Outdoors Posts

Ice Spikes on Kingsbury Creek in West Duluth

From Wikipedia: “An ice spike is an ice formation, often in the shape of an inverted icicle, that projects upwards from the surface of a body of frozen water. Ice spikes created by natural processes on the surface of small bodies of frozen water have been reported for many decades, although their occurrence is quite rare. … Natural ice spikes can grow into shapes other than a classic spike shape, and have been variously reported as ice candles, ice towers or ice vases as there is no standard nomenclature for these other forms.”

Mithrandir Trail Wildlife Footage: Winter 2024

A single trail camera in Voyageurs National Park captured an array of critters from January to May during the mildest winter on record at the park

Duluth Traverse Bike Ride Time Lapse

Lane Ellis presents this GoPro 10 time-lapse video showing most of his recent 43-mile west-to-east mountain bike ride on the Duluth Traverse, ending at Lester Park during the Lester River Rendezvous.

Minnesota mystery beast stalking the northwoods

The Voyageurs Wolf Project posted trail-camera video one month ago showing a “wolf-dog like animal wandering forests of northern Minnesota.” The scenes were captured last winter and the release of the video garnered considerable media attention — with some organizations offering competent reporting and others maybe more focused on a clickbait headline than careful attention to detail. A new version of the video, embedded above, pokes fun at some headlines that emerged after the initial video was released.

PDD Geoguessr #25: Duluth Creeks

The lower falls of Chester Creek. (Photo by Matthew James)

Forty-two named streams run through the Duluth metropolitan area, from Mission Creek in West Duluth to the Lester River on the eastern edge of the city. This Geoguessr challenge looks at photospheres from five of the creeks within the Duluth Urban Watershed.

Wolves Howling in Winter in Northern Minnesota

The wolves of Voyageurs National Park have a new hit single, captured during a live performance last winter. The two segments of this video offer sights and sounds of the howlin’ Minnesota wolves.

This trail-camera footage is from the Voyageurs Wolf Project, which is focused on understanding the summer ecology of wolves in the park.

PDD Quiz: Beachy Keen

Dive into this edition of the PDD Quiz, which tests knowledge of local beach (and beach-adjacent) trivia.

The next PDD quiz, scheduled for July 28, will look back at this month’s headlines. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by July 24.

A Video Journal of Lake Superior

This video ran on a loop at the Duluth Art Institute’s “Water Works” show June 20 to Aug. 25, 2013. It hadn’t made it to the internet yet.

PDD Geoguessr #20: Twin Ports Area Beaches

Park Point in the summer. (Photo by Matthew James)

With the official start of summer upon us, any upcoming day has at least the potential of becoming a beach day. But where to go? Park Point is always an option but are there more interesting alternatives?

PDD Quiz: Superior Hiking Trail

A sign for the Superior Hiking Trail at Temperance River State Park on the North Shore of Lake Superior, Minnesota.

Lace up your boots and pack your GORP for this week’s PDD quiz about the Superior Hiking Trail!

The next PDD quiz, coming your way on June 30, will review the news that made headlines this month. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by June 25.

Mark’s Great Duluth Alley Rally Urban Mountain Biking Route

Duluth has become known for it’s mountain biking trails in recent years, and for decades the paved Munger Trail has been a favorite of those with road bikes. But what about the unofficial street routes created just for the sake of being weird? Well, Perfect Duluth Day’s own Mark Nicklawske has established a route through the Endion, Chester Park and Congdon Park area that “climbs and plummets more than 1,300 feet in about 10 miles” according to a review on Medium by Nicklawske’s friend Keith Uhlig of Wausaw.

Video: A mountain lion in northern Minnesota

This video of a mountain lion just south of Voyageurs National Park was captured on April 16. The trail-camera footage is from the Voyageurs Wolf Project, which is focused on understanding the summer ecology of wolves in the park. This is the third video of a mountain lion the project’s cameras have captured in the past three years. All three animals seemed to be wandering through and were only caught on camera once before they appeared to leave the area.

Selective Focus: A Late Spring Aurora Borealis

Northern Lights on the shore of Lake Superior at Glensheen Mansion. (Photo by Mike Mayou)

A startlingly strong Northern Lights show was visible across the United States this weekend, viewable from even the Florida Keys. Instagram is brimming with spectacular shots from in and around Duluth thanks to this solar storm.

PDD Quiz: Twin Ports in Bloom

Stop and smell the roses with this week’s garden (and garden-adjacent) PDD quiz!

The next PDD quiz will review May 2024 headlines and will be published on May 26. Submit question ideas to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by May 22.

Lake Superior’s Warming Waters

Lots of Duluth up in here.