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.
