Lake Superior North Shore Driving Tour

Explore the scenic North Shore of Lake Superior with this self-guided driving tour. Relive tales of harrowing shipwrecks, including the famous tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Visit historic landmarks like Glensheen Mansion and Pierre the Voyager. Marvel at the cascading waters of Gooseberry Falls State Park and cap off your journey with breathtaking views from Split Rock Lighthouse. This is a drive you simply can’t miss!
Purchase one tour per car, not per person. Everyone listens together!

After booking, check your email to download the separate Audio Tour Guide App by Action, enter your unique password, and access your tour. These steps require good internet/Wi-Fi access. From there, follow the audio instructions and the route.

New, extra validity — now yours for an entire year! Use multiple times over multiple trips!

This isn't an entrance ticket. Check opening hours before your visit.

Meeting Point

Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center

600 Canal Park Dr, Duluth, MN 55802, USA

After booking the tour, search your email for the phrase "Set up your self-guided tour now." Follow these instructions NOW to finish setting up the tour while you have Wi-Fi/data. Do NOT wait until you are onsite.

What's included:

• Easy-to-use app: download Action’s Tour Guide App onto your phone
• Great value: purchase per car, not per person. More affordable than bus or guided tours!
• Engaging storytelling: Uncover unique tales and thrilling history for a memorable journey!
• Perfect narrator: nothing can beat listening to a great voice. Proven with tons of rave reviews!
• Offline maps: no signal, no problem! Works perfectly without cellular or wifi.
• Comprehensive route and stops: See it all, miss nothing, leave no stone unturned!
• Go at your own pace: Start anytime, pause anywhere, enjoy breaks for snacks and photos freely!
• Hands-free: audio stories play on their own based on your location. Easy to use!

Not included:

• Attraction passes, entry tickets, or reservations

What to expect:

Duration: between 3 hours and 4 hours

Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center

525 S. Lake Ave, Suite 209, Duluth, 55802-3102, Minnesota

This tour begins in the parking lot of the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center, located at 600 Canal Park Drive, Duluth. To begin the tour, exit the parking lot and turn right onto Canal Park Drive.
Note: This 47.9-mile-long tour covers the essentials of Lake Superior North Shore in 3-4 hours.

10 minutes

Canal Park

Canal Park Drive & Morse Street, , Duluth, Minnesota

Local legend says in 1870 every man, woman and child in Duluth brought out their shovels and dug the canal here in just three days! In reality, a huge steam dredger did most of the hard work. Not quite as fun, I know!

10 minutes

Glensheen Mansion

3300 London Rd, Duluth, MN 55804, USA

Mining magnate Chester Congdon built it in 1908. It later passed to his daughter Elisabeth, who lived out her twilight years there. That is, until June 27th, 1977, when she was found murdered in her bedroom. Someone had suffocated her with a satin pillow. Nearby was Elisabeth’s nurse, bludgeoned to death with a candlestick.

10 minutes

Duluth

Duluth, Minnesota

As we head for the outskirts of Duluth, you might be wondering where the city got its name. Well, for that we have to meet French explorer Daneil Greysolon Dulhut. He set up camp in this area in 1679, proudly planting the French coat of arms.

10 minutes

French River

French River, MN 55804, USA

This overlook also features a series of panels highlighting the history of commercial fishing on the lake. It’s big business! The fish sanctuary across the street isn’t open to the public, but it does brisk business catching rainbow trout, raising their offspring, then returning them back to the lake. It’s a cycle that goes on every year and helps maintain our marine ecosystems.

10 minutes

Buchanan Historical Marker

Scenic Dr, Knife River, MN 55609, USA

To see the marker, park in the turnout ahead. Otherwise, continue nutrients from the soil. And just like the trees, wildflowers have intricate root systems of their own. Their roots help stabilize the soil. They then use these nutrients for their own growth, then return the nutrients to the soil when they decompose.

10 minutes

Two Harbors

Two Harbors, Minnesota

This was the seedy part of town where men could be “relieved of their pay.” At its height in the late 1800s, there were 22 saloons in just a two block radius! That’s certainly a lot of places for these men to whoop it up and share wild tales.

10 minutes

Silver Creek Cliff Tunnel

2025 Silver Creek Cliff Tunnel, Two Harbors, MN 55616, USA

Thankfully, workers completed the 3-year project without incident. With the tunnel completed, drivers no longer had to go miles out of their way, driving on a narrow two-lane road that ran right along the cliff’s edge. Talk about a white-knuckling drive! One mistake and the car would have plunged right into the lake.

10 minutes

S.S. William A. Irvin Ore Boat Museum

350 Harbor Drive, , Duluth, 55802-2600, Minnesota

On a clear morning in June 1928, Captain Edward Smith was commanding the SS America, a passenger steamship with 47 on board. The passengers included a number of wealthy citizens heading to their summer vacation homes on Isle Royale.

10 minutes

Gooseberry Falls State Park

3206 Highway 61 East, , Two Harbors, 55616, Minnesota

The name actually comes from the Objiwe name for this place. They call it Shabonimikani-zibi, or River Place of the Gooseberries. And they have a very special connection to these small tart berries.

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Iona's Beach

Two Harbors, Minnesota

As this part of the earth shifted, volcanic eruptions spewed lava onto the surface. The lava filled in cracks and crevices, then hardened into rocks called igneous rocks. The type of stones found at Iona’s Beach are specific kinds known as rhyolite and felsite.

10 minutes

Split Rock Lighthouse

3713 Split Rock Lighthouse Rd., , Two Harbors, 55616-2020, Minnesota

Just ahead is a perfect spot to take a photo of the Split Rock Lighthouse. In fact, millions of people have taken a photo from this very spot, making this one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world!

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included