If you look at a map of Lake Superior, you’ll notice that its northern shore is in Ontario. Minnesota actually forms the western(ish) shore of Lake Superior. But for whatever reason, Minnesotans refer to this region as the North Shore, so that’s what I’ll go with as well.
After three days in Wisconsin, we were now en route to northern Minnesota for our ultimate goal of climbing the state’s highest point.
But that was on tomorrow’s agenda. Today, we had only about three hours of driving but all day to get there, so obviously we were going to stop and see as much as possible along the way.
And perhaps most importantly, we could finally put to rest our argument as to whether my husband had been to Minnesota. Previously, he’d only been to the airport… but since we had a 4 hour layover, we met some family for lunch outside security (but still inside the airport).
I maintain that it counted.
He maintains that it didn’t.
Now, both sides of the argument are moot.
Anyway. Our first stop of the day was Duluth, specifically the Superior Maritime Visitor Center, located in the waterfront downtown district. I figured it would be a good place to learn some things while stretching our legs for half an hour, and then we’d be on our way. I did not expect to spend an hour and a half here.
Then again, I didn’t realize there was so much to see. Among the highlights were three lighthouses and the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge, which is similar in function to a drawbridge (as in, it lifts to let boats through) but works by raising and lowering like an elevator.
The absolute coolest part, though, was watching a 1000 foot (305 m) ship travel under the bridge. I’ve never seen a ship this large in my life – and I will never understand how something this big and heavy is able to float, but that’s a whole physics lesson I’d really rather not try (and fail) to wrap my head around right now – and not only did we get to see it, but it was right there, so close to us! I learned later that ships that large don’t come through Duluth Harbor very often, so it was pure luck that we were there at the right time to see this one.
If you watch the video below with the sound on, you’ll hear some facts about the ship. I wish I’d kept the video running the entire time so I would have captured all the audio, but when the ship honked its horn (is that even the correct terminology for a ship?), it was so loud I stopped the recording and didn’t think to start it up again.
After receiving our fill of lighthouses and lift bridges and truly enormous ships, we ate lunch on a bench near the water before continuing our northward journey. We did have to make one quick stop first to purchase fuel for our camp stove; we’d flown to Minnesota and that’s one thing you can’t pack in either a carry-on or checked luggage… probably for obvious reasons.
This final part of the trip would be a trial run for us in that regard, as it was the first time we’d ever tried this whole flying-to-our-destination-with-camping-gear thing. Obviously, there’s no way to actually fly with everything. Camp chairs, for example, weren’t going to fit into a suitcase. Neither were our normal hard-sided cooler or Coleman two-burner camp stove, among other things. Therefore, we’d decided to spend most of the trip in a hotel and just camp these final two nights. This would allow us to try it out, see how it worked with a more limited amount of gear, and assess the feasibility of this strategy for the future.
Looking back, I’d say it actually worked pretty well. I didn’t forget anything, and though it would have been nice to have comfy camp chairs and our larger tent with a big fluffy air mattress, we made due with our 2-person tent and inflatable backpacking sleeping pads. We had only our small backpacking stove with us as well, so we made sure to get simple meals that didn’t require a lot of stove usage or dishes.
For a couple days, it wasn’t bad. For a longer trip, I’m not sure I’d want to do it this way. I think we’d have started to miss some of our usual camping creature comforts.
And also, packing for this trip was a nightmare. Have you ever tried to fit all your camping gear into one suitcase? It took me seven tries and a bunch of time spent stuffing things into progressively smaller stuff sacks, but against all odds, I did it!
(We also took photos as we unpacked it so we could put it back exactly the way it was for the flight home.)
But anyway, back to the North Shore. There are multiple state parks along this stretch, and a single daily entrance fee is good for any and all parks you might visit in a 24 hour period, so we stopped at two of them en route to the third, which would be our home for the night.
First up was Gooseberry Falls, home to a series of waterfalls on the Gooseberry River as it tumbles its way into Lake Superior. We didn’t have an endless amount of time to spend here so we did what I’m guessing most people do – hike to Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls before looping around back to the car. It’s less of a hike and more of a walk, actually, as much of it is a paved path. However, you can leave the path and climb around on the rocks near the waterfalls. There were also people swimming.
Next up was Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, home to – as you might guess – Split Rock Lighthouse. It’s a unique situation, though, because the lighthouse is actually managed by the Minnesota Historical Society. Your state park entrance pass allows entry to the park, but to visit the actual lighthouse requires a separate fee. Lucky for us, a friend had passed along some wisdom: skip the lighthouse tour and just go to Pebble Beach at the state park. She promised it had a great view of the lighthouse for just a short walk and no extra fee.
She was right.
My first impression was that I had taken a wrong turn and mistakenly ended up on the coast of Maine. The scenery was remarkably similar, with cliffs rising out of the water and waves crashing against the rocks.
And finally, we pulled into Temperance River State Park, our home for the next two nights. Across the highway from the campground is a short trail along Temperance River Gorge to Hidden Falls. I’ve hiked to multiple “Hidden Falls” in my life, and usually you can at least find a spot to catch a glimpse. With this one, not so much. It’s accurately named. The most we were able to see was the water accelerating over the edge before disappearing into the abyss of the gorge. In other words, if you’re looking for scenic waterfall views, this is not the trail for you.
The campground at Temperance River State Park is split into two loops, with the upper set back in the trees and the lower much closer to the shore of Lake Superior. Our site was in the lower loop, which was much preferable in terms of views and lack of mosquitoes (thanks to the fairly constant breeze coming off the lake), but inferior in terms of bathrooms and water (there are only two pit toilets, plus a water spigot that was out of order due to E. coli contamination). The upper loop was just far enough away that we had to drive there if we wanted to wash our hands, wash dishes, or shower, which was kind of annoying.
Nonetheless, I recommend the lower loop unless you enjoy being constantly swarmed by mosquitoes. While coating yourself in DEET might deter them from biting you, it will not deter them from buzzing around you, and if you miss a spot with your bug spray they will absolutely find it. Even with the light breeze, every minute in our campsite was spent fully clothed, with our hoods pulled tightly over our heads to keep the little buggers out of our ears.
The reality is, we spent very little time in our campsite, opting instead to hang out down by the water where the air was blissfully mosquito-free. One afternoon, we staked out a comfortable spot and stayed there until mid-evening.
As pretty as the North Shore is, the scenery was not enough to counteract the horrendousness (we’re going to pretend that’s a word) of the mosquitoes. We will not ever be making a return trip.
And little did we know, the worst was yet to come. But I’ll talk more about that in my next post, in which we’ve finally made it to the actual reason for this trip: meeting up with some blog buddies to summit the highest point in Minnesota!
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