Exploring Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

Split Rock Lighthouse on Minnesota's North Shore.

Imagine a place where you can hike the grounds of a historic lighthouse that for decades kept ships safe from jagged killer rocks; where trails offer fantastic vistas of the world’s largest freshwater lake and take you along quaint pebble and cobblestone beaches; where easy walks pass strange volcanic formations formed in the violent rending of a continent more than a billion years ago; where paths cross through the remnants of a pioneer-era logging camp and a turn-of-the century mining operation. The place is real: It’s called Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.

Located along Minnesota’s North Shore a little more than 45 miles northeast of Duluth, Split Rock state park is an outdoor recreational paradise, as well as a site of historical importance. Among Minnesota’s most visited state parks, it’s popular with hikers, campers and nature lovers of all stripes, garnering about 340,000 annual visitors.

Though incredibly diverse in its trail offerings, Split Rock Lighthouse State Park is not so large that they can’t all be hiked in a week. Many visitors to the North Shore usually tackle one or two of them a visit over several years. Whichever approach you use, each day hike is certain to lead to a wonderful experience and memory.

Among the best trails to hike at Split Rock are:
• Split Rock Light Station Trail
• Day Hill Trail
• Little Two Harbors Trail
• Split Rock River Trail
• Corundum Mining Trail
• Merrill Logging Trail

Learn about nearby hiking trails in Day Hiking Trails of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.