Avoding Duluth during Grandma's Marathon
May 19, 2011 10:10 AM Subscribe
I'll be driving from St. Paul, MN to the Grand Marais area (for a BWCA trip) on June 18th. Just so happens to be the same day as Grandma's Marathon. Route around Duluth or push through on I 35 like normal?
I'm finding nothing on the web. No guidance on the City of Duluth website or the Grandma's Marathon website.
I expect to be arriving in the Duluth area around noonish if not going around. No plans to stop in Duluth at all, I just need to get through the area. I've consulted a few friends who live there and am getting mixed advice. Some say just drive through Duluth on I-35 like normal because going around would take just as long if not longer anyway. Others say to go around through Cloquet and then take either 53 or 2 toward Duluth, with a mix of different routes to get back to Hwy 61. There is not an obvious/simple route around Duluth that anyone has been able to point out and I'm seeing nothing that looks all that great on different maps I've looked at.
Traveling on a different day is not possible.
Complicating matters is all the construction going on in Duluth and at the Cloquet interchange area as well. The MN DOT site says the North bound exit heading into Cloquet will be closed and traffic has to go a few miles North past the exit and come back around South again to get to Cloquet anyway.
I'm particularly interested in anyone who has attempted to drive through Duluth in past years during the marathon. Did you wish you had gone around? Any advice appreciated.
I'm finding nothing on the web. No guidance on the City of Duluth website or the Grandma's Marathon website.
I expect to be arriving in the Duluth area around noonish if not going around. No plans to stop in Duluth at all, I just need to get through the area. I've consulted a few friends who live there and am getting mixed advice. Some say just drive through Duluth on I-35 like normal because going around would take just as long if not longer anyway. Others say to go around through Cloquet and then take either 53 or 2 toward Duluth, with a mix of different routes to get back to Hwy 61. There is not an obvious/simple route around Duluth that anyone has been able to point out and I'm seeing nothing that looks all that great on different maps I've looked at.
Traveling on a different day is not possible.
Complicating matters is all the construction going on in Duluth and at the Cloquet interchange area as well. The MN DOT site says the North bound exit heading into Cloquet will be closed and traffic has to go a few miles North past the exit and come back around South again to get to Cloquet anyway.
I'm particularly interested in anyone who has attempted to drive through Duluth in past years during the marathon. Did you wish you had gone around? Any advice appreciated.
The main part of the marathon is over by noon, though there will be continued activity. You could drive around, if only because the highway construction is worse than anything the marathon will do to your travel time. The thing is, though, that a "traffic jam" in Duluth is kind of laughable by St. Paul standards. It won't take you long in any case.
(I live in Duluth, though I've never tried to drive the highway during it.)
Honestly, I'd just drive through town (on I-35) because it's nice to see Duluth and the big lake.
posted by RedEmma at 10:45 AM on May 19, 2011
(I live in Duluth, though I've never tried to drive the highway during it.)
Honestly, I'd just drive through town (on I-35) because it's nice to see Duluth and the big lake.
posted by RedEmma at 10:45 AM on May 19, 2011
I-35 will be randomly blocked off somewhere and it will cause issues. You will want avoid town. Then again, I live in Duluth because i can't handle traffic jams.
posted by Amby72 at 10:49 AM on May 19, 2011
posted by Amby72 at 10:49 AM on May 19, 2011
If Cloquet is going to be gnarly, can you try going through Hibbing instead?
posted by jillithd at 10:56 AM on May 19, 2011
posted by jillithd at 10:56 AM on May 19, 2011
Best answer: I've been through Duluth on 35 during the marathon and not had a big delay. I think you'll be better off with the slight delays (if any) on 35 than going around and having certainly long delays.
Also, enjoy the BWCA. It's the most spectacular place I've ever been.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 11:33 AM on May 19, 2011
Also, enjoy the BWCA. It's the most spectacular place I've ever been.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 11:33 AM on May 19, 2011
I'm also from Duluth, and I don't think it will be much of a problem to drive through. The construction will slow you down a little bit, but even during the weekend of the marathon I can't imagine it would add more than a few minutes. Going around would be a lot more of a hassle.
posted by flod logic at 3:51 PM on May 19, 2011
posted by flod logic at 3:51 PM on May 19, 2011
Last year, the future Mrs. Lips and I did a North Shore vacation on the same weekend. After realizing our scheduling snafu, we took our time on the way up, and didn't run into any problems arriving in town about 1pm, though we didn't follow I-35 the whole way, and we didn't go any farther north than Duluth until the next day.
If you are concerned about the construction in Cloquet, consider going the scenic route we always take up Hwy 23, exiting I-35 at Askov. Takes a little longer but no construction that I'm aware of, and also much prettier.
Once arriving in Fun Du Lac / Gary-New Duluth, you can either continue up 23 and meet up with I-35 on the south side of town, or take our favorite route and go east on MN-39/WI 105, then north on WI-35 into superior and come back into Duluth / I-35 a few miles father north on the Blatnik Bridge. From there it's just a few miles to hook up with 61.
Also, as an aside, note there is construction on I-35 from Forest Lake north to at least North Branch; there's been random single-lane spots through this stretch all week. Not sure if this will still be ongoing in June, but might be wise to check out MnDOT's site before heading out. Unfortunately there's no really good way to go 'around' Duluth if you're coming from the cities without going way out of your way.
posted by SquidLips at 8:35 PM on May 19, 2011
If you are concerned about the construction in Cloquet, consider going the scenic route we always take up Hwy 23, exiting I-35 at Askov. Takes a little longer but no construction that I'm aware of, and also much prettier.
Once arriving in Fun Du Lac / Gary-New Duluth, you can either continue up 23 and meet up with I-35 on the south side of town, or take our favorite route and go east on MN-39/WI 105, then north on WI-35 into superior and come back into Duluth / I-35 a few miles father north on the Blatnik Bridge. From there it's just a few miles to hook up with 61.
Also, as an aside, note there is construction on I-35 from Forest Lake north to at least North Branch; there's been random single-lane spots through this stretch all week. Not sure if this will still be ongoing in June, but might be wise to check out MnDOT's site before heading out. Unfortunately there's no really good way to go 'around' Duluth if you're coming from the cities without going way out of your way.
posted by SquidLips at 8:35 PM on May 19, 2011
« Older Has the Michelson - Morley experiment ever been... | Men's Wristwatch: Cheap, rugged, simple... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by TinWhistle at 10:37 AM on May 19, 2011