8 great hiking trails in Grand Portage, Minn.

Pigeon River Gorge on High Falls Trail. Photo courtesy
of Minnesota DNR.

Day hikers can enjoy Minnesota’s highest waterfall, an island where moose and wolves maintain a precarious balance, and expansive vistas of Lake Superior in the Grand Portage, Minn., area.

To reach the remote North Shore community on the U.S.-Canadian border, from Duluth, Minn., take Minn. Hwy. 61 north. Much of the Grand Portage area is an Indian reservation with a village on Lake Superior.

Among the many great hiking trails in the Grand Portage region are:
g East Huginnin Cove Trail segment – For centuries, Native Americans and later European settlers mined copper on Isle Royale National Park’s main island. The 19th century Wendigo Mine ruins are about 6-miles round trip along this segment, which can be reached via the Windigo visitor area.
g Greenstone Ridge Trail segment – At any given time, about 25 wolves and a thousand moose inhabit Isle Royale National Park, though these numbers vary greatly each year. The first two miles of this trail – which runs from Isle Royale’s western harbor at Windigo to the eastern harbor at Rock Harbor – offers the best chance of spotting these shy, reclusive creatures.
g High Falls Trail – Minnesota’s highest waterfall awaits day hikers at the end of this trail at Grand Portage State Park. The paved, handicap accessible walkway heads to a boardwalk with three observation decks for a 1.25-mile round trip hike.
g Middle Falls Trail – About 1.1 billion years ago here, magma seeped into rock beneath the surface, cooled and hardened; the last several ice ages have exposed the erosion-resistant diabase, leaving them as ridges. Some of that rock can be seen at Middle Falls, a 4.5-mile round trip via the High Falls Trail at Grand Portage State Park.
g Minong Ridge Trail segment – Though not the highest point on Isle Royale National Park’s main island, the Minong Ridge Overlook offers a better view year-round. This trail with connecting paths runs 6-miles round trip from and to the Windigo harbor area. The overlook provides views of the main island’s north shore looking toward Minnesota and Ontario on the mainland.
g Mount Josephine Trail – The 700-foot climb over the 1.5 miles from Grand Portage to Mount Josephine’s summit can be strenuous, but it’s well worth the effort. The vista yields views of Grand Portage Bay, Isle Royale, Pigeon Point, the Susie Islands, and Wauswaugoning Bay. Park in the Mount Josephine Trail lot off of County Road 17, near the fort.
g Mount Rose Trail – In addition to great views, the trail offers day hikers a chance to learn about local history. The half-mile paved walk to Mount Rose’s summit overlooks the National Monument and Grand Portage Bay with interpretive signs along the way.
g Windigo Nature Trail – A rarely visited island full of moose and wolves awaits day hikers on the Windigo Nature Trail in Isle Royale National Park. The 1.2-mile loop can be reached by taking a ferry from Grand Portage to Isle Royale in Lake Superior.

Read more about day hiking Northeast Minnesota in my Headin’ to the Cabin: Day Hiking Trails of Northeast Minnesota guidebook.

Canadian border trail heads to highest waterfall in Minnesota

High Falls from Main Deck observation platform.
Photo courtesy of Minnesota DNR.

High Falls plummets 120-feet
over cliff on Pigeon River

Minnesota’s highest waterfall awaits day hikers at the end of the High Falls Trail at Grand Portage State Park.

The paved, handicap accessible walkway heads to a boardwalk with three observation decks for a 1.25-mile round trip hike.

To reach the waterfalls, from Duluth take Minn. Hwy 61 north. As the road reaches the U.S. Customs Station on the Canadian border, the park entrance is on the left/west. The entrance enters a parking lot with the trail leaving from the lot's northwest corner.

The trail parallels back channels of the Pigeon River, the main course of which forms the U.S.-Canadian border.

High Falls
In about 0.3 miles, the trail reaches a small 0.1-mile loop that takes hikers to the river’s shores.

The Pigeon River runs 31.2 miles east into Lake Superior. In pre-industrial times, the river was an important route connecting land west of the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River. Because of rapids and waterfalls, early traders and travelers had to portage nine miles around the river, leading to the park’s name, Grand Portage.

Once the side loop reconnects with the main trail, go right/west. In about 0.1 miles, it reaches a boardwalk that heads to viewing platforms overlooking High Falls.

The Pigeon River tumbles 120 feet over the falls, a shale rock cliff with a window through the stone wall. Rainbows often are visible in the falls’ mist.

There is some controversy over the bragging rights to the tallest waterfall in Minnesota. As part of High Falls technically is in Ontario, the 70-foot same-name High Falls on the Baptism River in Tettegouche State Park sometimes is advertised as “the highest waterfall entirely within Minnesota.”

Extending the hike
Returning from the falls to the main trail, hikers can extend their walk by taking the Middle Falls Trail. It heads 2.3 miles one-way (4.6 miles round trip) to Middle Falls, a smaller waterfall farther up the Pigeon River. Some will find the backcountry terrain challenging.

Alternately, just before returning to the parking lot, take the intersecting trail that goes left/east. It runs 0.2 miles (0.4 miles round trip) to picnic tables overlooking the Pigeon River and ends at a historic site commemorating the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, which in 1842 established the part of the current border between the United States and British Canada.

The land making up the park actually is owned by the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and leased to the state. The park’s Welcome Center is an excellent location to learn about Ojibwe culture via a number of interpretive displays.

The land making up the park actually is owned by the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and leased to the state. The park's Welcome Center is an excellent location to learn about Ojibwe culture via a number of interpretive displays.

Read more about day hiking Northeast Minnesota in my Headin’ to the Cabin: Day Hiking Trails of Northeast Minnesota guidebook.

Best trails for seeing the wonders of Minnesota’s Grand Portage S.P.

High Falls

Among the best ways to see the top sights of Minnesota’s Grand Portage State Park is via a day hike. Just three short trails and brief walk will allow you to enjoy each of the park’s highlights – the state’s highest waterfall, the international border, billion-year-old rock formations, and the Ojibwe culture.

Minnesota’s highest waterfall
The Pigeon River tumbles 120 feet over High Falls, and rainbows often are visible in its mist. A boardwalk off of the Falls Trail leads to fantastic views of the waterfalls for a 1.25-mile round trip hike.

International border
Most of the U.S.-Canadian border is an invisible line across the North American landscape. In the park, the Pigeon River forms a clear segment of that international boundary. The 1-mile round trip Falls Trail heads alongside the river.

Billion-year-old rock formations
About 1.1 billion years ago here, magma seeped into rock beneath the surface, cooled and hardened into diabase; the last several ice ages have exposed the erosion-resistant diabase, leaving them as ridges. Some of that rock forms and can be seen at Middle Falls, a 4.5-mile round trip via the Middle Falls Trail.

Ojibwe culture
Though not a day hike, the Welcome Center is an excellent location to learn about Ojibwe culture. The land making up the park actually is owned by the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and leased to the state. The center offers a number of interpretive displays.

Read more about day hiking Northeast Minnesota in my Headin’ to the Cabin: Day Hiking Trails of Northeast Minnesota guidebook.