Cascade River State Park – Lutsen, Minnesota

Take me back!!!  It had been too long since we had ventured up to the North shore.  Grand Marais is one of my favorite towns to visit- well mainly because my kick-ass Auntie Carol lives there – but it is so so beautiful and serene. 

We never end up spending too much time in town because thirty minutes in either direction takes you to some pretty incredible state parks that have waterfalls, rocks, and rivers, my favorite camping landscape. 

A new favorite of ours is the incredible Cascade River State Park in Lutsen.  It was our first time there and we loved it so much, we even spent the night.

We arrived there mid afternoon- and it was a bit chilly.  I heard it was around ninety in Minneapolis, well we were pushing the fifties up North.  We bundled up, grabbed a map, and within the first ten minutes hit a few waterfalls. 

For our first hike, we went up to Moose Mountain.  It was uphill, and with the sun, we warmed up and were shedding layers like no other.  When we finally got the the top, the view was pretty spectacular.  Lake Superior, top of the forest line, so worth the workout.  I recommend forgoing the bench and carefully climbing down onto the rocks so you can really get a good view.

That hike worked up an appetite, so we started a fire and made the most epic campfire dinner that we have ever made.  My “uncle” Gary bought us some fresh walley from town and we seasoned it and got it going on the grill.  When it was time to flip it, we of course discovered there were two wallet fillets- it was a feast.  We threw some baked potatoes in the fire and topped them with mushrooms and tofutti sour cream, it was heavenly. 

We hit the trail one last time and did my favorite hike to date by following the river up, around, back down and all the way across 61 until we got to the lake where we sat on the rocks and watched the sun go down behind the trees. 

If you are ever in Lutsen, this is a must see park!  Overall, I think we did 7 miles in 1.5 days and saw enough to satisfy our thirst for nature!  We did end up going to 2 more state parks on our travels up North, but I’ll save those for another day!