Sawtooth Outfitters offers canoe, kayak, bike, cross country and downhill ski rentals.   While the outdoor recreation opportunities on the shore are countless, here are a few of our favorite things to do as you travel Minnesota's North Shore. Drive the "off the beaten path" roads. Make your own discoveries about the land that borders the big Lake Superior! Click on map for specific lodging and state park information

North Shore Land and Cabins� Lake Superior Lakeshore Gunflint Trail Lakeshore Cabins and Vacation Homes Business Opportunities Recreation and Hunting Land Canadian Properties www.LandUpNorth.com

 

TOP PICK North Shore Fall Colors www.northshorefallcolors.com Daily fall color and bird migration reports, along with over 25 fall color tours to pick from for biking, sailing, hiking, driving and bird watching.

 

Snowmobile Trails from Duluth to Canada and the Gunflint Trail From Duluth to Grand Marais, Minnesota the 153 mile long North Shore State Snowmobile Trail system traverses St. Louis, Lake and Cook Counties of northeastern Minnesota. The trail system winds its way through forests and nearby Lake Superior scenic overlooks and connects to the Gunflint Trail snowmobile trail system.

 

Lake Superior Fun Facts and Stats That's not a river you see out the window as you drive along Hwy 61! Don't be a dork, with our fun facts and stats you'll amaze the family or friends. By-the-way, deer don't turn into moose, it's cooler by the big lake in the summer and a little warmer in the winter. Find out why when you check out the facts and stats we put together for you.

 

Activities By Location We've assembled plenty of "things to do" and "where to go" and "what to see," for your ease of finding the activity to pursue while you're up, event to attend or place to hike, bike, fish, canoe, sail or drive!

 

Lodge to Lodge Hiking Program You can hike the Superior Hiking Trail by day, then stay at a different lodge along the trail each night in Boundary Country Trekking's Lodge to Lodge Hiking program. You hike, we arrange your lodging, shuttle your car and gear between lodges, prepare your breakfast and trail lunch and sign you up for membership in the Superior Hiking Trail Association.

HUGE BIRD MIGRATION LOCATION Hawk Ridge Nature Center in Duluth  Many public programs. During the fall, migrating hawks and other birds of feather concentrate in impressive numbers at the western tip of Lake Superior. Hawks migrate from as far away as the Arctic towards wintering areas as distant as South America. Reluctant to cross a large body of water, birds funnel down the North Shore along the shoreline and hills. Overlooking Duluth, Minnesota, the view alone is well worth the stop. Bring your binoculars or spotting scopes, and zoom in on various bird species or sea going ships leaving/entering the Duluth Port.

French River Fish Hatchery On Scenic 61 at the French River 218-723-4881 Self-guided tours of this cold water fish hatchery are available weekdays from 8am-4pm. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources incubates herring, suckers, walleye, rainbow trout, steelhead and salmon at this location.

 

Stoney Point Drive A scenic loop off Scenic 61 along Lake Superior. About 15 miles NE of Duluth. A great place to wave watch here in stormy weather, have a picnic and shoreline fish.

 

www.northshorestateparks.com   Minnesota North Shore State Parks There are eight State Parks along Minnesota's shore of Lake Superior. Get out of the car and stretch those legs and experience some incredible places preserved by the state of Minnesota just for your pleasure! Our complete guide has maps and facts about each park.

 

Tom's Logging Camp  On Scenic 61 about 13 miles NE of Duluth 218-525-4120 Books have been written, stories told, and motion pictures made of the Historic Logging Camp days when rugged men and tough animals fought the bitter cold and heavy snow to harvest the mighty forests of Northern Minnesota. Today the camps and horses and most of the men are gone. Machines, power saws, trucks, etc. have taken their place. An era has ended. We have restored the past for your pleasure and education in Tom's Logging Camp. Our camp offers an authentic duplicate of a typical Northern Minnesota Logging Camp, with all the building and articles, original tools and equipment from that by-gone era.

 

Silver Cliff On Hwy 61 east of Two Harbors The highest bluff rising directly out of Lake Superior. Builders carved Highway 61 out of the cliffside 125 feet above the lake. The new tunnel provides a safer route and features a wayside area, that you can take in the great cliffside views.

 

Lafayette Bluff Tunnel On your return trip down the shore, you can admire a vista that occurs at the bend of the tunnel as it gives way to the western view.

 

Excursions Aboard the Grandpa Woo Tickets & Boarding Dock on Hwy 61 in East Beaver Bay 218-226-4100. You can board the 40 passenger Grandpa Woo at the public launch in East Beaver Bay or Agate Bay, Two Harbors and tour Superior's shoreline. This two hour cruise includes highlights of craggy Lake Superior shoreline, river mouths, Silver Cliff, Encampment Island, Split Rock Lighthouse and Palisade Head.

 

Bayside Park Off Hwy 61 just E of Beaver Bay/W of Silver Bay. This park and overlook have a great picnic site. It is also a great spot to watch ships load at the North Shore Mining dock.

