Ready for a dog-friendly getaway on the North Shore?
We are no strangers when it comes to North Shore. If you have been following us for a while, you know we are ALWAYS up there. There are so much that north shore offers – lake, beach, waterfalls, hiking, mountain biking, skiing and yummy food and beer!
Lutsen is a prime location – it is a famous skiing destination while providing tons of trails for hiking/mountain biking and is close to towns like Grand Marais and Silver Bay.
Lutsen Sea Villas is right on Lake Superior on Hwy 61. It offers one and two bedroom townhomes and is DOG-Friendly. This is my third time staying at one of the Choose Your Odyssey Resorts. I’ve stayed at Mountain Inn & Breezy Point as well.
The townhomes are equipped with these features
- one or two bedrooms with 2-3 twin mattress in the loft or a pull out couch
- one or two full bathrooms
- wood-burning fireplace
- fully equipped kitchen
- private lakeside deck
- cozy living space & smart TV (you can watch Netflix!)
- charcoal grill
Lutsen Sea Villas offers guided tours including canoeing, fishing, tenkara fly fishing, hiking & paddle boarding. More information can be found here.
There are also some public shared space including pool, sauna, hot tub where one of you can enjoy swimming or relax and the other person can sit by the pool with your pup. There’s also a playground on site for kids and trail on site to walk around along the shore.
Here are some of my favorites things about Lutsen Sea Villas
- It’s very dog-friendly and safe! There aren’t a lot of places along north shore that are dog friendly and since it’s a series of cabins, you and your family can rent a couple and enjoy while your pup has its own space. Please note that there is a trail that’s right on the shore so please plan accordingly if your dog isn’t a big people person.
- Lake Superior shore is only a couple steps from your room! Some rooms even have windows looking out right at Lake Superior which means sunrise is as easy as setting alarm, waking up and watching it from your cozy bed.
- The location – it’s in the middle of everything! Grand Marais tends to be a little bit pricer when it comes to lodging so Lutsen is an amazing option plus it’s only 30 mins away from Grand Marais!
- The living room has a whole chest full of games and a large screen TV with smart TV! It was raining most of the time we were there and cozying up with blankets, watching Netflix while listening to waves couldn’t be more relaxing… just imagine when it is snowing!!
If you are an adventurer, here are top 10 of my favorite hikes less than 40 mins away from Lutsen Sea Villas! Make sure to use apps like AllTrails since a lot of places don’t have cell phone signal.
- Onion River (1 min away) – 1.1 mile out and back, easy trail. The trail is along the river, the terrain makes it looks like tons of little waterfalls
- Oberg Mountain (6 mins away)- 2.3 mile out and back, moderate trail. Lots of beautiful overlooks along the way. It’s a fall destination on the north shore!
- Temperance River State Park (8 mins away) – 3.3 mile loop, moderate trail. The trail is along river. Views of waterfall is within minutes of the hike. One of my favorite state parks!
- Cascade River State Park (10 mins away) – 0.5 mile Cascasde falls loop, easy trail which brings you straight to the waterfall. There’s a 3.2 mile out and back lookout mountain loop which brings you to the amazing overlook
- Caribou Falls Wayside (20 mins away) 1.2 mile out and back, easy trail. This is one of the easy accessible waterfalls on the shore. The parking lot always seems very busy but the 4 times I was there, we have the falls to ourselves for over an hour. The water level is usually very low too which makes it great for kids and pets to play in the water!
- Superior Hiking Trail – Section 13 (27 mins away) 2.8 miles out and back, moderate. This trail brings you to the top of mountain which has a great overlook! (another fall destination!)
- Tettegouche State Park (31 mins away) – there are tons of trails to choose from from this park! Two of the most popular trails are Shovel Point (1.2 mile out and back, easy) and Baptism River (2.9 mile out and back, moderate) which brings you to the beautiful high falls! Don’t forget to stop by Palisade Head when you visit here!
- George Crosby Manitou State Park (34 mins away) – Humpback Loop (2.5 mile loop, moderate) – one of the most challenging hiking club trails with tons of rocks to climb but the reward is the most beautiful waterfall ever! It is also very secluded.
