Last updated July 21, 2026
Each day stands alone — string together as many as your stay allows. Times are best-case from the lodge; add margin for fall-color weekends, winter roads, and pulling over when the lake does something spectacular.
Day 1
Arrive & land softly
Grocery stop en route (Duluth for the big run). Unload, walk the property, flights at North Shore Winery a few minutes away, an easy dinner (Moguls if it's open; Cascade Lodge as the always-open fallback), then the fire pit and the stars.
Winter swap: gear sorted into the garage racks, thermostats up, an early night before a first-tracks morning.
Day 2
Grand Marais day (~20–25 min)
Early: World's Best Donuts (in season — remember Tue/Wed) or Java Moose. Walk Artist's Point, browse the harbor shops, peek into North House. Lunch at the Fisherman's Daughter or Hungry Hippie. Afternoon on the shore hunting agates. Dinner at the Angry Trout (seasonal) or the Gun Flint Tavern, with a rooftop nightcap at Voyageur.
Rainy swap: galleries, North House, the Cook County museum, and a long lunch turn a wet day into a good one.
Day 3
Waterfall day, southbound
Temperance River gorge, then choose your depth: Tettegouche's Shovel Point, or push on to Gooseberry and Split Rock (about an hour-plus each way — the honest number). Coho Cafe fuels the drive home. Group dinner at the lodge and a shuffleboard bracket downstairs.
Honest note: rain makes waterfalls better, not worse. This is the day to keep even in weather.
Day 4
The mountain
Winter: a Lutsen ski day (Ikon works here now), après at Moguls, a legs-up evening. Summer/fall: gondola to a Summit Chalet lunch, the alpine slide, and the Oberg loop late in the afternoon when the light gets good.
Day 5
The Gunflint Trail & the dark sky
Drive the Gunflint — 57 miles one way to the edge of the Boundary Waters, a dead-end road worth a half day, with moose eyes on. Picnic from the Co-op. Back for an early dinner, because tonight is the stargazing night: moon phase permitting, the fire pit and the Sanctuary sky.
Day 6
Trail day & a slow afternoon
Oberg Mountain's summit loop, or the gondola up Moose Mountain and the ridge back down or a Cascade River loop from the state park. Afternoon at the lodge: the game room, board games, hot drinks. Winter: Nordic skiing on the Norpine system — the Hall and Massie loops if you want the elevation, Deer Yard Lake for a gentler morning; snowshoes optional.
Day 7
The far shore, or the slow goodbye
Big finish: Devil's Kettle and Grand Portage High Falls up north (an hour-plus — the honest number), with lunch in Grand Marais on the way back. Or the gentle version: one last donut run, a final Artist's Point walk, and a 10 AM checkout done right.
Ready-made plans
Pick a length
Weekend in Lutsen
Ready-made plan
3-day North Shore
Ready-made plan
5-day North Shore
Ready-made plan
7-day North Shore
Ready-made plan
Sleeps 12 · 5 bedrooms · eight wooded acres, three miles from Lutsen Mountains. Book direct for the best available rate.
Common questions
How many days do you need on the North Shore?
A long weekend covers Lutsen, Grand Marais and a waterfall day. Three to five days adds the Gunflint Trail, a full mountain day and a dark-sky night. A week reaches the far north — Devil's Kettle and Grand Portage High Falls — without rushing.
What should you do on your first day at Nordhus Lodge?
Stock up on groceries en route (Duluth for the big run), unload and walk the property, have an easy dinner nearby, then the fire pit and the stars. In winter, sort gear into the garage racks and turn in early for a first-tracks morning.
What is the best rainy-day plan on the North Shore?
Grand Marais galleries, the North House Folk School, the Cook County museum and a long lunch. And remember waterfalls look better in the rain, so a waterfall day is worth keeping even in weather.