Traffic Advisory For North Shore Inline Skate Marathon 2022

It is going to be a busy weekend ahead for the Duluth area, with a handful of different events taking over the city! One of those is the North Shore Inline Skate Marathon, which kicks off on Friday (September 16th).

Duluth Oktoberfestival will also be taking place in Duluth this weekend. The annual event will kick off on Friday and will last all weekend long, with a parade, food, live music and of course, bier.

If you love fun and live music and have a few hours to spare, you could also volunteer for a shift at the event! They are looking for volunteers for a bunch of different positions, including positions in beverage services, security, logistics, setup, teardown and more.

Roads around the Canal Park area will be temporarily impacted by the event on Friday afternoon. Around 3 p.m., a parade for the event will take place but that should be the only major closure to note for Duluth Oktoberfestival. Update as of September 16th @ 8:43 a.m.: there will be no procession due to bad weather. All other events are still scheduled beginning at 4 p.m. when doors open.

There will be other impacts for the North Shore Inline Skate Marathon.

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Here's what you should know, if you are attending the Duluth Oktoberfestival, taking part in any part of the North Shore Inline Skate Marathon or will be in the Canal Park area anytime throughout the weekend of the 16th.

Travel Impacts On Friday, September 16th

There will be a few things to note for the North Shore Inline Skate Marathon Friday, as Kid's Inline Sprint Races kick off the weekend. Activities will begin in the afternoon. Therefore, beginning at 3 p.m., Harbor Drive between the Irvin Slip and the Great Lakes Aquarium will be closed. You can still access the parking lot of the aquarium at this time. The roads will reopen again beginning on Sunday, September 18th at 8 p.m.

Travel Impacts on Saturday, September 17th

This will be the big day in terms of travel impacts. There are a few things to note relating to the closures, including the fact that parking will be prohibited by roads that are closed for the race. If you park in any of these spots, you could be ticketed or towed.

The race will feature inline skaters, runners and roller skiers. Each different begins and lasts for a different amount of time, starting between 6:45 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. Therefore, roads will re-open from east to west, according to the traffic advisory, as racers get close to the finish line, which is close to the DECC. All roads will reopen by 2 p.m.

Downtown Duluth and Canal Park will be open to traffic during the race and there will be access to Canal Park, Park Point, the Great Lakes Aquarium and the DECC throughout the race.

The Duluth Police Department shared a detailed traffic advisory ahead of the race on Thursday (September 15th). You can see all road closures in detail below:

The Glensheen will be closed until 1 p.m. on Saturday as well, so keep that in mind as you make your weekend plans. A few years ago, the marathon was cancelled in light of COVID-19 so it is exciting that it is back and better than ever. Hopefully, the weather isn't too bad!