Tag: Two Harbors

Gooseberry Falls State Park-Two Harbors-Minnesota

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We hiked Gooseberry Falls State Park on June 25th, 2023.

The trail began just past the Joseph N. Alexander Visitor Center. As we crossed the Highway 61 Catwalk, we took in the view of the Upper Falls.

We continued our hike on the Gitchi Gummi Trail.

The trail had a steady incline. A view of the Gooseberry River Valley began to appear through the trees.

The Gooseberry River was flowing by with Lake Superior in the near distance.

A sandbar appears to stop the Gooseberry River from flowing into Lake Superior.

The trail continued alongside the lake offering a different view of the Gooseberry River flowing into Lake Superior. The river is flowing under the sandbar. The photos below show the rich brown river penetrating the lake.

One final overlook of the lake before heading back through the forest.

As the trail looped us back to our starting point, we took a quick detour to take in the amazing view of the Gooseberry Middle Falls.

A beautiful Iris was growing alongside the trail.

Our hiking adventure was 2.4 miles.

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park-Two Harbors-Minnesota

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We hiked Split Rock Lighthouse State Park on June 23rd, 2023.

Our hike began at the trail center. Immediately we had amazing views of the historic lighthouse and Lake Superior. The air by the lake was cool and a light fog danced on top of the water.

Many other visitors were enjoying the view with us. People were kayaking, kids were playing on the rocks, a bride and groom were getting their photos taken and others were just sitting taking in the impressive view.

As we began to hike away from the lighthouse, we had the trail to ourselves.

We made our way to Bob’s Stairs.

At the bottom, we found a small beach. Not much swimming happens in Lake Superior though, being the water temperature is usually below 55 degrees even on hot days.

Beautiful wildflowers lined the trail.

The trail led us across a bridge where a giant tree made itself a home.

The different overlooks of Lake Superior on the trail were breathtaking.

We diverted from the main trail we were on for a few minutes to take in the bay and cross under Highway 61. The second photo is the view from the other side of the highway. I was amazed how completely different the view was from what we have seen so far on the trail.

Back under Highway 61 and through the tunnel we went.

We hiked a small part of the Gitchi-Gami State Trail. The Gitchi-Gami State Trail is a wide paved trail that is over 34 miles long!

We reached the part of the trail where we exited the Gitchi-Gami State Trail and began the Day Hill Trail. There were two different trails at this point; one that went straight up the cliff and the other was a regular non paved trail. Up the cliff we went. And let me tell you, we were not disappointed in our decision. The view was AMAZING!

We found a stone fireplace at the top of the cliff. The sign nearby explained it was a mystery as to who built the fireplace. They think it was built in the early 1900’s. I included a photo of the sign as there is another explanation of the fireplace.

We followed the trail back down the cliff and began our hike back to our starting point. We took in a few more views of the lighthouse which was almost out of sight due to the fog.

Today’s hiking adventure was 6.6 miles.