What can a couple do for $600 or less? Spend three days on the Mesabi!
Lodging
Find midweek rates from $59 to $109 double occupancy at most of our great hotels, motels resorts and B&Bs. View your selection here!
Say you go with the $109 room for two nights, with tax and tips, you’ll be spending around $260 for two nights, leaving around $340 to work with. So let’s start spending!
Food and Drink
If your lodging choice doesn’t include a free breakfast, as many do, we’re sending you to Kunnari’s Kitchen in Virginia for krupsua (Finnish pancakes) for $4.69. With coffee, juice and tip, you’re looking at around $25 for a morning meal for two!
Lunch at Black Bear Bakery in Chisholm is $6.95 for a pulled pork sandwich and chips, keeping your tab around $25 with a cold beverage and maybe even a cookie to share!
Burgers are $2.50 on Tuesday nights at Mac’s Bar in Buhl, and tacos are $2.00 each at The Thirsty Moose in Hibbing on Wednesdays, making evening meals come in anywhere between $20 and $40 both nights with a beverage on the side.
Other places to stop for tasty but thrifty meals and snacks include breakfast or lunch for around $12 at Memory Lane Cafe in Gilbert and, right down the road, hand-dipped ice cream at Kandyz-n-Konez. Back on the east end of the Mesabi Coffee and Cream in Hibbing has tasty lunch items and treats as well!
For dinner, get a plate of homemade pasta with a salad at Valentini’s Supper Club in Chisholm for $11.95 and up, or share a wood fired pizza for around $17 with craft beer on the side at The Shop Coffeehouse in Virginia.
Let’s do the math:
Two breakfasts x $25
Three lunches x $25
Two dinners x $45
Snacks, two days: $24
Total: $210 – we’re down to $130!
Entertainment
The 218 Taphouse in Virginia has vinyl night Wednesdays and live music Thursdays. You can also take in some tunes at Music in the Park in Biwabik, every other Thursday through summer.
Admission to Minnesota Discovery Center, the museum of the Iron Range, is free every Thursday after 3 p.m. Explore the indoor and outdoor exhibits, and catch a trolley ride at 6 p.m. for just $4 per person.
Can’t do Thursday? Admission Tuesday-Sunday and Thursdays before 3 p.m. is $9 for adults. Add in mining-themed mini-golf for $4 a person.
Rent bicycles and spend a half day exploring the Mesabi Trail for around $60 with three-day trail pass.
The Soudan Undergound Mine State Park tour is a must, and only $11 per person.
Admission is free for a wealth of knowledge at these locations: Hibbing Historical Society Museum, Hull Rust Mine View, the Virginia Heritage Museum, and Olcott Park Greenhouse and Botanical Gardens.
Enjoy works by local artists at the Lyric Center for the Arts (free), or view the City of Virginia’s bold, nostalgic murals on local buildings’ exteriors. Impressive artwork, stonework and more await at the Hibbing High School. Arrange a guided tour by calling the Iron Range Tourism Bureau. Free. All free!
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop with these last two: express your patriotism by visiting veterans memorials in Virginia and Chisholm, or stop by Hockey Plaza in Eveleth for a free education about the region’s most-loved sport.
We’ve spent around $120 for tours and rentals, and given you a whole bunch of free options. Not bad!
Move Your Body
To stretch your legs, hike around Carey Lake in Hibbing for a three-mile jaunt, or explore the trails at Giants Ridge, the Laurentian Divide, or Big Aspen Recreation Area. Free, free, free and free.
If you’d like a little history to go with your exercise, both Hibbing and Eveleth offer walking tours, complete with brochure. Call IRTB 218-749-8161 to request maps.
If all this walking and cycling warms you too much, dive in. Our beaches are just lovely! Find them in Hibbing, Buhl, Mountain Iron, Gilbert, Eveleth, Biwabik, and Hoyt Lakes.
What’s Left?
We’ve given you three fun-filled days’ worth of ideas, and you still have $10 in your pocket! All that’s left now – besides that $10 – is to request information online, give us a call, or just plan it all out on your own! www.ironrange.org