Summer VAcation Up North in Minnesota
There are advantages to booking your summer vacation early. April is the perfect time to book your summer vacation up north in Minnesota. If you are looking for a June-August date to stay at a Minnesota Resort, now is the time to book a cabin. Grand Rapids, Minnesota is know as the outdoor mecca of the north for the surrounding 1 million publicly accessible forest acres, and 1,140 area lakes that offer beautiful lake clarity. Any Minnesota going to the lake destination, fills up in peak summer season. The dates of peak summer season have changed over the years as adults work schedules have become more unpredictable, and children’s extra curricular activities schedules have become very full. That is why booking early will help you get the perfect date that works for friends and family.
what to expect peak summer season
Not every Grand Rapids lodging property will fill up 100% during peak season, but weekends will fill up first. If you have some flexibility in your schedule, taking a look to see if the lodging properties offer a mid-week (Sunday-Thursday) or some other less than a full week opportunity. There may be discounted rates on mid-week, and allows for less than 7 days in taking PTO, and better for the kids schedules too. In town Hotels and Motels will be more full in the summer, especially on the weekends, but during mid-week they tend to have a few openings. Minnesota Vacation Rentals, Minnesota Resorts, Air BnB’s, and Bed and Breakfasts will fill up faster during peak summer season (June-August). Because Grand Rapids, Minnesota is a going to the lake up north destination, you can expect more people in downtown, at historic sites, on the trails, at boat landings, and at places to eat & drink. However, Grand Rapids, Minnesota is still an off-the-beaten path destination located in north central Minnesota. You could say a ‘hidden gem of the north’ so the crowds are not as large as Duluth or Brainerd. There are a lot of outdoor recreation opportunities on our lakes and trails, and the fun places to eat & drink are located outside of the city center, where there are less crowds.
advantages to booking a vacation early or late peak season
There are advantages to booking your summer vacation early. April is the perfect time to book your summer vacation up north in Minnesota. Do you have a hard time to get everyone’s schedules to coincide to book a summer vacation? Try taking a look at early and late peak summer dates. For some properties, early peak summer dates are considered May and early June. And late peak summer dates are considered end of August to early September. Lake destinations like Grand Rapids, Minnesota fill up fast for peak season (middle of June through middle of August). In the past, peak season typically been defined as Memorial Day to Labor Day. With changing family schedules (tight work schedules and kids extra curricular schedules) it can be hard to get dates that work for everyone for a full week of summer vacation. Checking out early and late peak summer season dates or mid-week summer vacation dates could be the solution. And, after Labor Day the availability tends to increase, rates decrease, and September is a beautiful time of year to be up north in Minnesota. There are less crowds, less people at the boat landings, fall fishing is good, the leaves are changing into yellow, orange and red, and the temperatures are warm enough for short leaves during the day and sweatshirt by the fire at night. Review Places To Stay in Grand Rapids, MN
Top Summer Things To Do in Grand Rapids
If you are looking for an up north Minnesota summer vacation, then Grand Rapids is a place you should definitely consider. Here is a top summer things to do in Grand Rapids, Minnesota list:
- Get Outdoors – even if you are not an outdoorsy person, the lakes and trails in norther Minnesota have a way of helping to put life into perspective and relaxes you.
- Have a Campfire and Smore’s – now this has to be a going to the lake or going up north summer things to do – think outside of the box and try some new recipes – roasted marshmallow, banana, chocolate and hazelnut spread and graham crackers or roasted marshmallow, slices apples, any nut butter and graham crackers.
- Paddle the Mississippi River – if you do not have paddle equipment and safety gear, no worries: Paddle Hoppers and R&R Rental offer rentals, sales and service.
- Go Fishing – with over 1,140 lakes there are a lot of opportunity to fish in the Grand Rapids, MN area. In Grand Rapids there are many fishing piers where you only need a fishing pole, reel, line, a hook and bait. There is a fishing pier at Crystal Lake (by Itasca Fairgrounds), Tioga Beach Fishing Pier, Mississippi River Fishing Pier (behind the library), and Pokegama Dam (fish from shore on the Mississippi River) are all locations to consider.
- Take a Hike – a couple of places to consider are Legion Trail (at the Reif Center), Tioga Recreation Area (stay to the right of the bike trails or take the haul roads, and the Chippewa National Forest: Suomi Hills (located on the Edge of the Wilderness Scenic Byway) and Simpson Creek (located at Cut Foot Sioux Visitor Center).
- Bike – in Grand Rapids you will find two world-class bike systems. Tioga Recreation Area which is a premiere multi-level mountain bike system that overlooks Pokegama Lake and Tioga Pit Lake. And there is Mesabi Trail which is the longest paved bike trail in Minnesota that runs from the Mississippi in Grand Rapids to the Boundary Waters in Ely.
- Tour Historic Sites – Grand Rapids offers a wide variety of historic places to visit. The Forest History Center, the Itasca County Historical Society, and the Judy Garland Museum are three located within the city limits of Grand Rapids. Take a self-guided Grand Rapids Art & Historic Site Tour.
- Discover Beautiful Art, Cultural Experiences, and Live Performances – The MacRostie Art Center, the artists in Old Central School and the Grand Rapids Arts came together to create First Friday Art Walk. The Reif Center has created a summer live performace schedule
- Enjoy fun places to Eat & Drink – another perk of being on vacation is going out to eat. Food and Drink are two of the most enjoyable things about being on vacation. Take in the locally owned places that are unique to Grand Rapids – craft breweries (Klockow Brewing & Rapids Brewing), a Minnesota Winery (Smoke on the Water), a MN Wine Bar (UnWined Up North), the famous Sammy’s Pizza, and the places where the locals go: Forest Lake Restaurant, Pickled Loon, Timberlake Restaurant, Bear Creek Pizza, Florio’s, Cedar Creek Grille, Pokegama Grill, Dotties, and Zorbaz).
- Reconnect, Relax and Recharge -a large part of going on vacation in northern Minnesota is slowing down, and taking in the simple things in life Coming together with loved one’s in Minnesota’s nature has a way of putting things into perspective and appreciating the time spent together.
Now that you understand the advantages to booking your summer vacation early, go take a look at the 34 lodging properties that Visit Grand Rapids represents. Grand Rapids Places To Stay