Duluth's Canal Park Parking Lots End Free Seasonal Parking

Duluth locals and seasonal visitors have long been used to the annual tradition of sorts, when the parking lots in Canal Park go free for the offseason. That tradition appears to have come to an end.

While the various lots scattered around Canal Park have always required payment during the busy summer tourist season, they've usually shifted to free sometime in October, remaining free through the winter until sometime in mid-May. I'm talking, of course, about the Duluth Parking lots, not the one near the Blue Bridge. That one is separately managed.

I happened to be in Canal Park yesterday morning to go for a walk and check out the sunrise (which was gorgeous yesterday morning, by the way). While I was there, I noticed some new signs at the entrances of the various lots that indicated the big change.

Instead of seeing the usual "free for the winter" signs with black covers over the pay stations I've become used to seeing over the years, there was a new sign that read "Paid Parking Year Round". Along with that new message was a note that "off-season rates" are now in effect, which started on October 16.

With this new change, it's bound to surprise locals and visitors heading to Canal Park late this fall or winter with a charge they weren't expecting.

Everyone I've talked to about this after discovering this change has had the same reaction to the news.

They've all rolled their eyes and said something about how the businesses in Canal Park are going to hate this change. And they're not wrong.

While summertime has a lot of built-in tourist traffic, things slow down a lot during the winter in Canal Park. While Bentleyville and occasional events through the winter bring in an influx of visitors from time to time, the shift to paid parking during the winter season creates another barrier for visitors as they pick where to shop, dine, and spend time during the winter months.

To be fair, parking in these lots is not anywhere near the cost you'd pay in a larger city, but a lot of the locals in the Duluth area that I've talked to seem to be particularly sensitive to having to pay for parking, avoiding the nuisance and expense whenever possible.

The good news is that during evening and weekend hours, street parking is free in Canal Park, but those spots are clearly much more limited than the lots around Canal Park. Meanwhile, the lot rates are applicable 7 days a week, and parking is not allowed after 10 pm in nearly all of the lots.

All but the Lighthouse Lot and Lake City Lot close from 10 pm until 5 am nightly. That means if you're in Canal Park for an evening outing and using one of the other lots, either your night ends by 10 pm, or you need to move your vehicle before your night is over. Neither of which is ideal.

We'll have to see how this winter goes for business around Canal Park to see if it has any impacts large enough for them to demand changes. If I had to guess, things won't be changing, however. In the meantime, prepare to pay more for your next off-season visit to Canal Park for the foreseeable future.