Fall color hikes abound in Duluth, MN, area

Congdon Park, Duluth

There’s no better way

to experience autumn colors in the Duluth

area than a hike.

The brilliant yellows, oranges and red of maples to the scarlet

and russets of oaks...

the crisp, fresh autumn air and the last warm rays of sunlight before winter arrives...the crunch of fallen leaves and acorns beneath your boots...stopping to enjoy a warm mug of apple cider or a caramel apple pulled from your backpack – it all calls for an afternoon on the trail.

Fortunately, there are plenty of great autumn trails around Duluth to hike. Some are right out your back door, while some are a day trip that you can do in an afternoon.

Congdon Park (Duluth)
Autumn leaves alongside billion-year-old rock and a creek sporting several small waterfalls await at Congdon Park in Duluth. The 1.2-mile (one-way) Congdon Park Trail follows Tischer Creek, as it makes its way down the bluffs toward Lake Superior. The orange of maple with the yellow of birch and the gorge’s red walls feels like you’re walking through a rainbow. In Duluth, park in the lot for Mount Royal Market at the corner of Woodland Avenue and East St. Marie Street. Walk East St. Marie Street east, entering the park at the junction with Vermillion Road.

Chester Creek Loop (Duluth)
A pair of picturesque waterfalls, footbridges, and a walk alongside Chester Creek await hikers on the Chester Park Loop in Duluth. Located near the near the University of Minnesota-Duluth campus, the 2.4-mile trail is particularly beautiful in autumn when the golden bronze of maple and basswood leaves form a canopy over the path and float upon the creek. In Duluth from West College Street take North 19th Avenue E southeast. Turn right/west onto W. Kent Road, then right/west onto East Skyline Parkway after the curve right/northwest onto Chester Park Drive. Park off the road then walk back alongside it to East Skyline Parkway and cross the bridge to the trailhead.

Superior Municipal Forest (Superior)
A boreal forest may not seem like the best place to enjoy autumn leaves. The Superior Municipal Forest, however, delivers, with its extensive growth of gold-leafed white birch and aspen amid evergreen white and red pine, balsam, cedar, and black spruce. A 1.6-mile segment of the Millennium Trail winds through the woods. In Superior, at the 28th Street and Wyoming Avenue intersection, turn south to the municipal parking lot. The trail goes both east and west; skip the eastern side, which leads to multiple railroad tracks in Superior’s industrial section.

Jay Cooke State Park (Carlton)
Day hikers can cross a swinging bridge above a raging river running over nearly 2 billion-year old rock then enjoy incredible autumn colors at Jay Cooke State Park. The 1.5-mile round trip East Ridge Trail crosses and then partially follows the St. Louis River southeast of Duluth. A new $1.1 million swinging bridge opened in 2013. To the delight of most kids (and adults), the 219-foot pedestrian bridge bounces and sways. The rest of the trail heads through a hardwood forest whose green in summer rivals that of Oz’s Emerald City. The leaves turn an impressive array of yellows, reds and oranges as autumn sets in. From Interstate 35 take the exit for Minn. Hwy. 210, driving east through Carlton. The park is about five miles from the freeway. Turn right/south at the River Inn Visitor Center and park in the lot nearest the river.

Gooseberry Falls State Park (Two Harbors)
Golden aspen and birch leaves mixed with evergreens surround waterfalls and an agate beach at Gooseberry Falls State Park. The 1.8-mile round trip River View Trail runs through the heart of what many consider to be the most beautiful park on the North Shore, if not the entire state. From Two Harbors, take Minn. Hwy. 61 north. Turn right/east into the park, leaving your vehicle in the first lot. Take the connector trail northeast to a walkway, on which you’ll go left/north.

Bear Beach State Natural Area (Brule, Wis.)
A walk along a pristine sand beach awaits day hikers of the Lake Superior shoreline in the Bear Beach State Natural Area. The unmarked trail runs for up to 3.4-miles round trip along narrow Bear Beach. Hiking the beach, you’ll get a good sense of what this area of the world looked like before Euro-Americans settled it. A thick woods hugs the sand’s southern side while the lake stretches wide beyond to the north. Though the forest this far north is heavy on the evergreens – especially balsam fir, white pine and white spruce – but in autumn the yellowed-colored leaves of paper birch and trembling aspen and the spring green of speckled alder are well-represented. From Brule, take U.S. Hwy. 2 west. In Maple, turn north onto County Road F. Next, go left/west onto Wis. Hwy. 13 then right/north onto Beck’s Road. Park in the dirt lot at the end of Beck’s Road near the Lake Superior shore.

