NorthShoresofMinnesota

This trip is just a bit different than the others that we have journeyed on so far. It does come with a bit of a story that I will open on.

We had made online reservations to go camping at what we thought was going to be Split Rock Light house on Highway 61 just north of Gooseberry Falls. So we drove up to the park ready and eager to check in and setup camp. Little did we know that the grounds was over flowing that weekend. We found out that where we had made our reservations were for Split Rock Creek State Park; which is in the southwestern corner of the state of Minnesota. It was quite a shock to find out that we did not have a site reserved after that long drive. The ranger Michelle at Split Rock Light House State Park was wonderful. In fact she saved our weekend adventure from going down the tubes. She called Gooseberry Falls State Park to see if by chance they had an opening. They did not. So Michelle went as far as calling some people she knew that own the camp grounds just north of where we were; a campgrounds named Northern Exposure just down the road in Silver Bay Minnesota. They had just one site left. Of course we took it. Michelle even told us to come back to the state park in the morning. She knew that there would be a site open at that time in the state park campgrounds that she would give us. For all of this extra effort my partner AAALynx and I redfox wanted to say thank you. Michelle went the extra mile for us and made our weekend the best it could ever had been. We did go back to Split Rock Light House state park not to take the site but to give her many thanks for what she did for us. Instead Northern Exposure had the next night open for our site so we took it as well.

I am not sure if the campgrounds is in business but here is the contact information

The owners of the grounds; Mark & Carol Hofschulte were wonderful. Both of them were friendly and helpful. Their site or grounds are well maintained. Mark patrols the area frequently on his ATV to make sure all is ok with all the lodgers.

The sites for tents were generous in size; allowing for guests to visit or for a camper to spread out some. Each site had a fire pit ring and picnic table. The site we had was secluded or surrounded on either side by bushes. The front was open to all but I was able to easily park my vehicle to provide some privacy. All site are within a short walking distance to the office/little store/laundry facilities/showers and restrooms. The roads to this building are lit at night so you can find your way back easily. They have a play grounds for the kids and a putt putt golf course. There is nice view of Lake Superior only a couple hundred feet away from the main campsites. The trail is well marked and used. At the end of the trail you come to a fenced overview of the cliffs below and the majestic Lake Superior.

The first night that we were there all we could think about is how wonderful everyone had been to help us this day and plan on our adventure for the next morning at 7am. We had prepared for this weekend by checking into the weather situation. For those that don't know Minnesota well you should know that you always have to be prepared for the worst cause the weather here can change in the blink of an eye. We had wanted to have a site with electricity but were grateful we had a site at all. We had seen that in August the low was suppose to go down to about 45 degrees and brought along an electric heater.. Yes that right and it is not a misprint. That is cold even to those that live in that area and not expected that time of year. Needless to say we had prepared and slept with several layers of clothing on and several blankets (one just to cover our heads) wrapped around us. Body heat does provide enough heat to make things comfortable when you mummy up together. We were a bit shocked when we found out that the actual temperature went as low as 39 degrees both nights that we were there.

Tettegouche (pronounced TET-a-gooch) means "the retreat" in the Algonquin Indian language.

The park is huge; with the visitors center on one side of Highway 61 and the hiking trails along with the water falls are on the other. I am providing you with the Tettegouche.pdf file so you can have a copy and see where we went. When you enter the parking area of the visitors center you see a nicely groomed area with plenty of parking available. Directly from the parking lot you walk a short distance to the park and find yourself on a trail over to the overlook of Lake Superior. I will be providing some pictures in the photo gallery of this area. Once past that we venture down the hiking trails of Tettegouche State Park. The trail follows along the Baptism River and is a site to behold. During the time that we were there it was summer of course, but I can only image what the area would look like when in full fall colors. The word would be explosive. The colors would be magnificent in this particular area.

