to the northshore :: minnesota & lake superior ~ post 1 of 3.

April 07, 2025

to the northshore :: minnesota & lake superior ~ post 1 of 3.

The year 2024 found us celebrating 25 years of marriage and beginning a season where we take adventures as a couple. A big component of the years hiking as a family is that we were able to enjoy that together, as a family of four, being a team and sharing the memories, challenges and locations. Hiking really wasn't a part of our lives as newlyweds - our schedule was full of other responsibilities. Healthy living and balance became increasingly important as we began family life and getting older. Hiking (along with biking and kayaking) became very enjoyable, refreshing activities. What is also special about these times is that they can be enjoyed at any age and skill level.

Four our first adventures without the kids we opted for a totally new location and hiking experience. We traveled a short jaunt north on highways 35 and 61 to the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. March 2024 was a short exploratory trip to see what we thought of the area, June 2024 was a second longer trip to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, and April 2025 found us back to enjoy a week of winter hikes, although technically already the season of Spring.

How impressive this area is to us! Along 61 Highway from Duluth to Grand Portage are countless rivers flowing into Lake Superior and stunning waterfalls with well maintained trails from which to view the beauty. Most trails are between 2-3 miles, so distance is easy, but the challenge is elevation as the land only gets higher as you leave the lake coast. Below is a snap shot of our first trip and two additional posts will be written detailing our other trips to the North Shore. Although not pictured, I will link the restaurants and lodging we enjoyed. This area isn't remote, so there are plenty of resources available, however, it's not heavily accessed so there aren't really store chains; instead we experienced a unique, quaint, small business feel to our time. Our first visit in March 2024 had unusually high temperatures and low snow amounts for that time of year. This made hiking somewhat easy, without snowshoes, and allowed for the waterfalls to be flowing more so than usual. We had an amazing time and it only compelled us to return in the summer.