Laurentian Divide Recreation Area (Virginia)
Orange and various hues of yellow and red leaves await hikers at the Laurentian Divide Recreation Area in Superior National Forest. About 5 miles of various connecting trails lead to the top of the rec area’s Lookout Mountain, which offers a fantastic vista. Fun fact: Streams on the divide’s north slope head to Canada and drain to Hudson Bay while those on south slope flow into either Lake Superior or the Mississippi River. From Virginia, take U.S. Hwy. 53 north. The rec area is on the right/east.

Sturgeon River Trail, Superior National Forest (Hibbing-Chisholm)
An aspen and birch forest awaits along the Sturgeon River in Superior National Forest. The 2.5-mile round trip segment of the Sturgeon River Trail heads through the second-growth forest as well as a stand of stately pines. From Hibbing-Chisholm, head north on Minn. Hwy. 73. Turn left/west onto County Road 65. Look for a large parking on the road’s right/north side in about 1.2 miles. Take the trail northwest to a shelter.

Bear Lake State Park (Ely)
A forest of yellow birch and aspen surround three glacial lakes at Bear Head Lake State Park. A 2.8-mile loop heads through the woods and around the scenic lakes. Stands of orange tamarack and green red and white pines, fir and cedar offer accent colors to the autumn display. From Ely, take Minn. Hwy. 1 west. Turn south onto County Road 128, aka as Bear Head State Park Road. Upon entering the park, stay on County Road 128 and turn right/south into the Norberg Lake parking lot. From the lot, take the trail heading east.

Tettegouche State Park (Silver Bay)
A hike though an amber-leaved birch and aspen forest that ends with an incredible view of Lake Superior awaits at Tettegouche State Park. The 1.1-mile round trip Shovel Point Trail is fairly flat as it runs atop billion-year-old rock. Throughout autumn, birds migrating south past the point. From Silver Bay, drive north on Minn. Hwy. 61. After crossing the Baptism River, turn right/southeast into the park entrance. Go straight on the park entrance road and veer left into the northernmost lot. From the lot’s southeastern corner, pick up the interpretive trail that heads toward Lake Superior.

Discover Wisconsin’s 10 Best Beaches

Wisconsin Point on Lake Superior.

With hundreds of miles on shoreline on two Great Lakes, Wisconsin boasts several great beaches. There’s not shortage of variety, either, from cobblestone to warm white sand, from secluded to urban. A walk is a great way to explore the many wonders that these beaches have to offer.

Ten great Wisconsin beaches to hike include:

Bear Beach
A walk along a pristine sand beach awaits day hikers of the Lake Superior shoreline in Wisconsin’s Bear Beach State Natural Area. An unmarked trail runs for up to 3.4-miles round trip along narrow Bear Beach. Hiking the beach, you’ll get a good sense of what this area of the world looked like before Euro-Americans settled it. A thick woods of paper birch, balsam fir, speckled alder, trembling aspen, white pine and white spruce hugs the beach’s southern side while the lake stretches wide beyond to the north. Cobblestone and driftwood gardens also can be found. June through September mark the best time to hike the beach, but be sure to bring a sweatshirt or windbreaker. In addition, always check the weather and tide schedule; storm surges and high tide will inundate most of the beach with water.

Big Bay Sand Spit
Barrier beaches are common along the Atlantic coastline, and a microcosm of one with its own forest of red and white pines sits on Madeline Island at Big Bay State Park. The 0.5-mile Boardwalk Trail heads through the woodlands on the spit. Nicely flat, the half-mile boardwalk offers benches for resting, interpretive sings, and more impressive lake views. A lagoon sits to the boardwalk’s left. Bear-berry and wintergreen grows beneath the pines. Some 15,000 years ago when Madeline Island reappeared as the glaciers retreated and melted, the lagoon was part of Big Bay. Since then, wave action and lake currents built a pair of barrier beaches, creating the lagoon.

