1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (63 page)

A Paean to Consumer Consumption

Bloomington, Minnesota

What wonders abound in this suburban shopping mall large enough to hold 32 Boeing 747s? For starters, you can plunge through the treetops on a roller coaster, take a virtual-reality submarine ride
, get a degree, and even get married. Mall of America’s 500-plus stores, it turns out, simply provide the framework for a crazy compendium of attractions at this 4.2-million-square-foot monolith, the largest shopping mall in the U.S. (the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada, still gets top billing as the largest mall in the world) and Minnesota’s No. 1 attraction. This four-story mega-mall lures more than 42 million visitors each year, a staggering statistic that tops the annual visitation of Disney World, the Grand Canyon, and Graceland
combined.

Mall of America opened in 1992 on the site of the old Metropolitan Stadium—where the Minnesota Twins and Vikings played. The Park at MOA (formerly Camp Snoopy) occupies 7 acres in the center of the mall, comprising the world’s first spinning roller coaster, a 74-foot-high Ferris wheel, and enough other adventures to make it the largest indoor theme park in the nation. Below the amusement park, a moving walkway transports visitors through Underwater Adventures Aquarium, its 1.2 million gallons home to sharks, sea turtles, piranhas, even an octopus that can open jars. Elsewhere you’ll find a four-story LEGO Imagination Center, fighter jet flight simulators, a dinosaur museum, the Chapel of Love, bars and nightclubs in an entertainment district called the Upper East Side, more than
50 restaurants from fast food to fancy, the National American University campus, and a U.S. post office with its own zip code.

With more than 30 rides and attractions, the Park at MOA promises plenty of fun for the whole family.

Oh, and the stores. Ironically, shopping may be the least interesting aspect of the MOA. Its 4.3 miles of storefronts feature many of the same names you’d find in a typical suburban shopping mall, just lots more of them. Remember to pace yourself—if you spent just 10 minutes in each MOA store, it would take 86 hours to experience them all.

W
HERE
: 9 miles south of downtown Minneapolis. Tel 952–883-8800,
www.mallofamerica.com
.
B
EST TIMES
: Nov and Dec, when Christmas shopping amid the decorations can actually be fun.

Where Minnesotans Go for R&R

Brainerd, Minnesota

In a state that markets itself as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” Brainerd well may be the centerpiece, both literally and otherwise. Located in the geographic center of Minnesota, the Brainerd Lakes area encompasses some 500 lakes
(465 of them within 30 miles of Brainerd), not to mention the Mississippi River, several streams, an impressive array of challenging golf courses, and an inspiring network of more than 850 miles of hiking and biking trails. This appealing combination makes the region a classic Minnesota vacation area, whether tastes run to catching a trophy muskie or relaxing at a glamorous resort. In fact, so many Midwesterners spend “a week at the lake” here that Brainerd Lakes generates nearly half of Minnesota’s resort revenue.

The Pines, at Grand View Lodge, has three unique 9-hole courses: the Lakes, the Woods, and the Marsh.

Several century-old resorts still flourish, kept up to date with amenities like designer golf and full-service spas. You’ll find a pair on Gull Lake near Nisswa: Grand View Lodge and Madden’s on Gull Lake each welcome guests with classic log lodges that exemplify north woods rustic elegance, flanked by championship courses challenging enough to test even scratch golfers. In all, the Brainerd Lakes area features 20 golf courses, all located within a 45-minute drive of each other.

Area lakes are renowned for walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike, and pan fish. Natural waterways link many of the lakes together in “chains,” allowing boaters to travel among several without backtracking. Come winter, ice fishers are part of the culture here, either found sitting on an upturned bucket next to a hole cut in the ice or ensconced in an elaborate shanty decked out with propane heaters and electrical generators. Show up in January and join 12,000
other anglers for the Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza on Gull Lake. On nearby Mille Lacs Lake, a temporary city called Frostbite Flats is erected each winter, with more than 5,000 shanties linked by plowed roads and shuttle service from area resorts.

B
RAINERD
: 135 miles northwest of Minneapolis.
Visitor info:
Tel 800–450-2838 or 218–829-2838;
www.explorebrainerdlakes.com
.
G
RAND
V
IEW
L
ODGE
: Nisswa. Tel 800–432-3788 or 218–963-2234;
www.grandviewlodge.com
.
Cost:
cabins from $125 without meals (off-peak), from $280 with breakfast and dinner (peak).
M
ADDEN’S
: Brainerd. Tel 800–642-5363 or 218–829-2811;
www.maddens.com
.
Cost:
from $134 (off-peak), from $176 (peak).
B
EST TIMES
: Jan for the Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza; mid-Apr for opening weekends at golf resorts; Sept for sunny days and few crowds.

