this is the best candy in the WORLD!!!! there is no candy shop as good as this one. its the smoothest, creamiest ,best tasting Carmel's and Chocolates , almond bark you will ever have .not a bad thing the store. we drove to MN to find this shop on vacation one year in Duluth, we've been back every year , sometimes twice a year .its worth the trip if you like chocolate... the last 2 years we had it mailed to us!!! well worth it !!!!! read more

Amazing candy, we always stop at the candy store when we are in Northern Minnesota. This time we had a unique experience, the older lady who waited on us, tried to talk us into more candy than what we wanted. She also took our turtles and smooshed them all together. When we got home it was one big glob of chocolate, caramel and nuts, not sure why she wouldn't use a bigger bag. She seemed to be having an off day Advised us that all of the nutty ice cream bars were the same, which they aren't. They've changed over the years. They used to be mixed nuts and coconut. Now they're only coconut and peanuts very very good still but they've changed. Awesome place to stop just make sure they use the right size bag so you don't get a glob of chocolate and caramel read more

I don't have much to say about this sweet shop, but the outdoor play area next to it is CRAZY COOL. There's a path to walk along, with lots of random stuff to play with. Our 4-8yr old kids had a blast. read more

Great!Lakes Candy Kitchen - Candy Stores Near Me - Knife River, Minnesota

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Oh' gosh, this is the place for wonderful home made chocolates. They have a wide variety of milk and dark chocolates. They are always super friendly and deal with long lines efficiently. The store is super small and quant. They have a nice outdoor space for enjoying your chocolate before you head out along "old 61" and the wonderful views of the lake. Highly recommend! read more

Do I love this place? Yes!!!!! The delicious chocolates they make all come in light and dark chocolate. Get one piece (impossible) or a bag full! Also- dipped ice cream bars. They have a cute outside area with picnic tables so you can start sampling your goods. This is a classic must visit place. read more

My friend gave me a box of Bear Tracks for Christmas--their Cadillac cashew version of Turtles. Unbelievably good! Trying to find out more about ordering for next Christmas, but when they close for the season, they close completely. read more

Candy is scrumptious but costs a lotta bread. Chill area cant complain and the people who work here are chill too read more

We stopped here on the scenic drive during our 16-year wedding anniversary trip on the North shore. I don't know how I'd never stops here before but I was glad I did. We had one of the most amazing caramel apples me or my wife ever ever had. We also got some amazing chocolates to bring home to our kids and sat for a while in the ambiance looking over lake Superior and they're fun bear art. We will definitely be back again our next trip up north. read more

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We absolutely love Great Lakes Candy Kitchen! The people there are always so friendly & the candy is spectacular. My husband loves the White Almond Bark & I love the fudge & the caramel apples are the best!! It is such a cute place too & they have stuffed animals & other little gifts. read more

What an adorable candy shop! I love candy and it's even better when it's homemade. If you're a chocolate lover, this place is for you. Tried the air chocolate. It's looks like a big chocolate puff and has just spun sugar inside. The guy in front of us bought a whole bag. It must be delicious, I thought. Not great in my opinion. Hard as as rock inside. The seasalt toffee braid, on the other hand was awesome. We bought some taffy, maple syrup and pancake mix as well. A fun stop for candy lovers! read more

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This place is adorable inside and out. Caught sight of this place on our way out to Gooseberry Falls State Park and decided to stop on the way back to Duluth. The chocolate is delicious with great mold and flavor options. I bought gifts for Christmas for many loved ones. Worth the stop! read more

Great!Lakes Candy Kitchen - a sign post in the woods - Candy Stores Near Me - Knife River, Minnesota

Cutest lil candy store! Delicious chocolates made in store daily! Excellent customer service

There's so much stuff in there it was difficult to narrow it down, so I didn't. I bought all the treats I wanted instead. Almost everything in the display cooler thing had milk chocolate and dark chocolate options. I'm a dark chocolate girl, but bought a few things in both because I hoard chocolates of all kinds. Some highlights where the air chocolate things. They were like giant malted milk chunks. The salted dark chocolate caramels, and the almond bark were also killer. I'm sure you could find just about any candy you're craving in this little shop. Service was great, they package each item individually in plastic bags, so no risk of your goodies melting together. I see myself making a stop here each time I'm in the area to load up on sweets. read more

Great!Lakes Candy Kitchen - Candy Stores Near Me - Knife River, Minnesota

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absolutely fantastic treats! very friendly staff. This little store is very cute and quaint. Just the outside is reason to stop and admire!

