Trip to Northern Minnesota

Hey, pretty girl!

I’m recapping Jack and my first trip together to Northern Minnesota! We took this trip to relax, visit friends and spend some quality time with one another. I recently asked on my Instagram stories what y’all most wanted to see from the trip, and it was a pretty even split between sightseeing/restaurant recs/places to stay, so I’m covering them all. Below is a slideshow detailing the path we took on our trip!

Location: Northern Minnesota

Cost: $100/night hotel ; $50 – sightseeing/keepsakes ; $100 – meals ; $75 – gas

Jack’s Rating: 10/10

Marin’s Rating: 1000/10

I had never been more north than Brainerd, Minnesota prior to this trip. Being able to experience a new place, go on fun adventures and eat yummy food made this date/trip so much fun. I’d definitely recommend a road trip to Northern Minnesota with your SO if you live around the Twin Cities.

This date is for… the adventurous couple.

Kissability: 10/10

Quick Tip: Set out a budget before you go and stick to it.

Sight Seeing

One of the places that we stopped along the way to visit was Split Rock Lighthouse. Learning about the historical aspect of Split Rock and its connection to Minnesota history was so intriguing! The location itself is also so beautiful that it is worth coming to purely for the scenery and to look out at Lake Superior. Jack and I were lucky enough to be the last ones in the lighthouse so we were able to take a better look around. We also picked up some souvenir glasses!

Black Sand Beach is a MUST for Northern Minnesota travel. Unfortunately, we got drenched on and had to leave the beach, but it was such a relaxing experience. I do recommend bringing good shoes, as the “sand” is mostly large rocks.

I totally recommend stopping at Fortune Bay Casino if you travel to Northern Minnesota. You are given some free gameplay, which makes it feel a lot less scary to go to a casino. Jack and I ended up winning $75 on a game that seemed to ALWAYS have a winner. It was definitely a blast and makes for a fun indoor activity to escape unideal weather.

Places to Stay

The hotel that Jack and I stayed at was the Quality Inn and Suites in Virginia, Minnesota. I originally was searching for a budget-friendly option in Duluth but found that there weren’t too many options. I am SO glad that I expanded my search to surrounding city areas and landed on this hotel. Below I broke down pricing, location, and amenities, as well as provided the website for you to book your trip!

Pricing:

For a room with 1 King Bed, it was approximately $100 a night. This was a super budget-friendly option for the region, considering most hotels close to Duluth were closer to $200 a night. The room was worth well more than this price! The room was super spacious, had a large bathroom with good lighting (super important for the girls who don’t want to bring a makeup mirror along), and was a quiet location with no distirbuances. Parking was also included in the price and there were always plenty of close spots avaliable!

Location:

Quality Inn and Suites could not have been placed in a more perfect location. There were multiple restaurants within short walking or driving distance. It was nice to have the flexibility of knowing that we did not have to drive to go out for lunch or dinner. There were also two lakes within a few blocks of the hotel, which was a perfect area to go to relax, watch a sunset, enjoy dinner on a park bench, or fish!

Amenities:

This hotel offered a lot of incredible amenities. There was free continental breakfast, free coffee at all times, vending machines, WIFI access, and our favorite part, the pool! The pool area was absolutely stunning. It felt like a resort with the inner portion of the hotel featuring the pool, as well as the inclusion of modern bathrooms with showers to clean off, and a sauna.