As you go down the path you find yourself going under the Hwy 61 bridge. You follow the trail which follows the river. Gives you direct access to the river if you are willing to venture off the trail and do a bit of navigating. There are many well beaten paths down to the river one can follow. This view of the river is breath taking. On this trail you find abundant wild flowers and plants. The park is loaded with hidden treasure. You are surrounded by the natural sounds of the wild life. The singing and chirping birds and pitter patter of the squirrels can be truly magical. You also can hear the flow of the river and as you get closer to the rapids and falls you can hear them as well from some distance.

The trail is about 1.5 miles to get to Two Step the first set of falls. Of course you are walking up hill. One can only deduce that when you go uphill gradually you will at some time go down hill. To get to Two Step you have a long stairway leading down. Yes this is a long stairway that you will have to once again climb to get up. Going down the stairs is well worth the venture. The word for the first site you come upon is breath taking. The first set of falls is powerful and ever flowing with abundance; pouring out its' magnificent beauty.

Once back up the stairs you follow the trail another .5 miles to the High Falls of Tettegouche. Again you will notice that you are in a constant uphill progression. That should have been my first clue as to what lie ahead of us. Once to the sign pointing to the stairway to the lower view of the High Falls its all downhill from there. All the way down. By this time we had too much time and energy invested into the adventure so went down and down the stairs. I was amazed at the power and glory that lay before my eyes. This falls is well worth the trip up and down the stairway trust me. This waterfall is wide and tall. There was plenty of water available to make it a site to behold.

Once back up on the trail you go about another 700 feet upward so you might look at the top of the falls and look down. That trip we didn't take. I know it was only 700 ft but after the climb up the stairs from the High Falls to think of going up more stairs even 700ft was a bit too much for this hiker (at the time) to fathom.

Baptism River from under the Highway 61 bridge. This is one the trail that I mentioned

This is hornets nest found at Tettegouche State Park.

Bunchberries found at Tettegouche

This is an example of the wildflowers found in Tettegouche State Park. It's name is Bunchberries

Wild raspberries found at Tettegouche State Park

wild raspberry bush found at Tettegouche State Park

AAALynx at Two Step at Tettegouche State Park.

Now we ventured back to Gooseberry Falls State Park; this link gives you the pdf file of the park. We were there the first time later in the evening and not able to get pictures of all the falls. The link provide is a pdf file of the summer trails at Gooseberry. The park is also open to all in the winter and you can go to the Minnesota DNR site to get the winter trail map.

Gooseberry Falls is located in a town by the name of Castle Danger; a lakeshore village in section 33 of Silver Creek Township, was settled in 1890 by three Norwegian fishermen, although the land was owned by lumber companies. The origin of its name has several stories, among them that it was for the cliffs along the shore resembling a castle or for a boat named Castle that ran aground here. All falls with the exception of the Fifth Falls are within easy walking distance. Once on the trails the first stop leads directly to the Middle Falls. You can deviate left or right and go to the Upper Falls or the Lower Falls from that point.

The nice thing about Gooseberry Falls is that it never seems to disappoint her viewers. You are able to walk down and with careful stepping you can stand almost in the middle of the Middle Falls and Lower Falls. The falls are wide, tall and powerful. A real beauty that shouldn't be overlooked when up in that area.

Next stop on our trip is Two Harbors, Minnesota. This small town does have a lot to offer as do many of the others along the Highway 61 route. Here we stop to view the light house that was built in the harbor and the steam engine trains that are on display from years gone by.

The trains that were use back in those days were steam powered. They use to bring hundreds of tons of iron ore or taconite into Duluth shipping area to go to many sites around the world. The taconite was then made into steel. Now days with our imports and exports to different countries around the world one can purchase steel cheaper than it is for us to mine the ore and create and ship. Since it is not cost effective any longer to mine the taconite most of the mines have since closed. What a shame that is. The major economic well being of those towns and communities thrived on the production of our taconite.

With all this said that concludes this adventure and we are preparing for the next. The next several weekends you will find us sharing with you some of the acclaimed festivities of the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area, Come along with us as we share these as well.

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