The charming old town of Grand Marais, with its many unique Minnesota characteristics, makes a great base for exploring the North Shore of Lake Superior, the Gunflint Trail, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
The North Shore of Lake Superior is fed by dozens of Minnesota rivers, most of which have waterfalls you can easily reach on foot. It’s the best place to start your tour of Minnesota waterfalls.
Some of the most dramatic landscapes in Minnesota are along the St. Louis River in Jay Cooke State Park.
The waterfall of the Cascade River State Park is a short hike from the North Shore’s Highway 61. A beautiful contrast to the black basalt stone of the gorge.
A walk around the Oberg Mountain Trail near Tofte will give you great views of the North Shore fall colors below.
The Grand Portage National Monument is an entertaining and informative journey back into the history of the earliest trading economy of Minnesota. Costume clad docents will lead your through the reconstructed trading outpost and enlighten you on the earliest encounters between the Ojibwe, the French Canadian Voyageurs, and the English North West Trading Company.
A short walk gets you to the High Falls on the Pigeon River, at the U.S.-Canada border. It’s the highest waterfall in Minnesota.
The deep gorge of the Temperance River, carved over millenia in the hard basalt, is a dramatic backdrop for several waterfalls, and a great hike.
One of the most popular stopping spots as you make your way up the North Shore of Lake Superior, Gooseberry Falls makes for an easy walk and a rewarding view.
It’s a bit of a hike, and a lot of steps, to see one of the real geological oddities of Minnesota, the Devil’s Kettle at Magney State Park.