Page 419 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

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% Brainerd Lakes
Area
* 65,000. ~ @ n 124 N 6th St,
Brainerd, (800) 450-2838.
∑ explorebrainerdlakes.com
Founded by the Northern
Pacific Railroad in 1871, the
Upper Mississippi River city
of Brainerd was carved out of
a dense forest, felled to meet
the demands of the state’s
lumber boom. The area’s heritage The restored railroad Depot, the centerpiece of downtown Duluth
as a hard-working railroad and
lumber town is personified in ^ Duluth exhibits explain environmental
the flannel-shirted, bearded issues and offers solutions for
character of Paul Bunyan, the * 87,000. ~ @ n 21 W Superior conser ving the environment.
St, (800) 438-5884.
mythical Herculean Minnesota ∑ visitduluth.com In Canal Park, next to the bridge,
woodsman, and his massive the Lake Superior Maritime
pet, Babe, the Blue Ox. His Minnesota’s third-largest city, Visitor Center details the
name seems to appear at every Duluth is one of the Midwest’s shipping history of the Upper
turn; the Paul Bunyan Trail bike most enjoyable destinations. Great Lakes. It also relates the
route and Paul Bunyan Scenic Clinging to the sides of the US Army Corps of Engineers’ feat
Byway backroads auto tour are 800-ft (240-m) high granite of constructing the Aerial Lift
two examples. slopes that ring its lively down- Bridge in 1930.
Brainerd International town, this city successfully The centerpiece of the
Raceway’s drag strip is famous juxtaposes numerous nature redbrick-paved streets of Duluth’s
for being the fastest place to preserves with operating attractive downtown is the
race in the world. industries, which fuel its 1892 Depot, or St. Louis County
Brainerd is also the bustling port. Heritage and Arts Center. The
gateway to north- Its most striking restored brownstone railroad
central Minnesota’s feature is the depot houses the Duluth Art
lake region, where Aerial Lift Bridge, Institute, Lake Superior Rail road
the state’s a huge steel structure Museum, and several per-
trademark lodge- linking the mainland formance art companies. Depot
resorts were first to the mouth of the Square, a re-creation of early
developed on the Babe, the Blue Ox Duluth harbor with a 20th-century Duluth, features
shores of more 385-ft (115-m) span. the waiting room where US
than 500 freshwater lakes. The bridge can raise at the rate immigration officials processed
Mille Lacs Lake, 40 miles of 138 ft (41 m) a minute to many of the state’s Scandinavian
(64 km) southeast of Brainerd, allow hulking freighters to pass and German immigrants.
is bordered by beautiful state into the harbor. One of these The North Shore Scenic
parks and the Mille Lacs Band massive ships, the docked Railroad offers sightseeing
of Ojibwe tribal reservation. 610-ft (186-m) SS William A. trips from the depot in period
The Minnesota Historical Irwin, is now a museum. trains (from May to early
Society collaborated with the The Great Lakes Aquarium, October). The excursions head
tribe to develop the Mille Lacs an “all-freshwater” aquarium, north along the shore of Lake
Indian Museum, on the lake’s provides a close-up view of the Superior, with spectacular
southwest shore. bridge in action. Interactive views of waterfalls and cliffs
plunging down to the shoreline.
Motorists can also experience
this magical trip on the North
Shore Scenic Drive, a section
of old Hwy 61 along the lake-
shore from Duluth all the way
to the Canadian border.

P The Depot/St. Louis County
Heritage & Arts Center
506 W Michigan St. Tel (218) 727-
8025. Open Jun–Sep: 9am–6pm
daily; Sep–May: 10am–5pm daily.
Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota’s second-largest lake, southeast of Brainerd & 7 ∑ duluthdepot.org

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