Zenith Basecamp, at 27th Avenue West and Superior Street, features a hostel, retail store and cocktail bar. Free Air Life Co opens its outdoor store Saturday, Jan. 25. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske).

The adventure begins this week as a new travel center featuring an adventure hostel, outdoor clothing retailer and cocktail bar opens in a historic Lincoln Park office building.

Zenith Basecamp, 2631 W. Superior St., will see Free Air Life Co. welcome customers to its ground floor retail shop Saturday, making it the first business to open inside the renovated property. The second floor hostel started taking reservations last week and will greet its first guests in March. Meanwhile, workers are completing construction on a new interior space that will house Altitude Cocktails and Wine Bar.

“We are aiming for travelers that are coming up to Duluth to hike, bike, ski, paddle and explore all the outdoor experiences we have here,” said Zenith Basecamp Brand and Marketing Manager Katy Rochel. “The idea is we’re creating a community space. A lot of our people will have the same goal: To get outside.”

Zenith Basecamp Brand and Marketing Manager Katy Rochel stands inside the map-lined adventure center room at the new hostel.

Zenith Basecamp Hostel features 10 guest rooms built around a large gathering space filled with sofas, upholstered chairs and a large dining table. A kitchenette and shared bathrooms are adjacent to the common areas. A room lined with maps and other local travel information — called the adventure center — will be the place where guests can plan their day.

The common area inside the second floor “adventure hostel.”

“A huge part of the hostel culture is meeting other people,” said Rochel. “We have great rooms but they are small. They are not the kind of place where you’ll want to hang out the entire time. We want people to come out into these common spaces, where they can eat and play games at the large table and meet new people.”

Rochel expects travelers to use the hostel as a stopover on their way to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area or other North Shore campgrounds. Others will make the Twin Ports their main destination to ski at Spirit Mountain, hike and bike the Duluth Traverse or kayak on the St. Louis River.

Rooms will cost between $75 and $85 per night.

Rooms at the Zenith Basecamp will cost between $75 and $85 per night. The hostel holds 11 rooms of various sizes.

Owners Justin and Sarah Steinbach, who also own the harbor cruise line Vista Fleet and the outdoor equipment rental firm Zenith Adventure, are the first to go all-in on the “outdoor adventure hostel” concept in Duluth. Bob Monahan, who opened Hostel du Nord in 2018, also targets outdoor adventurers, but additionally leans on his downtown establishment’s proximity to the city’s events and culture.

“This is definitely a very unique offering for the Midwest,” Rochel said of Zenith Basecamp. “(The Steinbachs) actually have gotten this idea more so from out west, from their travels, and so it’s something they really wanted to bring back to this community.”

According to St. Louis County records, the Steinbachs purchased the two-story, 6,400-square-foot building from the Cartier Insurance Agency in July 2022 for $625,000. A parking lot across Superior Street east of the property was also part of the deal. Building renovations got underway in 2023.

The retail space, cocktail bar and accessible guest room were incorporated into the lower level. Heating and air-conditioning equipment were upgraded and a fire suppression system was installed to accommodate the new guest quarters on the top floor. An unfinished basement will eventually be used for equipment storage.

Rochel said renovations maintained a few historic features like two antique bank vaults. The building was constructed in 1908 as the headquarters for the Duluth Street Railway Company, which operated street cars throughout the Twin Ports. A rail yard sat adjacent to the building between 26th and 27th avenues west. Duluth street cars stopped operations in 1939.

Free Air Life Co. co-owners Sarah Pohl, left, and Sarah Steinbach stand inside their new Lincoln Park store.

Free Air Life Co. co-owners Sarah Pohl and Sarah Steinbach said they were eager to open their doors again to outdoor lovers. The two founded Free Air Life Co. on 20th Avenue West in 2019. The space was closed last year in anticipation of doubling the store size at Zenith Basecamp.

“We’ve got a year’s worth of excitement, I would say,” said Pohl. “It’s really coming together and all the Lincoln Park businesses are excited that we’re reopening.”

Zenith Basecamp sits at a western gateway to Lincoln Park, just north of the 27th Avenue West and I-35 bridge.

Pohl said the larger space has allowed Free Air Life Co. to add more brands of outdoor adventure clothes, shoes and accessories. Items from Canada, Switzerland and other worldwide designers now find space next to more domestic brands.

“The store changes every day as we get more in,” said Pohl. “We’re hoping people come by and check it out.”

Altitude Cocktail and Wine Bar will be part of the Zenith Basecamp travel hub. The bar is expected to open in March.

Rochel said Altitude Cocktails and Wine Bar is expected to open in March. The establishment, owned and operated by Justin Steinbach and Alex Taray, will be open seven days a week to the public as well as guests.

The store, bar, lounge area and cozy, comfortable rooms make a stay at Zenith Basecamp different from camping, she said, calling it “indoor glamping.”

“We want this to be a hub for the North Shore traveler,” she said. “It’s really going to serve as a basecamp. A place where you can get your gear and prepare for an adventure. A great place to get your bearings before you get started. Then you can come back and take a shower and get a drink at the bar.”