Tettegouche State Park

Part II of the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park posting

As I mentioned at the end of the Split Rock post, on our first trip to the north shore we went on a more ambitious hike than we were maybe prepared for at Tettegouche. We knew we wanted to check out Tettegouche State Park based on all the great reviews and plentiful hiking trails.

View from Lake Superior lookout

Located ~ 1 hour from Duluth, MN

Part of the Minnesota State Parks system

On Saturday morning of our north shore trip we drove over to Tettegouche, which is about 15 minutes from Split Rock Lighthouse. We had a little bit of a later start that morning because we had to run to Beaver Bay that morning to get more ice for our cooler, so probably got to the park by about 10 or 11 am. The first thing worth noting is the ranger station is combined with the wayside building off of 61, we completely drove past it on the way in and got all the way to the trail head before realizing it 🙂

We wanted to hike for a good part of the day, so we chose to head out on the loop towards Nipisiquit and Mic Mac Lake. Since it was still spring time (early May) the trails were relatively muddy, the first incline coming out of the parking lot towards Lake Superior lookout was very muddy and wet. The trails were pretty big in most parts, like the below picture, so it made it easy enough to try and navigate around the boggy parts.

The trail in relatively good shape

The Lake Superior lookout was somewhat steep to get up to, but it was beautiful and you could easily get a good panoramic view of the area. After getting back on the main trail it was pretty level for a good length and gave us time to recoup. We got to Nipisiquit Lake and the little picnic area after about an hour of hiking, we stopped and had a snack and enjoyed the view of the lake. The lake seemed to come out of no where and it was really peaceful, perfect place to take a break (i.e. there were NO people around).

Nipisiquit Lake

Now here comes the part that kind of got us off track 😉 After our break, we were trying to decide what route to take towards Mic Mac Lake. On the map there was supposed to be a little trail along the lake that met up with the larger trail or the larger trail going up the ridge with an overlook that eventually came back to the lakes. Since we were enjoying the views of the lake, we opted for the trail along the lake. As we were leaving the picnic area, we seemed to pick up a solid trail and headed into the woods. It started to grow more and more faint, which sometimes happens with sparsely used trails. About halfway through the trail (past of the point of no return), the brush totally overtook the trail and there was really no indication of the trail. Thankfully, the trail was supposed to go along the lake shore until it met up with the other trail, so we just bumbled through the brush along the lake’s edge. I had never been so happy to meet up with a main trail before. Needless to say, we wasted a lot of time trying to make our way through that mess.

Back on the main trail we were welcomed with much better trails and here there were even boardwalks over some of the more soggy areas, which was much appreciated. The trail between Nipisiquit and Mic Mac Lakes was my favorite part of the loop we took, it was in the woods and had the classic northwoods smell and feel. The trail in this section was relatively level as well, making for a very relaxed section.

The trail passes through the Tettegouche Camp, which is a cluster of cabins on Mic Mac Lake that are available for rent. It if I was the cabin type of girl, I would consider renting one of these.. although they aren’t super secluded, they had good trail access and were relatively secluded from most of the park visitors. From the Camp we took the trail towards Palisade Valley Overlook. The trail looping back towards the parking lot was the same trail type as the sketchy / non-existent trail that we took earlier, so we were a little nervous to see the condition of this section.

Surprisingly, the trail was well defined the rest of the way back to the lot. Based on the topography on the trail map we had, we thought we would be skirting a lot of the big ridges. The good news for our exhausted legs, we got to go up ALL the ridges and at some points going up hills only to go down hill and then directly back up. I am normally not a whiner, but we were (I was) so tired at this point. We went up to Conservancy Pines overlook, but you couldn’t really see a lot from that viewpoint (not worth the steps at that energy level). The trail connects with the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) for a short while and it was nice to be able to get a feel for the condition of the trail and signage before committing to a full hike on that trail.

View of the trail we took – courtesy of DNR’s Tettegouche State Park map

After we got back on the regular trail and within two miles or so of the parking lot, the trail was relatively easy as we were going downhill. There were fewer muddy spots on this side of the trail than the way we came in, but it was still pretty boggy in spots. This side of the trail abuts park land that is open to hunting, which was enclosed by a fence. When we got back to the parking lot, I was very happy to be done with the hike even though it was very enjoyable. It was about a six hour hike with about 160 floors hiked according to my Fitbit and I was a tired lady afterwards.

We’ll have to come back sometime, since we didn’t make it to Shovel Point, Palisade Head, or High Falls. Never enough time to see everything!

Until next time!

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park..

… And other Superior Lake Shore hiking!