- Kadunce River Wayside (36 mins away) – 1.1 mile out and back, easy. The traditional way is to do the 1.1 mile trail but if you are feeling adventurous, put on your water shoes and do the river bed route. Please make sure you are not going alone – you can climb up the waterfalls (there are three of them!) and the canyons are very beautiful! Don’t forget to go down the beach for a relaxing picnic afterwards.
- Bean and Bear Lake (38 mins away) – 8 miles out and back, moderate. This is one of the most popular trails up north at all times. It is not an easy trail but the top is very rewarding. Make sure to go down the campsite area for a dip in bear lake after you reach the top!
Lutsen Sea Villas don’t have a restaurant on site but there are tons of places around that offers good food/drinks
- Coho Cafe and Bakery – their patio is dog-friendly and their Mac and cheese is to die for!!!!! They offer breakfast, sandwiches, pizza and dinner options including pasta.
- North Shore Winery – the best winery on the shore. They are dog-friendly and offers both wine and cider!
- Papa Charlies – the only place in town that opens till 9:30pm and the pizza is SO GOOD especially after a long hike day
- Shook – recently opened, Shook offers smoothies and nutritious bowls – I LOVE HER SMOOTHIES!!!!
- My sister’s place – their patio is dog friendly! they offer more than 20 kinds of hand-crafted burgers!
- Voyager Brewing Company – their patio is dog friendly and offers appetizers-like food including cheese curds, tacos, wings, etc.
- Java Moose Brewing company – you CANNOT miss this if you are in the Grand Marais area – it is famous for its coffee/breakfast and even have drinks for non-coffee drinker
Here was our itinerary for our weekend trip up in Lutsen Sea Villas.
Friday
We started driving after work on Friday. It’s about 4 hour drive from the twin cities to Lutsen area. We of course had to stop by Park Point for a quick stretch and a quick run on the beach. It was a windy and rainy day so we got the whole beach to ourselves! It was essential for us to get a hike/adventure in before we get to the townhome because Buzz is used to having at least a walk or two and I wanted to make sure he has his needs met before we wind down for the night. We didn’t get to Lutsen Sea Villas until 8pm. I picked up some Mac and Cheese from Coho Cafe and Bakery before checking in. The Mac and Cheese hit the spot after a rainy and cold adventure at the beach. Lutsen Sea Villas’ front desk is open till 10pm so we were able to check in quick, picked up some ice cream and chips at the little shop in the lobby and headed to our home for the next 2 nights. We settled in, opened our windows and fell asleep listening to the waves.
Saturday
It was a raining day but that didn’t stop us from adventuring – we slept until 9, woke up and made some eggs for me and breakfast for Buzzy. Headed out to the shore and Buzz got to swim his little heart out while I sat at the shore enjoying the calmness. After Buzz got his swimming itch fulfilled, we packed up around noon and headed to Grand Marais – we stopped by Java Moose to get some refreshing drinks and stopped at Kadunce River. This was my second time at Kadunce River. Our first hike on the river bed ended poorly when we got charged by an off leash dog so I thought I would try again since the weather was not ideal. This time, we didn’t see a single person! Kadunce River is seriously magical, I highly recommend. After about an hour hike in the water, we were both soaking wet and tired but we couldn’t pass the opportunity to sit on the beach!
We didn’t get back to the property around 5ish but we picked up some pasta from Coho Cafe and Bakery, snuggled up, watched Netflix and called it a day.Buzzy took an hour nap when we got home and constantly whined wanting to go back out to the shore and swim.
Sunday
We woke up early (by early, I mean around 8) and started packing since check out is 11am. After packing, we had to make sure we get some more swims in. I LOVE how close we are to the shore and because of the closeness, it is way easier for me pick the best time to go out since I can see if there are people around! Before checking out, we took a stroll on the on-site trail. After checking out, we headed to Onion River for a hike before heading home. It was a wet and slippery hike but because of that, we had the whole trial to ourselves! The waterfall was flowing strongly and Buzz got to play in the calm portion of the river. We even saw two deers! We head home after the hike with two very full hearts.
We didn’t get to all our big plans for this trip due to the weather but honestly, we could just snuggle up in Lutsen Sea Villas and call it a day. Next time you are up north, don’t forget to check out 6 dog-friendly properties that Choose Your Odyssey offers. They can cover your lodging from Duluth all the way up to Grand Portage! I’ve stayed at 3 out of 6 and can’t recommend more!
I received a complimentary stay to share my honest opinions about this property.