Great selection and all the stuff we bought is awesome. Haven't eaten it all but tons of choices and all is looking good- would definitely stop and I think they ship also at least in the winter!! read more

So happy they were open despite of COVID. The had an outside pick up window for purchases. A super fun place to bring the kids. We spent about $20. We bought the milk chocolate turtles which were AMAZING. We also bought the malted milk balls which were also good but the ratio of chocolate was off in our opinion. Way too much BUT they still tasted good! Customer service was so friendly and they made this stop enjoyable despite the bummer of not being able to go inside the shop and see all the sugary goodness before deciding what to choose. Would still recommend this stop on your scenic North Shore Drive! read more

Great!Lakes Candy Kitchen - Turtles and malted milk balls! - Candy Stores Near Me - Knife River, Minnesota

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We were driving down Hwy 61 and out of nowhere, this candy shop popped up on the side of the road. Maybe I wasn't paying attention last time we drove this way, but I sure don't remember this being here before! So obviously, the only thing to do when one randomly comes upon a candy shop is to stop and buy a ton of candy, right? The store is small but well merchandised, with a little bit of something for everyone. They have pre-prepared bags of candy and boxes or fudge, or you can press your face up against the glass case and get them to weigh you out what you want on the spot. I got a bunch of coconut haystacks (my favorite), which were tasty. My husband got a ton of various licorice items, which he said were good. The gentleman who helped us was super nice and friendly. Very fun stop. read more

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Stopped by on the recommendation of a Duluth local, and really enjoyed it! IT's a great, homey spot along the Scenic Drive, and a perfect place to take a break if you feel your blood sugar running low. They have SOOOO many chocolates and sweet options - all homemade of course. It gets pretty crowded in the small space but the employees there know what they're doing and help you with whatever you need. We didn't have to wait very long despite how packed the place was. On the hot afternoon we were there, we got the nutty ice cream bar and some pistachio bark. The nutty ice cream bar was a pretty generous size - a vanilla ice cream block covered in milk chocolate, peanuts, and coconut. Delicious if you like it sweet and crunchy! The pistachio bark was a little on the sweet side, and tasted more like milk chocolate than pistachio. It had a layer of chocolate, and a layer of green (possibly pistachio flavoring but tasted more like white chocolate because of how sweet it was that was colored green). The sprinkling of pistachios on top were the only ways I recognized it as pistachio bark, because it really did not taste like it. The outdoor area has plenty of picnic tables, chairs, and hammocks for you to sit and enjoy your sweet treat! read more

Great!Lakes Candy Kitchen - Nutty ice cream! - Candy Stores Near Me - Knife River, Minnesota

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So good, so fresh, all homemade and all for a reasonable price. They don't use cheap ingredients at all.

Fudge is phenomenal, homemade candies delicious! I loved the caramel covered marshmallow and their homemade caramel corn. My wife's chocolate toffee was great too. Next time I want to try their ice cream! read more

I always get my chocolate almond bark stocked up at The G!LCK. I love that this is the 3rd generation of Chocolatiers! There is hope for the future of nostalgia for North Shore legacy businesses. Summary: The chocolate is good and the White Almond Bark is the real deal! read more

Great mom and pops candy and chocolates store. Kids loves the home-made ice cream crunch bars! Delicious truffles and more. It's a must stop

This is a great little place to stop if you have a sweet tooth. Most of the candy sold here is hand made locally. Although it is a tiny shop, the atmosphere is old world charming and welcoming. The quality is high and so are the prices(on the hand made chocolates) but they have plenty of other treats that are reasonably priced for all budgets. A personal fav of mine(besides that chocolate) are the ice cream bars! This is a regular stop for our family. read more

Greats Lake Candy is the bomb diggity! I dare you to walk in, sniff and SURRENDER!:) read more

Great!Lakes Candy Kitchen - Candy Stores Near Me - Knife River, Minnesota

This place is amazing! Super high-quality chocolates, caramels, fudges - Amazing recipes have been handed down for four generations. The little store is super charming and fun to drop in. Freshly brewed coffee, ice cream and the most amazing variety of find candies - along with all kinds of other goodies... This place is a must stop on the Scenic Highway between Duluth and Two Harbors. read more

So yummy! Love the choices and the chocolate is so smooth! A pound will set you back about $20, so we just choose whatever looks good in the display and leave with about a pound. Worth the trip for the old-school ambiance, picnic tables, and surrounding area! read more

AMAZING candies!! Have gone to many places for candy on the north shore and this is by far the very best!! Extremely helpful and friendly staff! I bought a bunch of taffy that was clearly handmade because the sizes were perfect inconsistencies!! We purchased a large variety of candies from here to much on while going up the north shore, they were dirt cheap! I even told the clerk that I felt like I won the lottery (because I had put so little money into it and gotten so much in return!) This will now be a stop every time I come up the North Shore. In fact we went back again the next day and made a special trip just to buy more great candies to take home for friends! read more

Best chocolate and a true homemade product. A must for anyone driving the scenic north shore.

