Skip to main content

Gooseberry Falls State Park

Image
By

Minnesota 61 along the North Shore of Lake Superior is an amazing drive.  From Duluth to Grand Portage, the North Shore Scenic Drive offers spectacular views and countless recreational activities.  One of the most popular spots along Minnesota 61 is Gooseberry Falls State Park.

Upper Falls - Gooseberry State Park

The centerpiece of Gooseberry Falls State Park are the Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls.  All three falls are rather close together and very accessible from the Gateway Plaza Visitors Center.  The Upper Falls sit north of the MN 61 bridge over the Gooseberry River.  Both Middle and Lower Falls sit below the bridge.  There are many vantage points for each of the falls and they make for impressive viewing.


Geologists date the falls to two events.  The basalt rock found at the falls were a result of a long inactive rift zone from 1.1 billion years ago.  Further, the retreat of glaciers from the Great Ice Age over 10,000 years ago carved out the rocky gorge the Gooseberry River and falls traverse.

Further upstream from the Upper Falls is the Fifth Falls.  It is about a two mile round trip hike from the Visitor Center.

Besides the falls, there are over 20 miles of hiking trails and numerous campsites open in the summer.  The Gitchi-Gami State Trail runs through the park which is a paved bike/recreational trail.  During Winter months, snowshoeing, snowmobiles, cross-country skiing, and ice climbing are extremely popular within park grounds.

Middle Falls

The park dates to the early 1930s and its development was assisted greatly by the Civil Conservation Corps (CCC).  The Corps laid out many of the trails, the original campgrounds, and picnic areas.  One of the retaining walls built by the CCC is known as "The Castle in the Park". Today, the Gateway Plaza Visitor Center honors the members of the CCC that developed the park.

All photos taken by post author - August 2006.

Further Reading:

How To Get There:
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more