the Visit Neighboring States Series
With so much outdoor entertainment, lodging takes on a special role along the North Shore and the Grand Superior Lodge doesn’t disappoint.
The best thing about the Grand Superior Lodge is how close you are to the water. We slept at night with the windows open, listening to the crashing waves.
This post reflects our family’s experience from 2016. Please visit the resort’s website for updated information.
Location
Situation roughly 40-minutes from Duluth, and just north of Two Harbors is The Grand Superior Lodge.
Being on the water’s edge allowed for fun playtime. The children met some friends and had a delightful afternoon splashing and exploring in the sunshine.
Amenities
The Grand Superior Lodge has numerous extras that make your visit special!
There are bikes and canoes to borrow. However, the closest bike trail is two miles away. Kids can either ride around on the sidewalks and parking lot or you have to transport the bikes yourself.
There are bonfires and S’mores every evening and a trunk full of warm fleece blankets to snuggle in.
The lodge is currently looking for a new staff member to organize their Explore Program which includes scavenger hunts around the lodge for prizes, crafts in the lobby, kid toys on the front porch, yard games, and more.
Every room comes with a DVD player and you can check out movies and board games from the library.
The pool area has a spa-like feel with a hot tub and sauna. There is a collection of pool toys and life jackets for kids.
Pro Tip: Bring your own goggles.
Booking a stay
Our family of four has always stayed three nights at the lodge and received their discounted price, making our standard room total around $100-130/per night.
We feel this is a great value for what the lodge offers.
Dining Options
The lodge does have an on-site restaurant. We found that along the North Shore, meals, in general, seem to be more expensive with smaller portions.
For our last visit, we chose to eat most of our meals in our room at the lodge.
Cooking out of a hotel room
A few hours of planning and prep before our trip made meals a breeze and saved a significant amount of money.
You can see in the picture above the size and capacity of the fridge. A Pampered Chef large Micro Cooker fits inside the microwave. We packed paper plates, utensils, and cups for easy clean-up.
Meal Plan:
- Breakfast: cereals, juice, and frozen egg biscuits.
- Lunch: cold meat sandwiches or hot meat.
- Supper: Sloppy Joes, Chili, or BBQ Beef sandwiches with a side salad.
Each of the meals was cooked ahead of time at home and frozen.
It is easy to heat up the meat in the microwave when it’s time to dine.
- Snacks: fresh fruit, popcorn (the bag was too big for microwave), cookies, muffins, chips, trail mix, cheese, and sports drinks.
Meal clean-up is simple. Just wash the Micro Cooker, a serving spoon, and throw away the plates.
Pro Tip: Bring extra trash bags, a dish towel, scrubber, and dish soap.
Can’t beat the view!
Enjoy your stay
Grand Superior Lodge is part of Odyssey Resorts which offers several lodging options all along the North Shore!
Weekend weddings are a popular feature at this lodge and elsewhere in the area. Ask about weekend weddings if that would be an issue for your family.din
North Shore with Kids
The North Shore makes the perfect weekend or week-long family trip! In addition to the stunning state parks, and trekking the Superior Hiking Trail with kids, there are cozy cabins, and more fun to be found.
A Weekend Guide to the North Shore with Kids will help you plan the rest of your stay.
Master The Superior Hiking Trail With Kids
Superior Hiking Trail with kids is possible with continuous access points making it easy to hike smaller portions like Gooseberry Falls.
I reread your article and just realized you had really reasonable lodging rates. Many of the facilities we looked at on the shore of Lake superior were much more expensive. Some over $200 per night
Do you have tips for finding less expensive rates? We are a family of three. Thanks
Hi Kathy,
Glad the article was helpful! one big thing we do to find reduced rates is go on the off days, so our stay was a Sun-Tues night. I knew the lodge offered good deals, so I kept a close watch for them this past spring, called a few times and waited to book until I found the rate I was looking for. I also do A LOT of shopping around. I think half the fun of a trip is planning!
Jen
Grand Superior Lodge was a great recommendation — thank you! We loved it there!! We spent three nights in a two-bedroom lakehome which was situated near the end of the property so it was quite private and right near the shore. It was very spacious, and we were able to cook almost all our meals. (We just had to have lunch at Betty’s Pies — I highly recommend it!) While the larger accommodation was pricier than a standard lodge room, it turned out to be a great value, especially when you consider that we paid just $7 (SEVEN DOLLARS!) more per night than we paid for our regular hotel room in Duluth! Factor in the savings on food dollars and it was totally worth it to us. Can’t wait to go back!!
NICE DEAL Mindy! I know those lake homes fill up fast! Isn’t it fun to pretend you live somewhere? 🙂 We love the Grand Superior Lodge so much that we have been there twice! They offer good deals if you keep an eye on their emails they send. Sign up for the emails if you haven’t already.
YEP! We found Betty’s Pies. Being a pie gal yourself, I bet you loved it. When we dinned there, we were able to sit near a window that looked out at the lake. Very cool views.