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| Sunset from the ridge top at Blue Mounds State Park. MNDNR photo. |
Eagle Mountain
Day hikers can ascend to the highest point in Minnesota via the rugged but incredibly scenic Eagle Mountain Trail. The 7-mile (round trip) out-and-back trail is lengthy and steep at spots. Still, if the challenge isn’t rewarding enough, the views at the top certainly are – sprawling forests, rocky ridges, and the Lake Superior shoreline, which is 602 feet above sea level is the state’s lowest point. To reach the trailhead, from Minn. Hwy. 61 in Grand Marais, take County Road 7 west. Turn north onto County Road 48. Continue west onto Forest Road 158 (aka Bally Creek Road). Take this north to the junction with Forest Road 170 (formerly named Forest Road 153 and aka The Grade). As most of the trail is within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a permit is required and can be obtained at the trailhead.
Mount Josephine
Located near the U.S.-Canadian border off of Minn. Hwy. 61 in Grand Portage, Mount Josephine isn’t as high as Eagle Mountain, but its views are arguably more spectacular. The Mount Josephine Trail climbs a strenuous 700 feet over the 1.5 miles to the summit, but the vista yields views of Grand Portage Bay, Pigeon Point, the Susie Islands, and Wauswaugoning Bay. Isle Royale, about 30 miles away as the crow flies, can be see on a clear day. Park in the Mount Josephine Trail lot off of County Road 17, near the fort.
Split Rock Lighthouse
You can explore one of the nation’s most famous lighthouses and enjoy impressive cliff top views of Lake Superior at the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. The 0.8-mile Light Station Trail is a collection of walking paths around the historic lighthouse. Perched atop a 130-foot high solid rock cliff overlooking Lake Superior, Split Rock is among the most photographed lighthouses in the country and offers panoramic views of Lake Superior, the rocky shore, Palisade Head, Carlton Peak, and Oberg and Leveaux mountains. To reach the lighthouse from Two Harbors, drive north about 20 miles on Minn. Hwy. 61. Take the main park road to the parking area for Split Rock Light Station and History Center.
Shadow Rock Lookout
On the north side of Minnesota Interstate State Park, a set of short, interconnecting trails leads past deep potholes formed by swirling glacial floodwaters and The Squeeze, an exceedingly tight, L-shaped break between two ultra-large chunks of rock. But the highlight is a basalt cliff high above the St. Croix River, which whirls below as working its way through a narrow canyon of black volcanic stone. From there, walk to the Angle and the Shadow rock lookouts, which offer two other great vistas of the St. Croix River and gorge rock formations on the Wisconsin side.
Oldenburg Point
Located in Jay Cooke State Park, Oldenburg Point offers a fantastic view of the Saint Louis River, as its rushes over jagged outcrops of slate and greywacke. The scene is particularly beautiful in autumn when the leaves turn yellow and gold. To reach the point, from the park headquarters head east on Minn. Hwy. 210 then turn south into the picnic area for the Organtz Trail trailhead. At the parking lot, head south into the path for Oldenburg Point. The 0.2-mile path loops back to the parking lot. Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy at the pavilion.
Lake Pepin
Hikers can traverse the top and the base of a bluff looming 430 feet above Lake Pepin at Frontenac State Park. The 2.6-mile Bluff Side Loop Trail offers impressive views as it heads up and down the steep bluff with a series of wooden stairs and switchbacks. Fall is a particularly good time to visit with the bird migration through the area at its peak and the leaves resplendent in an array of harvest colors. To reach the trailhead, from the park entrance, go left/northwest on County Road 28; follow the road to its end, where it loops back upon itself and forms a parking lot. A couple of picnic spots along the way offer vistas of the lake below with the visible Wisconsin shoreline about two miles away.
Kings Bluff
Rising 500 feet above the Mississippi River, Kings Bluff at Great River Bluffs State Park southeast of Winona offers exceptional views of the main channel and its vast backwaters. A 4.5-miles round hike takes you atop the hardened sediments deposited around 450 million years ago when this part of the world sat beneath a sea. Along the way, you’ll walk through dense hardwood forests and a grove of northern white cedar, a survivor from the Ice Age. To reach the trail, take the park entrance road to the trailhead.
Minnesota River
You can see across the wide Minnesota River Valley from the vantage point of the state’s pioneers at The Landing – Minnesota River Heritage Park. After hiking the trail past historic sites, at the heritage village’s north end the the river bends about about 40 feet below, with Rice and Grass lakes beyond it. The valley is fairly new in geological terms, forming between 9,400 and 11,700 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age when glacial River Warren carried meltwater to the Mississippi. To reach the trailhead, from Shakopee, take Minn. Hwy. 101 west to the park.
Inspiration Peak
Inspiration Peak rises about 400 feet above the surrounding prairie. 1750 feet above sea level, the conical hill formed when two melting glaciers met here and left a mound of sand and gravel at the end of the last Ice Age. A quarter-mile hike uphill lets visitors see about 50 lakes for 20 miles around. The peak also sits on the border between Minnesota’s deciduous forests to the east and the Great Plains to the west, offering an intriguing twist for vista lovers. To reach the trail in Inspiration Peak State Wayside Park, from Urbank take Minn. Hwy. 28 west then turn right/north onto 435th Avenue, right/east onto 120th Street, and head into the park.
Blue Mounds
You can watch bison gazing on the prairie grasses from an ancient quartzite ridge at Blue Mounds State Park. Up to 100 feet high at spots, the ridge’s rock is about 1.7 billion years old, formed when rivers deposited sediment here as flowing into a shallow sea. From the ridge, the prairie stretches south into Iowa and west into South Dakota. More than 100 bison roam the park. To reach the ridge, from Luverne, take Minn. Hwy. 75 north then turn right/east on County Road 20 and go a mile to the park to the trailhead for the Upper Cliffline Trail.
BONUS TRAIL
St. Croix State Park Fire TowerDay hikers can walk to and climb to the top of a 100-foot fire tower at St. Croix State Park in Pine County. Looking south from it, Bear Creek runs west to east immediately below. In the distance is the Kettle River, a State Wild and Scenic River, which flows southeast to the St. Croix. To reach the park from Interstate 35 exit onto Minn. Hwy. 48 in Hinckley. At County Road 22, turn south. In about five miles, you’ll reach the park headquarters. From there, turn right/west onto St. John’s Road. At the point the road turns to gravel, you have about a nine-mile drive. Your destination is the Kettle River Highlands, which offers limited parking.
Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.
