Lutsen, MN.
Growing up in northern Minnesota in a town that most didn’t even know was a town was incredible, but I didn’t know that I grew up in a special place until I moved away. Looking back at my childhood, all I wanted to do was get away from the small town of Lutsten and couldn’t appreciate what all the people were coming to see on the weekends. Now that I have been gone longer than I was there I can see how special the place really was. The big lake and the incredible landscape make it a place like no other in Minnesota. When I get a chance to come home and experience the area it reminds me how lucky I was to grow up on the North Shore. There have been many changes since I left in 1992 but the views of the lake have not changed. In early June, Heidi and I had the chance to visit the north shore and hike a couple of the state parks and experience the Hopped Up Caribou Beer Festival in Lutsen Minnesota.
I had heard about the The Hopped Up Caribou Beer Festival held up at the ski hill in Lutsen from family and friends over the years. For most of those years I wasn’t interested in the event or anything about it because I didn’t know anything about craft beer or the culture that surrounds it. In the last couple of years I have expended my world and discovered craft beer and what a great bunch of people surround it. When the opportunity to head up to Lutsen for the beer festival came up, I was super excited to experience something that I have come to love in a place that means so much to me. The Hopped Up Caribou Beer Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2022. The event is put on by Odyssey Resorts at their Caribou Highlands Lodge location in Lutsen Minnesota. The event was held on Fathers day weekend and included activities throughout the weekend. The main event was held on Saturday between 1pm-4pm and included food, games and live music that continued into the evening. The Hopped Up Caribou Beer Festival is small compared to many of the other beer festivals we had been to. There were between 18 and 20 different beer, cider, and spirits vendors handing out samples of their craft beverages. Being that the event was smaller we had the opportunity to try almost every vendor's creations. This also gave us the opportunity to stop and talk to the people behind the counter and get to know more about their beverages and the companies that created them.
We showed up Friday night in Lutsen and checked into our room at Caribou Highlands. It was nice being able to stay on location for the beer festival. Saturday we started the day with a trip into Grand Marais and on the way we got breakfast at Cascade Lodge. We had an incredible breakfast and took some time to talk about the day and how incredible the north shore is. After breakfast we continued our trip into town. Grand Marias was busier than I expected but we were able to find parking fairly easily. We walked around and looked through a couple of shops and checked out the harbor. Heidi bought a snazzy new adventure hat from Ben Franklin. We stopped off at the Java Moose for coffee and then headed back to Lutsen. The beer festival started at 1 and we showed up soon after the gates opened. The festival was held in a fairly small area that once was the tennis courts and the area around them. We picked up our sampling mug as we entered and started sampling different beers, ciders, and spirits. We did one lap sampling here and there and noted the ones we liked so we could come back and sample those again. There was a mix of different types of beers. Lots of IPAs and Sours for the summer. We were able to find a handful of Stouts and Porters. There were also excellent cider options from Wild State Cider and Duluth Cider. When it comes to spirits there was only one vendor and we were happily surprised that they were there. Du Nord Social Spirits brought a variety of spirits and had an incredible mixed drink called Purple Rain. After an hour and a half of sampling different beverages we had plenty of time to stop and talk to the vendors more about their creations and about their companies. The folks from Wild State Cider, Fulton Brewing, and Du Nord Social Spirits were especially nice and informative. Before we knew it they announced the festival was ending. Heidi and I took some time to relax and get ready for the evening. In the evening there was live karaoke under the big tent. Hurricane Karaoke put on a karaoke show that puts karaoke singers together with a live band. The band plays and signs along with karaoke signers. This way no matter how bad the singer is, the music still sounded good. The event was a lot of fun and we are excited to head back next year.
Sunday morning. We had a bit of a slow start in the morning but still had time to go to the pool before checkout. After we checked out we started our way back down the shore towards Duluth. We stopped in Tofte at the Coho Cafe for breakfast. I had been there a couple of times for coffee but never sat down and ate in the restaurant. The food was great and the service was excellent. We took our time eating and talked about the day and we decided to stop at a couple of state parks on our way down the shore. The first stop was only a couple miles down the road. We stopped at the Temperance River wayside rest on highway 61. The rest stop on highway 61 gives you the ability to hike Temperance State Park without having to go to the park's main entrance. Temperance River State Park was established in 1957 and covers an impressive 5,059 acres. The park supposedly got its name because, unlike other North Shore streams, the river had no sand bar at its mouth. At one time, the waters of this particular river flowed so deep and so strong into Lake Superior that there was no build-up of debris. We parked on the north side of the bridge and started up the Hiking Club Trail that follows the river up stream. Along the way we stop at each waterfall. The river was moving at a good pace but nothing like it was during the spring run off time earlier in the spring. We followed the trail up past the Gitchi-Gami State Trail to the backwaters where the river widens and slows. The trail kept going but we figured that we should turn around and head back to the car to make sure we had time to stop and hike at another park on our way home.
The next stop was Tettegouche State Park. Tettegouche is another state park on the north shore that incorporates a wayside rest into the park. Tettegouche State Park was first occupied by the Native Americans. In 1895, logging companies moved into the area and logged the area almost barren. After 10 years of being logged the land was sold to a group of businessmen named the Tettegouche Club who used it for a fishing camp and retreat. The group owned and used the land for about ten years. In 1921 the club wanted to sell the property but one member Clement Quinn wanted to protect the land from development. He bought the land and oversaw it until it was sold in 1971 to the DeLaittres family. The DeLaittres family soon started negotiations with the state to make it a state park. Finally, on June 29, 1979, legislation was enacted establishing Tettegouche as a state parkThe park takes up an amazing 9,346 acres. The park now has a large interpretive center that works as a rest area for travelers on highway 61. Heidi and I parked at the interpretive center and started our hike from there. After looking over the map we decided to hike the Shovel Point Trail out to Shovel Point. The trail out to Shovel Point is only 0.6 miles long but is a challenging hike with its elevation changes and the amount of stairs you have to climb. The incredible views are worth the hike. The trail follows along the clifftop to the tip of Shovel Point where you have some of the best views of Lake Superior and Palisade Head. We took a break at the end of the trail and took in the beauty of the lake. It’s one of those places where you can just sit and listen to the wind, and waves for hours. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay longer but it was worth the stop.
Back to where we started. The north shore of Minnesota. One of those places where you can lose who you are or find who you want to be. Growing up there I never knew or understood what all the fuss was about but as I get older and return for short getaways I can see how lucky I was to grow up on the shore. Each time I head down the big hill into Duluth and see the big lake I get this overwhelming feeling of being home. The big lake almost calls to you when you're not there and awakens your senses while you're there. Events like the Hopped Up Caribou Beer Festival and places like Temperance and Tettegouche State Parks enhance the north shore experience and give me more excuses to head home.
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