 

Palisade Head in Tettegouche State Park Off Hwy 61 about 4 miles NE of Silver Bay, watch for signs. Follow a narrow road to the top for incredible views of Lake Superior, Shovel Point and over the 300-foot cliffs. Open seasonally. Please no trailers.

 

Rock Climbing Rock climbers will be pleased by the challenge and scenery presented at Palisade Head and Shovel Point in Tettegouche State Park and Section 13.

 

Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center From Hwy 61 in Little Marais, north on CR 6 218-353-7414 or 800-523-2733. Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center is an accredited residential environmental school for persons of all ages. It offers immersion programs which involve direct observation and participation in outdoor experiences and focus on ecology and science, human culture and history, personal growth, group building and outdoor recreation.

 

Finland, Minnesota Check out the "off the beaten track" at the intersection of MN Hwy 1 and CR 6 & 7, about 7miles N of Hwy 61. The community of Finland represents what a number of the small shoreline villages were like 25 years ago. Finland is in the valley behind the Sawtooth range. Don't forget to visit the nearby Crosby Manitou State Park or Isabella, Minnesota.

 

North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum On Hwy 61 In Tofte The actual museum is built across the bay from the original site of the Twin Fish Houses, the museum is a replica of the Tofte brothers' and Hans Engleson's 1905 fish house. The museum has on display many relics, photos and artifacts that were passed down from the Tofte and Engelson families. This is a fabulous museum, it tells the story of commercial fishing along the Shore and at Isle Royale. The Schroeder-Tofte-Lutsen Visitor Center is also located here.

 

Kahneetah Gallery 218-387-2585 or 1-800-216-2585 Located between Lutsen and Grand Marais, Minnesota on scenic Highway 61 (just past milepost 97... watch for the brightly colored windsock!) The Gallery features Minnesota artists and includes original work in a variety of mediums. Tastefully appointed cottages have cobblestone fireplaces and complete kitchens; pets welcome. Direct access to the Superior Hiking Trail.

 

Lutsen Mountains Alpine Slide, Gondola Ride & Mountain Bike Park From Hwy 61 in Lutsen, north on the Ski Hill Rd 218-663-7281 Spring, summer and fall fun at the Mid-America's largest and highest alpine ski center. Take the chairlift to the summit of Eagle Mountain and return on the half mile ride, or bring your mountain bike and ride the backcountry trails. You can access additional biking and hiking trails at the top of Moose Mountain. A fabulous family or romantic outing in the fall with the fall colors. Alpine Rides can be purchased singly, in a book of five or eight.

 

Good Harbor Bay Panorama Just east of Thomsonite Beach, Highway 61 turns left and reveals an incredible picturesque Good Harbor Bay, Seagull Rock and the small town of Grand Marais in the distance. The wayside rest area and vehicle pullover area are on the lakeside of the road, at the height of land or you can stop at the newly remodeled Cutface Creek Wayside Rest on the eastern edge of the bay.

 

Grand Marais Rec Area Off Hwy 61 in Grand Marais 218-387-1712 or 800-998-0959; 218-387-1275 Pool building is open daily with an Olympic pool, kids pool, whirlpool and sauna. Campground offers over 300 sites. Playground, ball field, picnic pavilion, public boat launch, cobblestone beach, hiking trail and winter sledding hill are available.

 

Okontoe Horse Drawn Winter Sleigh Rides Our sleigh rides are offered in the evening so you may enjoy the crystal clear view of starry skies and aurora borealis, the "Northern Lights." Cap and Dan, our 2000 pound Belgians, will pull you along lantern-lit trails to inevitably make a lingering stop at the ever-popular "kissin' tree." The three-quarters of an hour ride concludes with home-made hot chocolate served from a wood cookstove in the warmth of Mark and Nancy's century old log home.

 

Arrowhead Center for the Arts From Hwy 61 in Grand Marais, north on the Gunflint Trail (CR 12), east on CR 7 2 blocks; in the School Campus 800-385-9585 This is the performing arts center in Grand Marais, home also to the Grand Marais Art Colony and Grand Marais Playhouse. To learn more about the Art Colony, call them at 218-387-2737. The Grand Marais Playhouse produces a number of shows throughout the year, with a number of plays, readings and musical events held in the summertime; Please Call 218-387-1036.

 

Kadunce River State Wayside On Hwy 61 about 8 miles NE of Grand Marais. Nice spot for picnic, stretching the legs, a short hike or river ski.

 

The International Border between the USA and Ontario, Canada On Hwy 61 is about 40 miles NE of Grand Marais. Great State Park with waterfalls worth seeing! Grand Portage State Park

 

North Shore Featured Attractions What to see and where to stop North Shore State Parks North Shore Shipwrecks Lodge to Lodge Hiking

North Shore Fall Colors Info General Fall Colors Information North Shore Fall Color Tours Why Leaves Change Color

 

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