The first official hiking trip of the year was a place I had never been and was very excited to explore – the North Shore! We camped at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park at the recommendation of my boss at work for the beautiful campsites that are right on a CLIFF overlooking Lake Superior! Okay.. now that you can guess at my excitement to camp and hike up there, I will back up!

This is the VIEW from the campsite

Located ~ 1 hour from Duluth, MN

Part  of the Minnesota State Parks system

On an early May Friday, we took off work and headed up north for our first camping & hiking adventure of 2016. This was precluded by me anxiously researching the possibility of snow still being on trails (somewhat likely in early May) and trying to contain my urge to buy lots of new gear. I don’t know how many times I was showing new lightweight sporks or tarps to my boyfriend, he put up with it all very well 😉 (love you, honey!!). In the interest of not breaking the bank, the only thing we purchased was REI Camp Tarp 12. Yes, yes, I can contain myself apparently. There was a possibility of rain over the weekend we were going and in case we were trapped at camp all weekend, I didn’t want us to have to sit in the tent the whole time – even though I would have been able to read soooo many books.

The new tarp & the campsite!

The drive from the Twin Cities was somewhat long ~3.5 hours, which was made longer by the construction along 35 this summer. We got up to Split Rock in mid afternoon and headed to the cart in sites after checking in and getting some maps from the ranger station. The carts that are provided are a great offering from the park, it enables people to stay at more private, remote campsites without having to backpack everything in. We stayed at Site 18, which is one of the farthest campsites from the parking lot.

We quickly unpacked all of our gear and set up our tent and new tarp, which we somewhat awkwardly put up since it was our first time using it (we already have better ideas for the next time we use it). After stowing all of our food in the bear box at the campsite, we wanted to get out on the trails before the impending rain unleashed itself. The park states that they have roughly 14.5 miles of hiking / biking trails in the park, which isn’t a ton although there are a plethora of other options in the area.

Creek & footbridge along Day Hill trail

We took the Day Hill trail south down to about Crazy Bay and then looped up to the Gitchi-Gami State Trail and headed back to our site. The trail was moderate and enjoyable and passed some really great overlooks. We walked out on a few trails out to the water, where there were mostly rock beaches into the freezing cold water. It was hard not to get great pictures with views like the below.

One of the rocky beaches near the cart in campsites

Only views like this on the North Shore

When we were done with hiking, a little early because the skies were threatening to unleash on us, we took the short 10 min drive to Beaver Bay to pick up some provisions. It’s always nice to be somewhat close to a town that has at least a gas station, too many times have we gone out into the wilderness only to wonder if we’ll run out of gas out there.

The rest of the night we spent at the campsite, alternating sitting by the fire and huddling under the new tarp to keep ourselves dry from the rain. The tarp performed very well and besides flapping around in the stiff breezes it was great.

Stay tuned for part two of this trip, where I’ll explain our day hike at Tettegouche State Park that was maybe a little more intense than we thought it was going to be 😉

Willow River State Park

For the first official review, I thought I would post about a park that I’m very familiar with! Willow River State Park is an old favorite of mine, I’ve been hiking or camping there over three or four times, and each time I come back loving it even more.

Located ~15 min from Hudson, Wisconsin

Part of the Wisconsin State Park system

The falls shown above are alone worth at least making a day trip over to see them! They are beautiful and fairly accessible to hike up to or for wading in the water (.. great now I’m humming that song, I couldn’t help myself) on a hot summer day.

The camping at the park is quite nice, there are roughly 150 sites spread between three different campgrounds. The campgrounds range from in the woods and mostly shaded to out in the open prairie. I have only camped in the wooded campground (the 300 campground) because I want to be in the WOODS. So I can’t speak to the other campgrounds as well, but the 300 campground is great! It is relatively secluded for having so many sites and there are plenty of bathrooms and water.

Surrounded by green with a fire in the pit! 🙂

All you need to access the park’s hiking trails or water ways is either a day pass for $5 / day or an annual pass $28 for residents and $38 for non residents (which gets you into any state park in Wisconsin). If you’re looking to camp, the price depends when you’re going and if you want an electric site or not. We always use non-electric since we’re tent camping and don’t want to be in a section with all the RVs and their generators. If you’re planning to go over the weekend, it can be up to $23 / night during the peak season. If you’re camping during the week, it can be as low as $17 / night.

Overall on a scale of never visit again to will visit every year, I give Willow River State Park a will visit every other year. I really do like this park, but as I love getting out to see new parks it probably won’t make the list every year.

Visit the Wisconsin DNR’s website to check for updates or park alerts. I have heard that they’ve been doing construction to the dam, which is affecting the lake levels by the beach, if that’s something of interest.

Until next time, all!