Lutsen, MN (December 16-18, 2011) Jay Cooke State Park, Gooseberry Falls, State Park, Split Rock LIghthouse State Park, Cascase River State Park, Temperance River State Park, Tettegouche State Park

We went up to Lutsen for a long weekend.  We've been up on the North Shore of Minnesota many times in the summer, but never in the winter.  On the way there, we stopped at Jay Cooke State Park just south of Duluth.  We saw 4 deer and there was snow on the ground.  There was even someone camping in a tent!  Here's the swinging bridge and the river at the park.

We then headed further north to Gooseberry Falls State Park.  It was very quiet here as well.  We saw a few other hikers.  We hiked around the falls a bit.

We stopped at Split Rock Lighthouse as well.  The construction is all done on highway 61 and the visitor's center is super nice (we hadn't been there in a while).  The lighthouse wasn't open, but we went into the visitor's center and checked everything out.

Then it was on to Lutsen Resort.  Below is the sign just off Hwy 61.  You can see they didn't have much snow.

Here's the resort taken from the lake.  The resort is the oldest one on the North Shore.  They opened in 1885.  It burned down twice and the current structure was built in the early 50's.  It felt like the resort from "Dirty Dancing."

 This is the lobby.  Beautiful views of Lake Superior and many people hang out here playing cards, reading, etc. 

 Here's the beach.  You can have a bonfire anytime you want.  They'll come out and start the fire. 

 There is a covered bridge over the river that heads into Lake Superior.  Many people get married outside here during the year.  There was a wedding on the Saturday we were there (outside too!)

 Our second day we drove the Gunflint Trail.  We didn't see any moose, but we did see alot of snow.  This is the lake at the end of the Gunflint Trail.  It was really snowing when we drove up and back.

 On the way back from the Gunflint Trail we stopped at Cascade River State Park and did a short hike around the falls.  It was beautiful with all of the snow. 

 We did a group walk on the Superior Hiking Trail to Lake Agnes.  It was a 3 mile hike through the woods - very pretty. 

 On the way home we stopped at Temperance River State Park.  It sure looks different in the winter.

 We also stopped at Tettegouche State Park and did a short hike.  Took this photo - it looks like it's evening, but it was around 12:00 noon. 

Gull Lake COE Park - October 13-16, 2011

We headed up to Gull Lake COE park on Thursday, October 13th.  This park is located 3 miles off of highway 371 just north of Brainerd and a few miles south of Nisswa.  It's a great location.  The campground itself is located in the woods and just a short walk is Gull Lake.  There is a swimming beach and a boat launch.  They also have a small hiking trail.  This campground is very busy during the summer months and after October 1st the rates are half price (only $13/night).  The bathrooms were closed, but they do have biffy's and the electricity is still on so we were set.

Here's the start of the hiking trail.  You can see it's mostly one big loop, but it does provide a great view of the lake.

Entrance to the campground.

Our site

You can see how empty the campground was.  These are empty sites.  12 sites were filled over the weekend.  They have a total of 39.

If you look very close, you can see a deer in the woods. 

The inside of our camper.  The view was great - very private.

North Shore of MN, September 10-14, 2011

We went to the North Shore of Minnesota for 5 great days.  The weather started out hot (85 degrees) and the morning we left we woke up to 40 degrees (brrrr). 

Our first stop was Gooseberry Falls.  It was a beautiful day and we walked around the falls, visited the Visitor Center and then took out our bikes and rode around the campground.  The campground here doesn't have any electric sites (they are all rustic) and the sites are fairly small, but it's a great little park. 

Here are the lower falls

Here is the Visitor center.  They are doing an improvement on the patio portion.



The bike path from Gooseberry State Park to Split Rock Lighthouse is completed.  We didn't bike it, but it sure looked like a fun ride. 

We were going to stop at Split Rock, but they are doing some major construction on highway 61 right outside the park and since we still had the camper we decided to skip it. 

We went on to Temperance River State Park to get set up for the next few days.  Here are some views of Lake Superior from Temperance.

Here is our campsite - it was a bit narrow and we couldn't get the awning out, but it was very private in the back.

Here's the road inside the campground.  The sites are very far apart and offer great privacy. 

There's a foot bridge located inside the park accessible from the campground

 Place to stop and sit and enjoy the view in the campground

More views from the campground

There's the footbridge below.

Steps to get down to the footbridge.

View from the footbridge - Gorgeous!

They were catching salmon

View the other way from the bridge (that's highway 61)

Across the road from the campground, there are many trails that take you up to additional falls, the Superior Hiking Trail and Carlton Peak.  Some kids were jumping off the rocks and swimming this day. 

We drove down to Tettegouche State Park and walked to the lower and upper falls.  It's quite a hike and there are a LOT of steps.  Lower falls below.

Upper Falls

 View of Lake Superior from the Lower campground area of Temperance River

There are some campsites right behind the fenced area.

Bike path just outside of Temperance River State Park

Cascade River State Park hike

Grand Marais, Minnesota (most of the "clouds" in the sky is actually smoke from a forest fire burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe area)

You can see how hazy the sky is here from the smoke

We drove a bit of the Gunflint Trail

and took another hike

No moose today

Back in Temperance River State park

Another hike in Temperance River towards Carlton Peak

The wind kicked up and the waves got pretty big

Another great trip!