North Shore of Minnesota - Day #2

We woke up to a beautifully sunny day in Grand Marais, so we headed out to Artist’s Point which is a rocky outcropping that helps to create the harbor of Grand Marais. This is a frequent spot from which artists paint the rocky shoreline. After a bit of rock scrambling, we followed the narrow path of concrete out to the base of the Grand Marais lighthouse.

Artist's Point

 

The Grand Marais Lighthouse

Back on Highway 61 we continued north to Judge CR Magney State Park to hike the Devil’s Kettle Trail. This is a 2 mile round trip hike that follows the Brule River up to the waterfall. It was another raging waterfall!

The Brule River

Devil's Kettle Waterfall

Our next stop was the Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center. The visitor center had numerous exhibits highlighting the fur trade that occurred in Grand Portage as well as the native peoples’ heritage. Unfortunately, the re-creation of the trading fort was not yet open for the season.

A scenic overlook above Grand Portage

The last stop of the day was Grand Portage State Park to walk the short trail to High Falls. There were signs in the visitor center warning that it’s very wet near the falls from mist, so we were sure to wear our waterproof jackets. 

The boardwalk leading to High Falls

It definitely was wet!

We had gone as far north on this trip as we were going to go, so we started back down the shoreline so that our drive tomorrow to Voyageurs National Park would not be so long. We stopped back in Grand Marais where we enjoyed browsing in the Lake Superior Trading Post, skipping rocks in the harbor, and dinner before driving on to Silver Bay (our stopping point for the night).