Parks & recreation in Norton Park, Duluth, Minnesota
Part of the Norton Park neighborhood guide. Back to the full guide.
This is the section that justifies the neighborhood.
The Willard Munger State Trail begins here, at 75th Avenue West near Grand Avenue: about 70 paved, car-free miles running south through Jay Cooke State Park toward Hinckley. In winter the same corridor carries snowmobiles. Very few neighborhoods anywhere have a trail of that length starting inside them.
The Western Waterfront Trail starts at the same point, running along the St. Louis River estuary and giving a quieter, more natural riverside route.
Indian Point Park occupies the river frontage at the southern edge, with a campground, boat access and a connection to the waterfront trail. It is the neighborhood's water access and one of the few city campgrounds in Minnesota inside a major town.
Spirit Mountain sits directly behind, about five minutes up: downhill skiing, tubing, Nordic trails and a lift-served bike park. The Duluth Traverse, the 40-mile spine of a 90-plus mile singletrack network, runs the same hillside, and further west along Skyline Parkway the Magney-Snively Natural Area holds old-growth sugar maple and the Superior Hiking Trail.
Closer in, the Norton Park Community Center grounds serve as the everyday neighborhood park, historically maintained by residents themselves. The Lake Superior Zoo is four minutes northeast in Fairmount.
What is missing is organised youth sport infrastructure of the neighborhood's own; that runs through the West Duluth facilities.
Winter: downhill skiing and tubing at Spirit Mountain, Nordic skiing at Spirit Mountain and Magney-Snively, snowmobiling on the Munger corridor, fat biking on the Duluth Traverse, sledding.
Water access: St. Louis River frontage and boat access at Indian Point Park; Kingsbury Creek at the eastern edge; Knowlton Creek at the western edge; The St. Louis River estuary along the southern boundary.
Parks
The riverside park and campground on the neighborhood's southern edge, and its main water access.
The neighborhood's community building, put up in 1965, and the grounds around it, which are among the last community parks in the city maintained by neighborhood residents themselves.
The city zoo in adjoining Fairmount, about four minutes northeast.
Duluth's ski hill, directly behind the neighborhood and about five minutes away.
The bay shoreline north of the neighborhood, one of the closest points of estuary access on this side of the city.
The overlook on the ridge above, reached from West Skyline Parkway, with the best view of the river valley on this side of Duluth.
The old-growth hardwood tract out Skyline Parkway west.
Trails
Seventy paved, car-free miles running south through Jay Cooke toward Hinckley, beginning here. This is the single best amenity in the neighborhood.
Access: The trail's northern terminus at 75th Avenue West near Grand Avenue, inside the neighborhood
The riverside trail along the St. Louis River estuary, also beginning at 75th Avenue West.
Access: 75th Avenue West, alongside the Munger trailhead
The city-spanning singletrack spine, five minutes away.
Access: Spirit Mountain trailheads directly above the neighborhood
The Duluth section runs the ridge above the river corridor.
Access: Skyline Parkway above the neighborhood
Parks & recreation next door
Northeast, with the Lake Superior Zoo and the Keene Creek dog park.
IrvingNortheast toward the bay, flat streets with a park and playfield of its own.
RiversideSouthwest along the river, quieter still, with a shipbuilding history and the Munger Trail running through.
SmithvilleSouthwest along the river, sharing this neighborhood's Census tract and its ownership profile, with Bardon Peak above it.
Spirit ValleyNortheast, the main street where most Norton Park errands actually happen.