Julian Bay Beach
Day hikers can play in singing sand on Stockton Island, a popular summer destination in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. To reach the island, you’ll have to charter a boat or sail your own. There’s a dock at Presque Isle Point near the Stockton Island Visitor Center. From the dock, the 0.8-miles round trip Julian Bay Trail heads to the beach. Once there, you’ll want to take off your shoes, as the sand “sings” when walked upon. Exactly why the sand makes a high-pitched squeaking sound is unclear, though there are theories. What is known is that to sing the sand grains must be fairly spherical, between 0.1 and 0.5 mm in diameter, contain quartz, be at a certain humidity, and be pollution-free. If you don’t want to take off your shoes, no worries – you also can create the sound by rubbing your palm against the sand.

Kohler Dunes Cordwalk
Hikers can walk the length of a sand dune as paralleling Lake Michigan on this 2.5-mile round trip hike. Located in in Wisconsin's Kohler-Andrade State Park, the trail runs entirely on cordwalk – boards tied together with steel cables and staked into the ground. This ensures your feet don't sink into the sand and keeps you on the trail so fragile dune grasses aren't trampled. The trail also passes the Sanderling Nature Center, which provides exhibits on dunes, and offers spurs to an interdunal pond and an overlook of the lake.

Lion’s Den Trail
Day hikers can traipse along a secluded beach after passing through a deep, verdant gorge on this roughly 2-mile round trip trail near Port Washington. After passing wetlands that migrating birds like to stop at and then through a blufftop woodlands, the trail reaches Lion’s Den Gorge. There the trail turns into a wooden staircase heading down the gorge’s side through a cedar forest, losing roughly 100 feet in elevation. At the bottom, you can hear Lake Michigan’s waves crash against the shoreline. The beach boasts offers about a mile of shallow shoreline. Driftwood usually washes ashore at the mouth of the Lion’s Den, and many flat stones can be found on the beach.

North Beach
Families can enjoy a nearly a half-mile of shoreline at family-friendly North Beach in Racine. Boasting 50 acres of warm, white sand, the Lake Michigan beach nicely sits above a table of shallow water that makes wading and dwimming safe for kids. There's also an expansive nautical-themed playground on the beach's south side, the 27-acre Racine Zoo on the beach's northside, and hammocks, concession stand, volleyball courts, and summer lifeguards all inbetween. A wheelchair-accessible walkway heads over the sand to the water's edge.

Rawley Point Ridges Trail
Day hikers can walk along the ridges and swales of a secluded Lake Michigan beach at Point Beach State Forest. Part of the 5-mile round trip trail near Two Rivers is a segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. Swales are marshy depressions between ridges that parallel the shoreline; they and the ridges next to them were formed at the end of the last ice age. About six miles of undeveloped beach sit in the state forest. The beach makes for a romantic moonlight walk as Lake Michigan’s waves crash against the shore, and the 113-foot Rawley Point Lighthouse is nearby.

Schoolhouse Beach
Day hikers can massage their bare feet on a beach with no sand in Door County. The tiny beach on Washington Island is a geological marvel, consisting entirely of rounded cobbles of dolomite. It’s one of only five such beaches worldwide. No sand doesn’t mean this popular beach is boring. There’s plenty to do here: walk barefoot across the sun-warmed stones; build cairns; skip rocks across water with Caribbean-like clarity; and swim or even dive. Reaching Washington Island requires a ferry ride from the Door Peninsula.

Simmons Island Beach
Day hikers can enjoy a wide swath of soft sand along Lake Michigan as well plenty of other amenities at this Kenosha beach. A boardwalk, paved bike trail, historic Southport Lighthouse, and a long pier to the North Pierhead Lighthouse all await. In addition, it’s a great site to search for beach glass – shards that have been weathered over the decades and washed ashore. Thanks to all of that time tumbling underwater, the edges often are rounded with the surface frosted on one side while the other is shiny. The beach runs around about a third of a mile from end to end and can be crowded on weekends.

Wisconsin Point Trail
Day hikers can walk part of the world’s largest freshwater sandbar on this flat 3-mile one-way ramble down the center of Wisconsin Point along Lake Superior. Wisconsin Point and Minnesota Point, at 10 miles in length, combine to form the world’s largest sandbar on a freshwater lake. Despite Wisconsin Point’s narrow width, three major ecosystems converge on it. Much of the trail heads through stands of old growth pine and beach dunes. Sand beaches stretch for 2.75 miles along the trail’s right/northeast side. Great times to hike the point include summer for the sunrises and either May or September for spotting migratory birds.

Follow island shoreline with Lake Superior

Big Bay State Park on Madeline Island.

Incredible views of Lake Superior await hikers traveling to Big Bay State Park in northern Wisconsin.

