Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The North Shore Scenic Drive along Tettegouche State Park features spectacular overlooks and broad scenic vistas.
3.
Gooseberry Falls State Park
Countless streams drain into Lake Superior, but none so dramatically as the Gooseberry
River, whose Upper and Lower Falls plunge 30 and 60 feet, respectively. The mouth of
the river washes over the aptly named Agate Beach, a good place to find samples of Min-
nesota's state gemstone.
Embracing some 1,700 acres, Gooseberry Falls State Park lures visitors not only with
its five splendid cataracts but with 18miles oftrails, all ofthem threading through a green-
and-silvertapestryofbirch,aspen,andspruce.Inwintersometrailsaregroomedforcross-
country skiing.
The park's superbly crafted buildings, steps, and retaining walls were constructed of
nativegranite,quarriedandcutbytheDepression-eraCivilianConservationCorps.Goose-
berry Falls is linked to six other state parks along the North Shore by the Superior Hiking
Trail—anarrow300-milepaththat,whencompleted,willparalleltheentirelengthofLake
Superior's rocky rim, from Duluth to the Canadian border, and will provide hikers with
unique perspectives of the beauty to be found in the area.
4.
Split Rock Lighthouse State Park
Seven miles farther along, a turn-off leads to one of the North Shore's most famous attrac-
tions: Split Rock Lighthouse. After six ships were wrecked within 12 miles of the Split
RockRiverduringafiercestorminNovember1905,thefederalgovernmentcommissioned
alighthousetobebuiltatoptheforbidding100-footcliffthatoverlookedthedisaster.Com-
pleted in 1910, the octagonal structure is now surrounded by 1,900-acre Split Rock Light-
house State Park. Its powerful beam, visible from up to 20 miles away, shone steadily until
1969, when electronic navigational equipment rendered it obsolete.
Swooping along the shore like the gulls that bank overhead, the road passes through
Beaver Bay and Silver Bay—where cranes and gantries feed the maws of giant iron-ore
freighters—before regaining the rocky heights.
5.
Palisade Head
The rusty, weathered cliffs of Palisade Head form a promontory prized by daring climbers
and adventurous kayakers. Some 350 feet high, this scarp marks the beginning of the Lake
Superior palisades, a ragged wall that extends some 40 miles eastward. A short road leads
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