Discover the storied shores of Lake Superior on this immersive journey. Explore historic lighthouses, visit charming harbor towns, and cruise among the Apostle Islands. Experience the region’s maritime heritage, scenic drives, and vibrant local culture, all while enjoying comfortable accommodations and the camaraderie of fellow travelers.

Our journey begins this afternoon in Minnesota. We gather at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport at 12:30 PM, where our Tour Director welcomes us and sees us comfortably aboard our coach.

Before settling in, we pause at Minnehaha Falls, a graceful cascade tucked into a city park, to stretch our legs and take in our first views together.

We arrive at our hotel in St. Paul to check in at 3:00 PM and rest before the evening.

At 6:00 PM we gather for a welcome dinner, raising a glass to the week of discovery ahead and to the new friends we will share it with.

After breakfast we travel north toward the great inland sea of Lake Superior.

We pause along the way for a relaxed stop and a taste of a famous local caramel roll before continuing on.

By midday we reach Duluth, the proud port city set against the largest freshwater lake in the world.

We step into the maritime and railroading past of the great lake — first at a museum devoted to its working life, where the stories of the ore boats, the lighthouses, and the shipwrecks of these waters come alive.

Then among the grand historic locomotives at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum.

From the depot we board a vintage train for a narrated ride along the Lake Superior shoreline, the water on one side and the city rising into the hills on the other.

We settle into our hotel in the heart of the Canal Park district.

We gather for dinner together, with the lake just outside the door.

We follow the legendary North Shore drive this morning, where forest meets the great lake along one of the most beautiful coastlines in the country. We visit the oldest working lighthouse in Minnesota, looking out over the harbor where the ore boats still load, and pause at a series of waterfalls tumbling toward the lake.

We stand beneath a clifftop lighthouse perched high above Lake Superior — a beacon raised after a terrible storm and lit each year in memory of a famous shipwreck.

We gather for a hosted lunch at a beloved lakeside café.

On our way back to Duluth we step into the Gilded Age at a magnificent lakeside mansion, touring its grand rooms and gardens with a guide who brings its history to life.

The remainder of the evening is ours to enjoy at our own pace.

Overnight: Hampton Inn Duluth Canal Park, Duluth, Minnesota

We cross into Wisconsin this morning and arrive in Ashland, a historic harbor town on Chequamegon Bay that will be our home for the next three nights. There is time to explore the walkable downtown, stroll the lakefront, and find lunch at our own pace.

Ashland is known as the Mural Capital of Wisconsin, and we see why aboard a narrated trolley tour of its more than twenty grand outdoor murals — vivid scenes of the lumberjacks, the railroads, the great ore dock, and the Lake Superior shipping days that built the town.

Overnight: Best Western The Hotel Chequamegon, Ashland, Wisconsin

We gather for dinner together at the hotel as the lake glows in the evening light.

Today we set out on the experience at the heart of our journey — a narrated cruise among the Apostle Islands, departing from nearby Bayfield. We glide past wild, forested shores, historic lighthouses, and the famous sea caves carved into the cliffs by centuries of waves.

Back ashore, we share a hosted lunch in Bayfield.

Afterward we step into a small waterfront maritime museum, where the stories of lighthouse keepers, shipwrecks, and the hardy fishermen of these waters bring to life the islands we have just sailed.

We then return to Ashland with time to relax beside the bay and enjoy our lakeside hotel.

We gather for dinner together at our hotel, the lake glowing just beyond the windows.

Overnight: Best Western The Hotel Chequamegon, Ashland, Wisconsin

A short journey brings us back to Bayfield, where a ferry carries us across to Madeline Island, the largest and most storied of the Apostle Islands. We learn the island's rich history, from its Ojibwe heritage to its days as a fur-trading crossroads.

There is time to enjoy the island at leisure and to find lunch in the small harbor town before we ferry back to the mainland and return to Ashland, where the afternoon is ours to savor the charm of our lakeside hotel.

Back in Ashland, we gather for a memorable dinner together at one of the town's favorite gathering places, raising a glass to our days among the islands.

Overnight: Best Western The Hotel Chequamegon, Ashland, Wisconsin

After breakfast we begin our journey south toward the Twin Cities. Partway along, we break the drive in a classic Northwoods town to visit one of the region's most delightfully unexpected landmarks — the world's largest muskie, a fish sculpture so grand that we can step inside it, set among the gardens of a sprawling museum devoted to the history of freshwater fishing. We linger over a hosted lunch before continuing on our way.

We arrive in St. Paul with time to settle in at our hotel, then make a short visit to the magnificent Cathedral of Saint Paul, one of the largest cathedrals in the country, which crowns a hill above the city beneath its soaring dome.

We come together for a farewell dinner, raising a final toast to the friendships and memories made along the shores of Lake Superior.

Overnight: Drury Plaza Hotel, St. Paul, Minnesota

After breakfast we check out and make our way to the Mall of America, the largest shopping and entertainment center in the country, where the late morning is ours to explore, find a few last treasures, and enjoy lunch at our leisure.

In the early afternoon we transfer the short distance to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport for our flight home, journeying back to Portland with full hearts and the memories of a week of shared discovery along the shores of Lake Superior.