What a cute little shop! We purchased a bag of the caramel covered assorted nuts and a bag of assorted dark chocolates from the case. We didn't think it was overly expensive at all. Very yummy! read more

MUST GO. It is incredible. I was driving up to Gooseberry Falls and it was raining cats and dogs. I pulled off the road by the Candy Kitchen and popped inside. They have incredible peanut butter fudge and peanut butter meltaways. read more

If your heading up the north shore, stop in for some treats along the way. A very cute little place with some Kick-Butt chocolate covered salted caramel! the chocolate, sea salt, and excellent quality caramel were to die for! The fudge is a family favorite and the prices are all reasonable. There are lots of treats to choose from for adults and kids. Really cute little shop where you can score some "I love Lucy" baking duds and fun toys and trinkets. read more

A must stop North Shore destination. Great staff, awesome selection, and fair prices. I brought my family and my two kids were in heaven. Their homemade ice cream bars are a must; big piece of vanilla ice cream, dipped in chocolate, rolled in coconut and peanuts. If you can, save some time to hang out on their cozy porch. Easy 20 minutes outside of Duluth and close to many local resorts like Larsmont. Great way to mix up a North Shore trip with something new or a fun stop to make a tradition. read more

Someone recommended to me that I need to go to the Great Lakes Candy Company and I, being in need of an adventure and a load of sugar, jumped into my car and flew there from Superior. Their website said they close at 6, and I arrived at 5:55, thankful to see that the doors were open until 7! I went in and was amazed at how many cool things they fit into such a small space. I spent about $20 on various chocolates, truffles, taffies, etc. They were okay, better than Rocky Mountain though not as good as other small candy store candies that I have had. We left the store around 6:15 and my friend and I decided to go for a walk and eat our candy. When we came back, there was a note on my car that said "Please don't park here, we need this area for customers, Thanks". Okay, I understand the need for parking in a small lot, and I feel badly that I did not think to move my car for the remaining 45 minutes that they were open, but in my defense I was way at the end off to the side. BUT THEN, one of the owners marched up to my car and exclaimed to me "What makes you think you can park here all afternoon?!" As politely of a response as I could possibly muster in my taken aback state, I replied "I apologize, I parked here to come buy chocolate at 6, and we just walked a little bit after...." She rudely cut me off and said "But this car has been here ALL DAY", and no, I replied, I got there at 6. She did not believe me and continued to extremely extremely rude, despite the fact that I was a paying, first time customer. With the exception of that woman who was not in the front of the store at the time of my purchase, the service was pretty good inside. The quality of the candy was good, but I will not be back as I know other small businesses that understand the value of customer service. read more

Are you driving up (or down?) the North Shore? Do yourself a favor and stop at this cute little candy shop. VERY high quality chocolate and other made-from-scratch goodies await you inside and it smells delish! You really can't go wrong with anything. We had a small piece of almond bark and while it was pricey (it's weighed by the pound), it's worth it. This place was also featured on "On the Road with Jason Davis" so if you like the show, you'll be pleased to know that this is one of his haunts. This is candy that's WORTH getting fat over! read more

They work their own chocolate right in the store. Delicious fudge, caramels and toffee! If you are need of delicious sugar this is the right place to stop. read more

So glad I listened to a stranger at our campground. Fabulous chocolates and reasonably priced candy indulgences. The caramels, turtles, peanut butter melt and milk and dark chocolate mints have quickly disappeared. So much for restraint. Highly recommended! read more

Where do I start? Incredible variety especially considering the small size of the location. I couldn't decide, and they patiently let me select one of just about everything. The only piece I ended up not caring for was their Air Candy (sponge candy). It was way too hard (solid as a rock). Surprising favorites were the key lime truffle and lemon bark. Though I'm normally a lover of milk chocolate, I actually preferred the dark chocolate variety of the caramel. You can't go wrong. We stopped on the way up north earlier this week, and will be making a stop again on the way back home! read more

Wow, this place was great. When they found out we had never been there they invited back to the kitchen, given fresh samples, and told their history. Never felt so welcomed anywhere. Everything you could imagine to choose from. Even got some doggy treats. Must stop in Knife River along the North Shore! read more

Nutty bars are the best thing you will ever eat. Also can't get enough of the chocolate covered toffee

We stopped in on our scenic drive up North, it smelled too good to not buy anything. Got a bunch of taffys and caramels, almond bark (amazing!!!), cashews cluster in dark chocolate, dark mint chocolate stix (too good!!!!), sea salted dark chocolate caramel (too gluttonous of us!!!), dark chocolate coconut (yum)... My bf and I have a soft spot for sweets... We even went back again on our way back down South! It's worth the stop if you're a chocolate-holic! read more