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S.S. William A. Irvin Ore Boat Museum

350 Harbor Drive, Duluth, MN 55802
218-722-7876
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Ranked #10 of 40 attractions in Duluth
Type: Ships, Specialty Museums, Museums
Activities: Leisure education
Description: Located at Canal Park, this museum was once an ore boat.
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63 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
    41
    17
    3
    2
    0
Date Rating
Lindstrom, Minnesota
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
4 attraction reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
4 of 5 stars Reviewed June 17, 2013 NEW

Took the family to see the "Irvin" all the education and history and the tour of the inside quarters and how they stored the taconite . Very interesting and the kids loved it!

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See 3 more reviews by seeyabye for Duluth
Apple Valley, Minnesota
Senior Contributor
28 reviews 28 reviews
21 attraction reviews
Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
16 helpful votes 16 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed June 13, 2013 NEW

This was better than I thought it would be. Touring a big empty boat didn't seem all that exciting, but it turned out to be very interesting! The hour long tour flew by; it moved along & my kids (6 & 8) were engaged. Our tour guide was full of interesting information, but she was also rather annoying. Personally, I... More

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See 7 more reviews by oceansoul39 for Duluth
Alma Center, Wisconsin
2 reviews
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
5 of 5 stars Reviewed June 11, 2013

Steep stairs but very cool to see how the ships work and what the crews had to work with. Great details about the shipping industry as well as the ship history.

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Willmar, Minnesota
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
3 attraction reviews
3 of 5 stars Reviewed June 10, 2013

I was bummed cause we wanted to walk through the ship, but it is a guided tour which I believe was an hour long and since I had 3 kids with (ages 6, 4 & 1) we didn't think they'd survive the tour so we didn't take it.

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See 4 more reviews by alissa n for Duluth
Minnesota
Contributor
13 reviews 13 reviews
4 attraction reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
22 helpful votes 22 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed April 24, 2013

I have been to Duluth dozens of times, but never took the time to visit the SS William. Always thought of it as a tourist trap. Wow, was I surprised, what a great, education tour. Kids loved the tour as well. Highly recommended.

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Osceola, Wisconsin
Senior Contributor
22 reviews 22 reviews
11 attraction reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
5 helpful votes 5 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed April 15, 2013

this is a nice ship to tour and the staff is great. Some of the tour staff was on the ship when it ran the lake.

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See 8 more reviews by KC9NVV for Duluth
Zürich
Contributor
19 reviews 19 reviews
5 attraction reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed March 11, 2013

The tour itself that you take in the summer is great--really informative and interesting. But if you're in Duluth around Halloween, you HAVE to check out the Haunted Ship! It's put on by local actors and actresses, and it's sooo neat.

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See 3 more reviews by Megan S for Duluth
Plymouth, Minnesota
Top Contributor
67 reviews 67 reviews
28 attraction reviews
Reviews in 14 cities Reviews in 14 cities
11 helpful votes 11 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed March 7, 2013

Another attraction that my grandchildren love to go. You really learn how life on an oar boat traveling the Great Lakes and Oceans is really like. I think it is a great learning experience for all. If you are handicapped, this is not the tour for you.

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See 10 more reviews by Valerie1950 for Duluth
Moorhead, Minnesota
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
5 of 5 stars Reviewed February 8, 2013

The tour guides do a great job of making you feel what life was like on an ore ship working the great lakes. The price of admission is worth the tour.

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See 3 more reviews by Tom H for Duluth
Forest Lake, Minnesota
Senior Contributor
36 reviews 36 reviews
20 attraction reviews
Reviews in 13 cities Reviews in 13 cities
13 helpful votes 13 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed November 24, 2012

Again, if you have the time this is a ncie visit - again unique to the Great Lakes. If you have the time visit the whale back in Superior across from the Paterson hoyuse/Museum in Superior. Bot ships provide a wonderful history of Great Lakes shipping, especially in bringing iron ore to the city of Duluth and farther east to... More

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See 2 more reviews by Indy27 for Duluth

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