The park sits on Madeline Island, the largest of the famous 22 Apostle Islands. Taking the Bay View Trail along with a border a self-guided interpretive trail is a 5-mile round trip, though this can be cut in half by turning around at the boardwalk.

To avoid the Northwoods cold, visit in June and July. You’ll have to first load your vehicle aboard the Madeline Island Ferry, which runs every half hour from Bayfield on the mainland to La Pointe on the island. After a 20-minute ride across the lake, take County Road H east for about four miles. Turn right/east on Hagen Road. The park entrance is in 2 miles; you’ll need to pay an entry fee.

Continue on the park entry road (aka Haines Road), then turning right onto Wilderness Road. Where the road loops is a parking lot. The trailhead is on the lot’s east side.

An easy, well-maintained trail, you’ll pass Point Picnic Area to the edge of Madeline Island. At one time, the island – as well as the other Apostle Islands – was part of the mainland. Four sets of glaciers during the past 100,000 years and the ensuing lakes have eroded the 600 million-year-old sedimentary rock and formed the islands.

Sunsets and glaciers
At the T-intersection with Lake Superior before you, go left onto Bay View Trail (to the right is Point Trail). The wooded trail hugs the shoreline. You’re certain to spot wildlife and likely will see some bluff caves. If staying overnight, do the trail at the sunset – you won’t be disappointed by the spectacular views over Lake Superior’s Big Bay.

The largest of the Great Lakes sits atop hard basalt that formed 1.1 billion years ago when the North American continent literally was splitting. Eventually this separation stopped, and the rift filled with sediment. Glaciers during the last Ice Age excavated these deposits and left the cold water that forms the lake.

As rounding the shoreline, Bay View Trail turns into Lagoon Ridge Trail; follow this for a few yards to the Boardwalk. If short on time or tired, you may want to turn back here. If the day is young and you’re full of energy, go right, continuing along the boardwalk, which cuts through a white and red pine forest sitting upon Big Bay Sand Spit. Bearberry and wintergreen grows beneath the pines.

Nicely flat, the half-mile boardwalk offers benches for resting, interpretive signs and more impressive lake views. A lagoon sits to the boardwalk’s left.

Barrier beach
Some 15,000 years ago when Madeline Island reappeared as the glaciers retreated and melted, the lagoon didn't exist and was part of Big Bay. Since then, wave action and lake currents built a pair of barrier beaches, creating the lagoon.

The boardwalk turns into the self-guided nature trail that runs up the spit. You may want to take a break along the beach for a swim.

The nature trail includes a couple of small loops in it. Watch for bald eagles that nest and raise their younglings in the park. Upon reaching the trail’s end, turn around and return the way you came.

Before coming to the island, make sure you bring insect repellent. Bugs can be bothersome in the trail’s forested sections, and repellent sometimes can be difficult to find on the island.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Hike site of earthquake from 500 million ya

Upper Falls. Photo courtesy of Wisconsin DNR.

Hikers can view the results of an earthquake from 500 million years ago while walking the island trails at Amnicon Falls State Park near Superior, Wis.

Known as the Douglas Fault, this split in the earth stretches from Ashland, Wis., to near the Twin Cities. Much of the bedrock sits at 50-60 degree angles, offering sights reminiscent of the modern San Andreas Fault. All of these millennia later, the fault line still effects the course of rivers – which is to hikers’ visual delight.

To reach the state park, take U.S. Hwy. 2 east from Superior. Turn left, or north, onto County Road U. The park entry is in a third of a mile. A vehicle admission sticker is required to enter.

Continue past the contact station across the bridge over the river and park in the first lot to the right; if it’s full, continue on, taking the first road to right for another lot. Presuming you got a parking space in the first lot, pick up the trail at the picnic shelter and go right toward the Amnicon River. Listen for the sound of gurgling water, present the moment you open your vehicle’s doors.

Because of the river’s high mineral content, the waterway sometimes can appear the color of root beer; it’s clean, though, and swimming is allowed in designated areas. The river ultimately meanders north, flowing into Lake Superior.

River island
The trail follows the Amnicon for about a quarter mile past another parking area and shelter (if you parked in the second lot, this is where you pick up the trail). Cross the river over a footbridge, which deposits you on an island where the waterway splits into two channels.

Go left for a view of Snake Pit Falls. While not particularly wide, the falls is 25 feet high with the water channeled between two stone works.

