The Devil’s Kettle trail follows along the Brule River with views of its waterfalls and rapids.
Roundtrip: 3km
Difficulty: Moderate (lots of stairs)
Location: Hovland, MN
The trail starts in the Judge CR Magney main parking lot and ends at the Devil’s Kettle Falls. But you can connect to the Superior Hiking Trail at the Devil’s Kettle Falls.
The river divides in two as it goes over the 50-foot Devil’s Kettle waterfall. The section on the right lands at the base of the falls and continues downstream. The section on the left vanishes into a pothole known as the Devil’s Kettle and no one knows where it goes. It is believed that the water makes its way out to Lake Superior a mile away by means of underground passages, but the exact details are unknown. They have thrown dyes and logs and other things into the pothole, but apparently, nothing ever comes out.
From Thunder Bay take 61 south. About 43km past the US border crossing look for the Judge Magney State Park sign on the Right. A vehicle permit is required costing about $5 US per day. The trail begins in the main parking lot.
I’ve made this trek several times, it’s beautiful for photography during the fall colours season. This is a very easy to get to, in fact my 93 year old grandma made the hike even. I enjoy pairing Judge CR Magney with Temperance River. If you enjoy hiking and don’t mind the drive over the boarder pick up a year long pass and save yourself a fair amount of money.
Thank you Dave!
Derik, John and I took a run down to Grand Marais for the day. We snagged a couple of hikes from your site and they were awesome. Thanks again Sue.
Thank you! I have made the correction. I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Yup, lots of stairs is right. The longest staircase was 179 steps.
What a wonderful hike and the trail is very well maintained. I would like to make a correction, though. The park is 43 km south of the border (25 “miles”). We thought we had missed it.
The hike itself took about 1/2 hour each way.
Thanks again for giving us such a wonderful idea for a day out.