Duluth, Minnesota is a beautiful port city of 90,000 perched on a hill overlooking Lake Superior. Featured in Outside Magazine as a Dream Town for outdoorsy folk, Duluth has piles of wild haunts mere minutes out of town. The shifting seasons are a cyclic facet of life in Duluth, and an understanding of them can go a long way in understanding our neck of the woods.

Duluth winters are not for the faint of heart, as the temperature is more than willing to dip below -20 (-29 celsius). Ironically, Duluth citizens will be in a noticably better mood when the intense cold is accompanied by huge drifts of snow that need to be plowed, shoveled and relocated. A cold winter without snow is hardly a winter at all by Duluth standards, and people get really cranky when they can't get out and go skiing, sledding, snowboarding or snowmobiliing. "If it's going to be this gol' darned cold, it might as well snow a helluva lot," is a standard Duluth utterance.

Sentiments are often quite bitter when the temperature dips below zero (-17 celsius) in March, or when an April snowstorm rolls through and dumps a foot of snow on the sodden ground. However, during a Duluth spring it isn't uncommon to wake up to three inches of new snow, and later eat lunch outside under a broiling sun in 50 degree weather. Any amount of warmth is an excuse to break out the shorts, t-shirts and sandals, so don't be surprised if you see someone slogging through the snow in Birkenstocks. They're not crazy, they're just ahead of the curve.

By about mid-August most streams and lakes around Duluth finally thaw and watersports take hold. I exaggerate, but barely. Summers in Duluth are fairly short but wonderful enough to make the other eleven months of the year worth it. The outdoors of Duluth are air-conditioned, as the frigid waters of Lake Superior keep the air temperature from getting away from itself. Expect to see people swimming, kayaking, windsurfing and sailing. Those that wish to keep dry can explore the many nooks of greenery within the city limits of Duluth, can head up the North Shore of Lake Superior, or can explore the rolling hills and farmland of northwestern Wisconsin.

Fall around Duluth gives off a real sense of preparation for hibernation, as cabins in the area are locked up and water toys are all put away. When the trees flare up in blazes of hot colors many people take their backpacks and tents out into the woods for one last hurrah before the snow comes in. Before you know it the snowflakes fall and you're left back where you started.

So without further ado, take a tour of the mighty seasons of Duluth.