The coastal town of Lutsen, Minn., is a four-hour drive and a world away from the hustle and bustle of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Set hard against Lake Superior, intersected by historic MN-61, it’s a year-round resort destination and the perfect place for a group of women looking to break away from the city for a few days of golf and other activities.
Why Lutsen? In part because it’s Minnesota’s closest meeting of golf land, water and mountainous terrain, and in part because it’s just a lovely town to spend a few days.
Lutsen is home to Superior National Golf Course, the best place to savor the pure physical beauty of Northeast Minnesota – the lake, the highlands, the raging river. You’ll find it all here. It’s a 27-hole public course with A1 views of Lake Superior and repeated interactions with the Poplar River during your round. You’ll first want to play the River 9 and Canyon 9, both of which underwent a $4.6 million facelift by architect Jeff Brauer – remember that name – within the past decade. The course is bracketed by the lake to the east and the Sawtooth Mountains to the west, so there isn’t a bad view on the course.
“Very few golf courses are as blessed with nature as Superior National,” Brauer said when he was doing the renovations. “You’ve got the views of the lake, you’ve got the views of the mountains, you’ve got one of the prettiest rivers in the world running right through the golf course.”
Superior National Golf Course in Lutsen
After your round at Superior National, make the short drive to North Shore Winery, which was founded in 2013 but feels like it’s been there for multiple decades. When was the last time you visited a winery that had a sauna? Well, welcome to the good life in Minnesota, along Lake Superior. The winery often has live acoustic entertainment in the barrel room, which guests can enjoy with a glass of Syrah or a Bluefin Bay blend.
Speaking of which, the Bluefin Bay family of resorts, located just south of Lutsen, offers three lodging options that share the same key trait: to-die-for views of Lake Superior, which in some cases are just a short putt away from your balcony. Take your pick: single rooms, homes or log cabins, depending on what fits your group’s needs. Bluefin Bay’s Waves of Superior Spa, which also has a lap pool and fitness center, offers everything you could want in terms of exercise or relaxation. Bluefin Bay also offers several convenient dining options. The Bluefin Grille combines a relaxed yet elegant lakeside setting with a menu ranging from casual lunchtime fare to classic Minnesota dinner entrees such as pan-fried walleye. The Waves Café patio overlooking the lake is a great spot for breakfast or lunch, and Coho Café & Bakery is open throughout the day for indoor/outdoor dining or takeout. The cozy Coho Café has an eclectic menu offering something for everyone, from breakfast staples and sweets to some of the best pizza in the North. Coho Café is also just across the highway from Clearview General Store if you need to pick up any necessities during your vacation.
At this point, it’s easy to imagine enjoying a long weekend in and around Lutsen. You could take the Summit Express gondola up Lutsen Mountain to savor the views of the coastline while having lunch on the deck of the Summit Chalet.
However, if you want to explore the best Minnesota golf has to offer, consider making the two-hour drive east to the Iron Range.
Don’t rush – take a travel day and stop first at Tettegouche State Park, just south of Lutsen. The park sits on one mile of lakefront, with rocky cliffs and the Baptism River waterfall.
From there, turn east through the Superior National Forest, three million acres of true wilderness, on your way to the Lodge at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.
Giants Ridge unquestionably is the best two-course public facility in Minnesota and among the best in the nation. It’s unlikely you’ll find any other resort in the country that has sister courses as different as the options at this resort – the Quarry and Legend courses.
Interestingly, both were designed by Brauer, who has shaped much of the golf ground in this part of the state.
The Quarry at Giants Ridge
Brauer once described the Legend course, which opened in 1997, as “the most natural” course he’d ever designed. Ranked No. 5 in the state and sometimes referred to as “the Gentle Giant,” it’s everything one would expect from golf in Northeast Minnesota – rolling fairways framed by dense stands of birch trees, punctuated by memorable lakeside holes.