Continuing on, the trail loops around the island, offering a view of where the river divides. You also can garner a view of Lower Amnicon Falls. It tumbles over sandstone laid here more than 400 million years ago when streams flowed into a warm tropical ocean that covered Wisconsin.

The trail from there crosses the river via the 55-foot long Horton covered bridge, one of the park’s major attractions. Originally a highway bridge at another spot on the Amnicon, it was moved here in 1930. It is one of only five Horton bridges that still exist. Besides experiencing history, hikers crossing the bridge are afforded two picturesque views as well – you can see waterfalls from both sides.

Lower and Upper Amnicon falls
After crossing the bridge off the island, go left for a different view of Lower Amnicon Falls. Erosion has smoothed out the sandstone cliff here.

You might be pleasantly surprised by the amount of wildlife at the park. Black bear, coyote, fox, porcupine, raccoon, squirrels and whitetail deer abound. Beaver, mink and otter – or at least their tracks – often can be spotted along the shore. A number of birds, including ruffed grouse and songbirds, also can be seen.

Backtrack and at the bridge continue straight, walking along the river banks for a view of Upper Amnicon Falls. The river rumbles over dark basalt, or solidified lava that formed here a billion years ago.

Canadian boulders and glacial potholes
If you’ve noticed a number of gray, sparkling boulders, that’s nonnative rock. The stone is just tens of millions of years old; glaciers brought this granite gneiss from Canada during the last ice age. Potholes in the rock also are fairly recent; swift-moving waters from melting glaciers drilled them out only a few thousand years ago.

Return to the bridge and cross back to the island. Go left for an island view of Upper Amnicon Falls.

Finally, cross the first bridge you took to reach the island. Follow along the same the path that you originally took to the island, maybe pausing for a picnic or snack. Past the second water source, the trail splits; go right to get back to your vehicle.

Read more about Douglas County day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of Douglas County guidebook.

Sea caves, sandy beach await on lake hike

Mawikwe Bay sea caves

Mainland trail in Wisconsin part
of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Day hikers don’t have to leave the mainland to experience the beauty of the famous Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. A fairly new route, the Lakeshore Trail, runs through a Lake Superior forest, an impressive sandstone cave formation, and along a windswept beach.

To reach Lakeshore Trail, take Wis. Hwy. 13 north from Bayfield, Wisconsin. At Park Road, turn toward Meyers Beach. A large paved parking lot sits 0.4 miles away at the road’s end.

Look for trail signs on parking lot’s northeast side. You’ll head east through aspen, birch, several maple varieties, and a few pines. Given the mix of trees and their different fall leaf colors, early September is an ideal time for the hike; mosquitoes also will be few at that time of the year.

A few hundred yards from the parking lot, the trail goes up and down a gully, which in spring and early summer can boast running water. Stepping stones make for easy fording, though.

Sea caves
When you cross a sand road, you’re about 0.8 miles along the trail. Continue that same distance again, and you’ll glimpse the lake and the trail’s highlight: the Mawikwe Bay sea caves.

The lakes’ crashing deep waves and millennia of winter ice carved out honeycombed caves and a 50-foot chasm that runs more than 200 feet long. A natural bridge runs over the formation. The tinted sandstone and rainbows from the spray gives the formation a magical feel.

The caves can’t be accessed from the trail except during winter when the lake freezes (You may see kayakers at other times of the year clambering about the caves, however.). During winter, icicles hanging from the sandstone roofs are otherworldly.

The trail skirts the chasm. If children are with you, make sure they stay away from the cliff edges and off the natural bridge. All are unstable due to constant erosion.

Extending the trail
This marks a good place to turn back for a round-trip hike that is slightly more than 3 miles long. For a more ambitious hike, however, continue onward. After more than a mile on the bluff overlooking the sea caves, follow the trail inland through the forest. The flat trail winds through more hardwoods in a peaceful setting.

Be forewarned that once in the forest, the trail can be difficult to follow. Fortunately, it soon meets a dirt road. Turn left onto the road, which drops about 80 feet in elevation, until reaching a sandy beach.

Seagulls are numerous here. The clump of trees across the lake’s horizon is Eagle Island.

Keep walking east and north along the shoreline for about a half mile or once it turns to cobble. Return the way you came for a roughly 10-mile round trip.

Lakeshore Trail is managed by the National Park Service. There is no fee for hikers to enter or park.

Read more about day hiking Bayfield County, Wisconsin, in my Day Hiking Trails of Bayfield County guidebook.