists to enjoy Duluth, or to meetup with fellow locals to grumble about the tourists while doing the same things they do.

Lovely place to walk around, stop in some shops, grab a bite to eat, and most importantly enjoy the view of the beautiful Lake Superior and lift bridge.
It is basically the epicenter of Duluth and I’d say a must do when in town, but how could you miss it?!

I lived a good chunk of my life in MN and always found this place to be a nice long weekend type of area maybe once a year. I suffer a heart attack usually with the simple thoughts of Duluth’s insane weather, but this is a great place to visit in the summer. It’s extremely family friendly, safe, and can be pretty on the right summer day. It’s fun watching the small ships leave the port after you watch the bridge rise with much excitement from the crowd. Alot of seagull poop flopping around, but it’s nature so what the hell? Canal Park has a couple of decent coffee shops (I.E. Amazing Grace) and not much else for food. I guess Grandma’s might be ok if your looking for onion rings or something simple. Not much else to eat in that area. Canal Park is also the beginning of a pleasant boardwalk you can stroll through when the weather is agreeable (again, usually about 11 days out of the year). Downtown Duluth is not so wonderful to look at, so a short skip and a hop you will be Canal Park. It would be a great place to spend a weekend in the summer.
BE AWARE: If you stay in a hotel in this area you might as well sell a kidney or drain out your savings funds. The prices are gut wrenching.

If you go to Duluth you MUST visit Canal Park.
For some reason the weather always seems to be perfect when I visit this place. It’s extremely touristy, but everyone is nice and laid back. The views off of the shore are beautiful and, if you go on the other side of the bridge, you can walk down miles of sand next to the Gr8 Lake.
Restaurants like Grandma’s (a Duluth staple) and many nice hotels surround Canal Park.
Nothing is quite as relaxing and cool as looking out onto the lake and seeing ships far out, seeing all the Seagulls, and taking in the views. Don’t miss out!

Canal Park will always have a special place in my heart. Until I was older I thought that Canal park *was* Duluth. Its a great place to spend a few hours walking along the Lakewalk, skipping rocks and watching ginormous ships go under the bridge. Watching the bridge raise and lower is an amazing sensory experience. Canal park does have its hair share of touristy kitch but its easy to avoid by focusing on the natural beauty.

I really liked Canal Park. It had a weird East Coast feeling to it at first, but there’s just this energy in the air, like everyone’s really hoping an ore ship or Vista cruiser is going to come through. Or, you know, they’re all trying to avoid getting pooed on by seagulls.
There are lots of great shops here; the food is pretty so-​so, except for Crabby Bill’s.
Canal Park is definitely a must-​do! Check out the maritime museum! It’s free and actually really cool.

So, Ive lived in MN almost all my life and just recently visited Duluth for the first time. My husband and I went for one night and stayed at the comfort Inn Suites right on Canal Park Dr. I was excited from the minute we arrived. Definitely worth the two hour drive. Great spot to hang out on a summer day. The views are so beautiful. There are lots of cute little shops, good people watching and a pretty good variety of places to eat .We had lunch on the rooftop deck of grandma’s and while the food wasn’t anything to rave about the atmosphere was awesome.

The Lift Bridge is a fantastic structure to both see and watch operate. If lucky you’ll see an über freighter pass thru. Take in the nearby Maritime Museum, too.
Nice walking paths around Canal Park. Vibrant public space. Only downside is too many corporate restaurants. Could be better if fewer corporate dining joints and more local ones. We sure as heck don’t go to Duluth to eat at Famous Dave’s and Green Mill. Boo!
Canal Park is worth visiting.

This was my first stop of many while taking a weekend trip along the North Shore. My girlfriend and I were walking around in the area when we noticed a huge ship approaching the canal. We made our way over to the edge of the canal and waited for the ship to enter the canal. The thousand foot ship blasted its horn three times and the bridge responded and started to rise. It seemed like it took the boat forever to get under the bridge, but it was probably only a few minutes.
Great spot to catch some boats, take pictures, and it is right next door to restaurants and shops so there is something to do for everyone.

If you are a tourist, come here! Join the other tourists and act like you have no idea where you are!
Canal Park is a pretty area. tons of shops, food, and tons of people and birds!
I enjoy the area alot, it is a sight, watching the boats come in, and the bridge lift. Going to eat at Grandma’s, then strolling down the lake front as the sun sets… It is beautiful!

Although a bit touristy this part of Duluth is a great place to start a tour of the North Shore of Lake Superior.
This area has changed a lot since Duluth was a small city in the 1800’s. If I remember my history right this area, like Superior, WI. to the south was where sailors would hit the bars and frequent the whorehouses.
Now in the last 30 or 40 years it has turned into an inexpensive place where you and the kids can hang out. Actually there is something interesting for a wide variety of interests.
The main attraction at the south end is the famous vertical lift bridge. I can remember the Norwegian sailing ship, the Christian Radich, just making it through back in 1976.
There is a nice maritime museum right by the bridge. It’s the Lake Superior Maritime Museum. Wikepedia has a nice write up about it. There’s a monitor that shows when the big freighters and ore boats will come through the canal.
There is a nice little park there and you can walk out to the small lighthouse at the entrance to the canal.
For restaurants there are a variety of places from the semi-​kitschy Grandma’s to the reasonably upscale Lake Avenue Café.
There are a variety of shops catering to canoeists, art collectors, trinket seekers, etc.
It’s in easy walking distance from downtown Duluth and their fine convention center.
If you are from the south or don’t like cold weather you would be well advised to avoid walking around there in January of February: the odds are that YOU WILL FREEZE YOUR ASS!
But in the summer when it’s hot and humid up away from the lake, this a a lovely place for a lazy fun sojourn.
On a busy day parking can be a hassle.
Lake Avenue is the main thoroughfare. You can continue south on that over the vertical lift bridge and into the narrow spit of land that has a long beach with sand dunes and a nice park at the south end. This area is called Park Point.