Minnesota Travel: Hiking & Waterfalls - Lake Superior Circle Tour
Cascade River to Canadian Border
Northeast of Temperance River State Park, you will enter the Arrowhead Region whose unofficial capital is Grand Marais, Minnesota . . . one of our favorite towns along Lake Superior.
But before you get there, make time for some of the hiking. Seven miles down the road is Forest Rd 336. Go 2 miles inland to the SHT parking lot for Oberg Mountain. The hiking trail is about 2.25 miles and includes several overlooks of Lake Superior, Oberg Lake, and a number of other high peaks along the North Shore. (Here's a SHTA map that includes Oberg Mtn trail. . . and an article in Gorp on a fall Oberg hike)
A second worthwhile hiking opportunity exists among the numerous trails in the Cascade River Sate Park. If you don't have a day sticker for the park, there is a small no-fee parking area along highway 61 by the river.
Another worthwhile stop is about 5 miles before Grand Marais: the Cut Face Creek Wayside Park. While the bathrooms are eco-toilets, they are new and clean. The picnic area overlooking the lake should win landscape awards . . plus there's a great rock picking beach here.
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Here's a shot of the "Cascades" of the Cascade River taken from a hiking bridge that crosses the river. Parking is available off Highway 61 next to the river. The round trip hike to the Cascades is less than an hour's trek.
On the way to the Cascades, you pass Cascade Falls.
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Cascade River campground is more removed from the highway than the Temperance River camping area and will be more "buggy" and "dusty" during certain times of the year. The primary attractions of the Cascade River State Park are numerous hiking trails: some run along the lake, others to Lookout Mountain and Moose Mountain, and hiking the trails on both sides of the river. |
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Grand Marais
Grand Marais harbor. Artists Point left center, main harbor center to extreme right.
Hiking Trails near Grand Marais.
About 2 miles (north on Hwy 12) up the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais, there is a trailhead parking area for the Superior Hiking Trail. A nice overlook of Grand Marais. (pictured above). If you are in the mood for a day hike, following the SHT east leads to Pincushion Mountain and the Devil Track River Gorge.
 Here's Jo and Hans at the top of Pincushion Mountain. As guests of the the Wedgewood Motel (2 miles NE of Grand Marais), we shaved about an hour off the travel time to the top by using the spur trail that originates from behind the motel.
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A few miles further up the Gunflint Trail, the road runs past Northern Light Lake. Look for the sign for a half-mile hiking trail to a peak with an overlook of the lake.
 Grand Marais, Minnesota Page (click here for more info)
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Grand Marais to the Canadian Border
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< < < A nice day hike northeast of Grand Marais is from the Kadunce River Wayside along Highway 61. You travel adjacent to the river gorge to the intersection with the Superior Hiking Trail bridge.
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The Devils Kettle on the Brule River
along Minnesota's North Shore is about a mile + hike with some good "stair-climbing" opportunities! You'll need a day pass to park in the Judge Magney State Park parking lot.
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 21 miles down the road is Grand Portage National Monument
Well worth a visit is the historical reconstruction, complete with re-enactors of the period, of the old Grand Portage Trading Post. Also see the beginning of the historical Grand Portage and get a little exercise with a hike to the top of Rose Mountain with a view of the Grand Portage bay.
Click here for a little more info on the Grand Portage Rendevous, Park and trail.
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 High Falls & Grand Portage State Park
Another Minnesota day park pass (although your Magney Pass may also be good at Grand Portage State Park if you are doing them in the same day) will be needed to see the High Falls on the Pigeon River near Grand Portage, Minnesota. The hike is a modest half-mile and is handicap accessible. |
 photos by Paul Linde
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The Pigeon River forms the Minnesota-Ontario border at this point and is a historic voyageur canoe route. At 130 feet, High Falls is the second highest falls around Lake Superior - exceeded only by Kakebeka Falls . . . which would be your next "waterfall stop" as you travel into Canada to continue your Lake Superior tour.
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| Crossing into Canada and Kakebeka Falls -
Canadian Lake Superior Circle Route
New Passport Regs - Not requirred for land or sea travel to and from Canada. New Regs apply only to air travelers.
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