Lakeside Lore and Legends: A Walking Tour through Duluth’s Canal Park

Duluth is a one-of-a-kind, inland port city, which serves as a gateway to the north shore of Lake Superior. Its long history is reflected in Canal Park, a formerly run-down industrial zone and one of the city’s thriving centers for recreation today.

On this walking tour, we’ll dive into Duluth’s past, from the last ice age, to the rise and fall of its Red Light District and, finally, Canal Park’s transformation and rebirth.

The tour starts near Lake Superior’s westernmost point. You’ll then stroll along part of Duluth Lakewalk. As you walk, you’ll hear about nearby shipwrecks, the little portage, and the big canal.

You’ll find out how, when a local businessman rattled Duluth by moving his Pizza Roll factory to Ohio, his son would go on to play a role in Canal Park’s economic revival. I’ll tell you about the famous Glensheen murders that were made into a musical, and about fish that are almost as old as Duluth Itself. You’ll hear about Duluth’s shipping heritage, the founding and naming of the city, and the building of the Duluth Ship Canal. You’ll then head down South Lake Avenue to finish our tour at the Minnesota Slip Bridge.

Along the way, you’ll have a chance to:

• Hear about the 1905 Mataafa Storm that sent many ships to the bottom of Lake Superior
• Learn about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s time at the University of Wisconsin-Superior
• Discover how Duluthians crossed the canal before engineers found inspiration in a French magazine to build the Aerial Lift Bridge
• Relive the time when Duluth was one of the most economically depressed cities in America
• Get to know how a fictional brothel madam named ”Grandma” rescued Canal Park
• Find out how much the 1977 entry fee was for the very first ”Grandma’s Marathon”
• Be transported to a time when Canal Park stood under 450 feet of water
• Imagine surfing Lake Superior all winter long
• Listen to stories about the Great Bear Invasion of 1929, and maybe even see one of the bears!
• Connect the dots between Bob Dylan and Duluth
• Walk in the shadow of the SS William A Irvin, a freighter that was once the flagship of US Steel’s Great Lakes Fleet

At the end of this 60-minute walking tour, you’ll have immersed yourself in the rich history of this quaint lake-side town, and been delighted by its quirky myths and legends.