Minnesota's North Shore

After subjecting ourselves to the polar vortex of February 2021 (see post here), we wanted to check out the North Shore of Lake Superior during a slightly warmer time of year. We chose early April, anticipating 40-50°F (4.4°-10°C) high temperatures. I was hopeful that the waterfalls would be thawing and that we would get to try out a hiking trail or two.

As our time in the north approached, the forecast called for daytime highs in the low to mid 30’s. Not exactly the warmth we were hoping for, but hey, that’s 50+ degrees warmer than it was the last time we were up there!

One thing we didn’t expect was the huge amount of snow that remained near the shore. According to local reports and measurements, winter 2021-2022 was one of the snowiest in recent memory. The ski resort in Lutsen saw a season total of 160 inches (406.4 cm) — well above the recent average of 96 inches reported by OnTheSnow, The resort was still welcoming skiers and snowboarders to its slopes on May 7th, making it the latest skiing/snowboarding date in the resort’s history.

Not to be outdone, in May, heavy rains combined with the spring melting led to high waters and flooding that wiped out trails and bridges. The Pigeon River in Grand Portage State Park recorded a peak flow of 12,800 cubic feet per second (96,000 gallons per second) on May 13th (USGS graph), which is the highest on record (see peaks for previous years)!

Needless to say, it was an eventful winter/spring up north.

Even with a few of our hiking options taken off our list, we still had plenty to see and do. We revisited some of our favorite spots and explored new areas including a portion of the Gunflint Trail, Grand Portage State Park, new beaches, and Lutsen. We tried a few new places to eat in Grand Marais and I was thrilled to be able to make multiple stops at Java Moose for a morning (and maybe, sometimes, afternoon) coffee. Below, I’ve shared some of my favorite photos from each day. Camera settings are included below each image unless the photo was taken with my phone.

Day 1

We drove up to Duluth in the morning and had lunch at the fantastic Great Harvest Bread Co. We stopped at Gooseberry State Park to check the waterfall status. The Upper Falls was still pretty frozen over. After arriving at our AirBNB, we headed out to Artist’s Point for sunset. We had some beautiful clouds that evening. If you want to see a 3 hour loop of what our view was like along with the sounds of Lake Superior, check out the video YouTube here.

Day 2

We started our second day with hopes for a sunrise, but got some moody clouds instead (not complaining!). I was excited to find some ice in the harbour and spent time photographing the ice patterns against the deep blues and teals of the water. Then we went for a drive up Gunflint Trail. We weren’t sure how many side roads we’d be able to access with all of the snow. It wasn’t many. Snow fell off and on as we explored new roads and thick forests. We spent the evening, again, at Artist’s Point. This time we walked out to the lighthouse along the breakwall, and it was windy!

Day 3

We captured a beautiful, although short-lived, sunrise on Lake Superior from Artist’s Point. We then decided to head further up the coast to see some of the places we missed during our 2021 polar vortex trip. If you read that post, you’ll remember that I tripped and smashed my face on the beach at Hollow Rock. I was brave and decided to return to the scene of the incident. This time there were feet of packed snow along the beach and it never met my face. Win.

After Hollow Rock, we drove up to the Canadian border for a visit to High Falls in Grand Portage State Park. About half of the trail was paved and cleared. The other half of the trail was covered in a couple feet of packed snow with a thin layer of refreeze on top. That was fun. We made our way along the slippery trail to an overlook of High Falls on the Pigeon River. Canada is just on the other side of the Pigeon River.

In the afternoon, the sun came out and the weather was beautiful. We found new beaches to explore along Lake Superior, and I got to fly the drone. We ended the day with moody skies along the shore.

Grand Marais at sunrise
24 mm, ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/60 sec

Day 4

It snowed intermittently on our final day. We went for a drive in the Lutsen area along roads that were so peaceful and quiet. Our final stop was Temperance River State Park near Tofte to check out the waterfall just a short walk from the parking area.

Gloomy day at Temperance River State Park
24 mm, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/200 sec

In summary, we had a great few days along the North Shore and are already planning a trip back — this time without snow!

Thanks for reading!

Minnesota North Shore - April 2022

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Something New | Travel Atmos