During a recent visit with relatives in SW Wisconsin I talked about my recent vacation on the North Shore. They didn’t know what the North Shore was. I realized that there are many places named the North Shore. I want to do this post about the area along lake Superior from Duluth to the Canadian border. I recall going on a vacation to the North Shore when I was maybe 13 years old. A highlight was taking a picture by the town sign of Schroeder Minnesota which is my family surname.

I would guess the most famous image of the North Shore is the Split Rock Light House. Many photos in different seasons and angles are online. We normally stop at pebble beach which is below and south of the lighthouse to get this view. A lot of hard rock is characteristic of the shore along Lake Superior.

Waterfalls are the next most impressive site along the North Shore. I would guess that there are way over 100 waterfalls between Duluth and Canada. Pictured above is Gooseberry Falls. There are 3 falls there – upper, middle, and lower.

The largest ski area in the Midwest United States Lutsen Mountains is towards the north/east end of the North Shore. In the summer still a lot to do like riding the gondola to the top of one of the mountains and having lunch. We also had fun riding the alpine slide down one of the hills.

The most interesting town is Grand Marias which has a large harbor and many cool stores and restaurants. It is just north/east of Lutsen and is very popular in the summer. We love walking on the rocks and island by the harbor. You can eat great fish dinners with fresh caught Lake Superior fish in Grand Marias.

Minnesota State Parks are common along the North Shore. The hiking is great either along the shore or up the mountains inland. All have waterfall hikes too.

The Oberg Mountain hike is a favorite with great views of Lake Superior and also inland views like above of a lake. Imagine this view in the fall with great fall colors. The North Shore may be most popular in September/October for the tree color.

The overlook picture above lets you see many islands and in clear weather you can see the only National Park in the area called Isle Royale National park. I haven’t been to that island as you need to book a boat trip.

About an hour north of Grand Marais is the Canadian border. The falls above are on the Pigeon river and are the highest falls along the North Shore. The Pigeon river is the border with Canada so the right side of this picture is Canada.

Throwing rocks is great fun for young kids. Walter pictured above always looked for the biggest rock to throw in the water. Holden is learning skip stones so looks for flat skipping stones to throw in the water.

Stacked rocks are common along the North Shore. The above is by Split Rock Lighthouse. Many times there are many stacked rocks in Grand Marais.

Have to mention my favorite hike. The Temperance River Gorge is right off highway 61 and is a very wet version of a desert southwest slot canyon. If you ever get the chance take a drive along the North Shore. The city of Duluth is an interesting fun starting point that has many fun things going on.