Duluth’s Park Point named one of country’s top beaches

Duluth’s Park Point, which has been in the news for months as speculation swirls around billionaire Kathy Cargill’s plans for her recent real estate purchases there, is now garnering headlines as one of the top beaches in the country.

Travel and Leisure included the seven mile long sandy beach on its list of the top 25 beaches in the country published this month.

The magazine singled out Park Point, the world’s largest freshwater sandbar, for its great views of Duluth and Lake Superior, and for its “spectacular sunrises.”

“The beautiful beach and its waves have the feel of an ocean locale,” the magazine gushed.

It’s not the first time the magazine has singled out Duluth. Park Point was included in the publication’s list of best beaches in 2022. Paddling Lake Superior was also listed as one of the best adventure experiences in the country by the magazine last year.

All that attention has increased interest in real estate on Park Point over the past several years, locals say, helping to drive up housing prices and property taxes, and contributing to a proliferation of short-term rentals.

More recently a limited liability corporation run by Cargill has bought up more than a dozen homes on the Point. Nine have been torn down.

Cargill has been largely mum on her plans, prompting criticism and concern from local residents and officials. She recently told the Wall Street Journal she planned to build homes for family members.

• South Minneapolis clinic breaks ground
• Anheuser-Busch will close Moorhead malting plant
• ‘Chris died doing what he loved’: Friends remember Twin Cities social justice advocate
• Cup Food owners want Minneapolis to take over their property through eminent domain