Bring your kids to Glensheen? …Absolutely!
What your family will love about a visit to Glensheen
You’ve planned a long weekend getaway to Duluth, the hotel is booked and have a picked out a few places to eat. Everyone is looking forward to the drive up the North Shore to Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock Lighthouse. But what about that big mansion on the lake that you’ve always driven by? You think, “Can I bring my family there? Will they like it?”
The answer is yes. And here is why:
Spend as much or as little time as you would like
Beginning June 20th 2016, your basic tour option will be a Self-Guided tour. This means you can explore the mansion at your own pace.
The time spent on a Self-Guided Tour is totally up to you. You can buzz through the mansion in 15 minutes or take your time to soak it all in. That is the beauty of this tour. It’s your choice. Between the main floor, second floor lower level and grounds; you choose the spaces you want to see.
A Self-Guided tour doesn’t mean that you are losing out on the Glensheen stories. There are short, easy to ready tid-bits on display in each room. Feel free to read them all or none at all. It’s up to you. Glensheen Tour Guides sporting their tongue-in-cheek, ‘Ask me (almost) anything’ t-shirts are more than eager to answer your questions.
The flexibility of the Self-Guided tour is ideal for families who might not be geared up for an hour long tour. You may want to just look around for a few minutes then spend an hour enjoying the grounds.
Skip rocks on Lake Superior
Glensheen sits on 12 magical acres of Lake Superior’s shores. Chester Congdon (man behind the mansion) had a vision for Glensheen to be a showcase of Minnesota’s talent and a shining highlight of the North Shore. As the launching point for Highway 61, there are few better places to skip a smooth, flat rock into the largest fresh body of water in the world.
Go ahead and walk out onto the 100-foot Pier. You can even see the Lift Bridge from the Pier. At the Pier’s beginning is the boat house which once housed the Congdon’s yacht. As a matter of fact, the Glensheen Boat House is the last structural boat house on all of Lake Superior.
Explore the Gardens
Glensheen boasts a gorgeous Formal Garden on the south side of the mansion overlooking Lake Superior. On the west side of the Formal Garden, you will find a staircase leading you through what feels like an enchanted forest to the famous Stone Bridge.
The extensive Vegetable Gardens are home to numerous varieties of vegetables and flowers. A walk through the expansive vegetable gardens offers dazzling views of Lake Superior and the Carriage House. These gardens once provided fresh produce for the Congdons and their staff.
Glensheen encourages you to explore the reaches of the grounds, take pictures and fall in love with the estate.
