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Please enjoy this small day trip we took from St Paul to the North Shore of Minnesota which included Duluth, Gooseberry Falls, and the Lighthouse in Two Harbors, Minnesota!
Basically enjoy this Minnesota Dream and some of the best that our state has to offer!
We are not extreme campers by any means, but we love giving it a go at least once a year. We chose Grand Marais Campgrounds in downtown Grand Marais, which was our first time.
We made a couple of stops along the way which you can check out here: LINK TO BLOG POST
I have always wanted to explore these parks up north that are just too far away from the Twin Cities to even be able to do a day trip to visit them. This was our chance at enjoying the Minnesota North Shore to the fullest!
Our campsite was to say the least cramped. Despite COVID, you could tell that this campsite was made to fill the area to make the most money a day and because of that there was not much privacy at all other than being in the safety of our tent and politely ignoring both families on either side. The more private options were tucked further in the woods up the hill, which is something we would be open to doing in the future. But with how cramped we all were in the space I don’t think we would do this campsite again. I did love how close it was to downtown and in walking distance of the Java Moose Coffee shop. I wanted to try the World Best Donut shop which I have been following on Instagram for over a year. Save your heart the disappointment; they were just the world’s OK-est donuts. Nothing life changing but the shop was right next to the bay in walking distance of our campsite. It was relaxing to eat them right on the still water and then make our way to the Grand Marais Lighthouse.
Our campground sits right across the bay from this little lighthouse. In the morning we took our time and walked over to the lighthouse after eating our donuts. The lighthouse is small but sits above crystal clear water on Lake Superior. I would say this an easily accessible stop you should enjoy on your next trip to downtown Grand Marais.
This was a completely paved walking trail up until you got to the ramp to get to the waterfall views. I thought it was such a cool idea that they made this park wheelchair accessible. I do not believe I have seen that before to this compacity. This park was also within sites of the Canadian border. Marcus and I have been at the Canadian border three times now without having the ability to cross over. (The border is currently closed due to COVID.) The walk was pleasant and close to the parking lot. I greatly enjoyed the view of Minnesota’s Tallest Waterfall! Dunder loved it too. (See photo below)
My brother Christian inspired this spot a long time ago when he introduced me to it! The 4th photo (bottom left) has a water fall on the left that they still do not know where the water goes. It just goes to a hole in the ground. It is so up north that is has been years later since first hearing about it that we were finally able to make our way up to see it ourselves! The stairs to these falls were monsters! Seriously, this was the most we worked on our little weekend get away to get to the falls and back. I think Marcus ended the day with well nearly 30,000 steps on his watch. Be sure to bring your hiking shoes if you want to see this one for yourself.
I enjoyed our adventure up the North Shore. I highly recommend it. Please comment if you want recommendations!
Can’t Get enough of what you see?! I don’t blame you!! I wrote a blog on where to stop on your way up the North Shore and How to Prepare for your engagement Session at a State Park! Check them out if you are craving more North Shore goodness.
My husband and I made our way for the first time to Grand Marais. The planner in me has been planning and googling all the different things we could explore along the way to Grand Marais. What was worth seeing and what wasn’t, what gems are along the way, all that good stuff. I have been planning this little weekend adventure for months since Covid hit we were not sure we would have to cancel or not but the Lord provided and we went on our road trip adventure.
On the way to Grand Marais these are the stops we made and what we enjoyed.
Ioana Beach in Two Harbours - Pink Beach - This is a beautiful beach where all the rocks are pink. I know it sounds weird but this was really cool to see in person. The beach is pretty big so on a normal weekend I am sure it is packed. I have seen these type of beaches all the time on facebook pages like “Take Me There.” So I was really excited that there was something I did not have to even leave my Minnesota to see in person. Marcus and I enjoyed sitting in the little cove area where we watched Dunder play in the water. The rocks were sitting in the sun so they warmed up our feet nicely when we came out of the freezing water temperatures. This was a great spot for a forest of pine trees as well, which is often sought after for photos. I can see a fun engagement/couple session here in future for sure.
You can check out the website here
Black Beach in Silver Bay - Like the beach above this beach is known for the beach being black rocks! It felt like regular sand to the touch and was really hot being in the sun all morning by the time we got there!
The big thing with this location is the parking lot was PACKED causing cars to park on the side of the road almost a mile up. We chanced it and got a spot close but parking was not great. For those in larger campers this spot would be really tricky on a day full of people.
I loved the rock fixtures attached to this beach and I think it would be a cute place to take a couple for a photo session in silver bay!
You can check out the website here if you want more information
Palisade Head in Beaver Bay - A stop that will sneak up on you if you are not looking for, Palisade Head is a high overlook off highway 61. It has a lower parking lot and a tight road up to a small parking lot at the lookout. It was high up and pretty intimidating in person. I don’t know if this is something we would stop at again as it seemed very close to all the other stops we had already done! We did not stay long. The ledge was really the only location that wasn’t packed with trees right off the parking lot.
You can read other peoples reviews on Tripadvisor Link Here
Cascade Falls State Park - This was one location that was kind of in the air for us. If we felt up to it at the time then we would go type deal. it was also one of my favorite stops of the day! So glad we didn’t skip it. Cascade Falls State Park had water falls and good little hiking paths that were close to the parking lot. We did make a mistake of going north when we should have gone south which added about an hour of going up the trail but it was still beautiful to see. I LOVED these falls. They were beautiful to see in person and I would 100% go back to this location to enjoy them again.
Website here if you want more information
Now! There are other amazing stops along the way I would recommend that we did not stop THIS trip.
Additional stops I would highly recommend are Gooseberry Falls, Duluth Pier, The Split Rock Lighthouse, Tettegouche State Park, Silver Bay. We have made these adventures on previous times coming up the North Shore so we did not try to fit them in this time, but they are all stops we would make again!
Are you planning your North Shore gettaway for you Engagement session? I have tips to make your State Park Photo session even more amazing! You can check out Tips for Your State Park Engagement Session HERE
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I will be your guide, helping make your wedding photography experience fun and more authentically you.