Picture-Perfect Shoreline Along Superior’s Big Blue

Duluth to Grand Portage, Minnesota

Minnesotans understandably rate the land along Lake Superior’s northwestern shore among its most precious real estate. This 150-mile stretch of rocky coastline is home to sweet waterfront villages and
10 of Minnesota’s finest state parks. Highway 61 links it all together, hugging the lakeshore and creating one of the nation’s most acclaimed scenic drives. Though the area is busy with visitors and resorts, it remains untamed, sandwiched between the rugged Sawtooth Mountains of the Superior National Forest (see p. 550) and the wide, wild horizon of the world’s largest freshwater lake.

Duluth is the southern gateway in the region, a busy shipping port of some 80,000 people that offers an array of charms for visitors—a parade of Great Lakes freighters passing beneath its iconic lift bridge, the handsomely refurbished waterfront, and several blocks of well-preserved 19th-century buildings along Superior Street, the downtown’s main drag.

Travel north on Highway 61, though, and you quickly leave behind Duluth’s small-city charms for the commanding scenery of Lake Superior. Twenty miles away, grab your camera to visit Split Rock Lighthouse, sitting atop a dramatic 170-foot bluff rising out of the lake.

Near Split Rock, the road begins skipping over one river after another, as they tumble from the Sawtooth Mountains over waterfalls and basalt ledges into Lake Superior. Many of the falls and river mouths are protected as state parks—including Gooseberry, Temperance, Tettegouche, and Caribou Falls—offering plenty of hiking trails, overlooks, and access to Lake Superior beaches.

Northeast of Temperance, a trio of towns that have occasionally been dubbed the “Norwegian Riviera”—Tofte, Lutsen, and Grand Marais—are home to some of the region’s best accommodations, including the Bluefin Bay Resort that mirrors a modern Norwegian fishing village, and the Lutsen Resort, an 1885 Swedish homestead that still welcomes with Scandinavian charm, from its log rooms to its hearty wild rice pancakes. Northeast of Grand Marais, Naniboujou Lodge looks at once perfectly north woodsy and oddly out of place. Built in the 1920s as an exclusive rustic retreat attracting the likes of Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey, it has eye-popping orange, red, and blue interiors inspired by the Cree Indians, yet vaguely reflective of the era’s art deco tastes. It’s a captivating slice of history and a peaceful sanctuary on the Superior shore.

Completed in 1910, the 54-foot Split Rock Lighthouse offers sweeping views of Lake Superior below.

Grand Marais, with a year-round population of just 1,400, is the archetypal lakeside town, where sailboats rock gently in the harbor and unpretentious galleries and cafés sidle up alongside outfitters eager to help you organize a wilderness backpacking or paddling adventure. Grand Portage lies another 36 miles northeast, where Grand Portage National Monument commemorates an important rendezvous spot for French Canadian fur traders, with a reconstructed stockade and displays of the voyageur’s life. For fur traders it marked the beginning or end of a long journey. Today, Grand Portage marks the end of Minnesota’s beloved North Shore. Get out your passport: The Ontario border and points north wait at the outskirts of town.

T
HE
N
ORTH
S
HORE
: 150 miles of Lake Superior shoreline.
Visitor info:
Tel 888–868-7476 or 651–296-5029;
www.exploreminnesota.com
.
B
LUEFIN
B
AY
R
ESORT
: Tofte. Tel 800–258-3346 or 218–663-7860;
www.bluefinbay.com
.
Cost:
from $89 (off-peak), from $139 (peak).
L
UTSEN
R
ESORT AND
S
EA
V
ILLAS
: Lutsen. Tel 800–258-8736 or 218–663-7212;
www.lutsenresort.com
.
Cost:
from $79 (off-peak), from $99 (peak).
N
ANIBOUJOU
L
ODGE
: Grand Marais. Tel 218–387-2688;
www.naniboujou.com
.
Cost:
from $80.
When:
mid-May–mid-Oct.
G
RAND
P
ORTAGE
N
ATIONAL
M
ONUMENT
: Grand Portage. Tel 218–475-2202;
www.nps.gov/grpo
.
When:
mid-May–mid-Oct.
B
EST TIMES
: mid-July for Grand Marais Art Festival; early Aug for Fisherman’s Picnic in Grand Marais; mid-Aug for Rendezvous Days and Powwow in Grand Portage and for Duluth’s Bayfront Blues Festival (
www.bayfrontblues.com
).

An Immense Paddling Paradise Along the Canadian Border

Ely, Minnesota

More than 1,000 lakes—ranging from 10 to 10,000 acres each—are scattered throughout the piney woods along the Minnesota/Ontario border. On the Minnesota side lie 1 million protected acres of land
known as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the largest U.S. wilderness preserve east of the Rockies. Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park encompasses another contiguous 1.2 million acres. It’s an almost incomprehensibly vast lake country wilderness, with more than 1,200 miles of mapped canoe routes and not a single road. Free of cars, largely free of motorboats—even mostly free of planes in the airspace above—the BWCAW is truly a place that feels untouched by time.