Hike the Cascade River Loop as it follows along the river. You will see several waterfalls and gorgeous views.
Round Trip: 14 km
Difficulty: Moderate
Location: Grand Marais, MN
The Cascade River in the Cascade River State Park flows through a narrow canyon featuring several waterfalls and cascades. This is a great spot to visit any time of year and it is one of those places that seems to change so much with each season.
Doing this entire hike is strenuous due to the number of hills and steep sections –at one point you have to climb 96 steps! But you can adjust the level of the hike and do as much or as little of if it as you wish. The scenery is amazing right from the start.
Park in the free parking along Hwy 61 about 7 miles northeast of Lutsen or 9 miles southwest of Grand Marais. (Alternate parking is available by the Cascade River bridge on County Road 45, off County Road 7.) The trailhead is on the West side of the river on Highway 61.
The trail climbs around 600 feet as you travel upstream along the river gorge on the west side. Then it crosses over on county road 45 and returns back down on the east side following close to the river bank for views of the waterfalls.
Just beautiful!! Awesome hike!! I definitely recommend doing the west side first. Much more challenging then the east side!!