Big Changes Ahead Of Bentleyville 2024 Visitors, Residents Need To Know About

Whether it's getting to Bentleyville or just getting around Downtown Duluth and Canal Park while Bentleyville is going on, there are a pair of notable changes that will have some considerable impacts for the 2024 Bentleyville season.

The Bentleyville Tour of Lights has been a tradition in the Twin Ports area, starting in Esko years ago as a decorated yard in founder Nathan Bentley's yard. The wildly popular attraction moved to Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth after operating in Bentey's yard for 5 years.

As the 2024 Bentleyville season approaches, there are two notable changes that will impact getting to and from the attraction, as well as the traffic around Bayfront Festival Park.

What's changing with Benteyville this year?

Bentleyville itself isn't making any changes to its operation. Two partners that have been involved in getting people to and from the attraction are, however making some big changes for this year.

The first change is that the North Shore Scenic Railroad announced it will not be operating its Bentleyville Shuttle Train this year. This has become a tradition for many, parking at Fitger's and riding the train to Bentleyville on the train.

The NSSR website explains that while they are not running the train this year, they plan to bring it back for 2025. In the meantime, they do note that their Christmas City Express (which goes by Bentleyville but doesn't stop there) is still running this year.

The other big change is to the bus shuttles that have been running for many years between Bentleyville and nearby parking areas.

Since Bentleyville moved to Duluth over 15 years ago, the organization Downtown Duluth (known previously as the Greater Downtown Council) started operating a handful of shuttles to get people to and from the attraction from parking locations around Duluth.

According to a report from Northern News Now, this shuttle is being discontinued for the 2024 season.

The shuttle had made stops at the Tech Village, Holiday Center, Radisson Hotel in Downtown Duluth, and near Little Angie's in Canal Park.

The report explains that while the shuttle is popular, transporting about 12,000 people in 2023, the expense is something Downtown Duluth can't support as the organization's priorities change.

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President of Downtown Duluth Kristi Stokes told Northern News Now that "a shift in the community’s top concerns in recent years causing the organization to reevaluate its budget". To operate the shuttle last year, it cost the organization $20,000.

Stokes explains that a shift in focus toward things like downtown safety and the organization's outreach specialist position has put the shuttle out of their budget, with the money saved by not running the buses this year going toward that outreach position.

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While the reasons for discontinuing the shuttle are understandable, it will likely create additional parking and traffic challenges. Add in the ever-growing audience of people attending Bentleyville during its 36-night run, and parking and getting around are likely to be a bit more challenging.

How else can visitors get to Bentleyville? How can visitors combat the extra traffic?

While the shuttle and train both being unavailable as an option this year is unfortunate, it is only a fraction of the more than 300,000 people who attend the event each year.

The key thing, as Nathan Bentley has explained over the years, is for locals to consider going on a less busy night. Bentleyville has a "Crowd-o-meter" on its website that gives a guideline of what nights tend to be less crowded.

Those nights, generally Mondays through Thursdays most weeks, are the best time to visit to avoid a crowd or traffic & parking challenges. Weekends are, obviously, much busier as visitors come into town to see the attraction.

Besides picking your visit night wisely, planning ahead is key.

Knowing the parking lot options and leaving to park with ample time are both good tips to have the best experience possible.

Bentleyville's website has a parking map that includes a number of parking lots nearby that range from as close as the Bayfront parking lot to lots in Canal Park and Downtown Duluth.

For people not going to Bentleyville and who are just looking to get around in Downtown Duluth and Canal Park, knowing those especially busy dates and having alternative routes (if possible) or leaving early are all good ideas.

In general, weekends (Friday and Saturday nights) are busy This is especially true on nights when the UMD Bulldogs are playing at home as well as when the DSSO is playing at the DECC Symphony Hall.