Northern Light Lake Overlook
Round-trip: 2 km Difficulty: Moderate Location: Grand Marais, MN Click Here for Google Map. Take this short steep hike –gaining 380 feet over 1km– to the top of Blueberry Hill for views of Northern Light Lake and upper Brule River. From Grand Marais drive 20 km north on County Road 12 (the Gunflint Trail). Watch for a small parking area on the east side of the road, after the Northern Light Lake Road (Forest Road # 140.)...
Mount Rose
Round-trip: 2 km Difficulty: Moderate Location: Grand Portage, MN Click Here for Google Map. It had been some time since I last hiked this trail. They have since installed beautiful stone steps with railings along the trail. The steps take you up a 300ft elevation over 1 km. As you climb you overlook the Grand Portage Fort and Lake Superior. The village and fort at Grand Portage National Monument have been reconstructed over the...
Mount Josephine
Roundtrip: 5km Difficulty: Moderate Location: Grand Portage, MN Click here for Google Map. This is a fairly strenuous hike to the top of Mount Josephine where you will have views of Lake Superior, Wauswaugoning Bay, Pigeon Point, Isle Royale, and the Susie Islands. Mount Josephine is one of the peaks in the Sawtooth Mountains of northeastern Minnesota and is located in the Grand Portage Reservation. Be prepared for rough and...
Mt Maud Fire Tower
Roundtrip: 250 m Difficulty: Moderate Location: Grand Portage, MN Click Here for Google Map. As you can tell I have been fascinated by fire towers lately. This one is easy to get to and the views are great –whether or not you climb the tower. Be extra careful if you do decide to climb the tower as a several of the platform boards are missing up past the halfway mark. From the Pigeon River border crossing head west on Hwy 61S...
Mt Sophie Fire Tower
Roundtrip: 3km Difficulty: Moderate Location: Grand Portage, MN Click Here for Google Map. After this one, I’ll try to get off my fire tower kick for a while and I will post about something other than a fire tower next week! You can easily visit the Mt Sophie tower on the same day as you visit the Mt Maud fire tower. I have read that most of Minnesota’s fire towers were constructed as make-work projects in the...
Lake Superior Shoreline Loop
Round-Trip: 6km Difficulty: Moderate Location: Grand Marais, MN Click Here for Google Map The Lake Superior Shoreline Loop is one of the rare opportunities available –next to the Lakewalk portion of the SHT –to hike for such a long distance along the north shore of Lake Superior. Cascade River State Park has several other great trails. I have mentioned two so far: the Cascade River Loop and the Lookout Mountain Loop. Park...
