In September, Chris and I decided to head North for our anniversary, so we spent one night in Minneapolis following a day at Como Zoo Park & Observatory, before waking up early for the drive to Duluth, MN.
We made the drive to Duluth and checked into our hotel, this time staying at the Sheraton Duluth Hotel. We dropped off our things and jumped back in the truck to head up North Shore Scenic Drive.
We wanted to spend our anniversary doing the things we love most, so of course we started with hiking along Lake Superior, at Tettegouche State Park.
We took the trail down to Cascade Falls, starting at the edge of Lake Superior from the lodge.
It took us along a path of wooden steps. The leaves were just barely starting to change. We stopped along two lookout points before it took us down to the beach, and then back up and across the bridge where the trail to the falls truly started.
The trail started underneath the bridge, where we were able to get a close up view of the river. The rapids reveal the amber color of the riverwater, known as "rootbeer water", which is caused by tannins in the water running downstream from swamplands. The tannins specifically are caused by the plants, and algae that live in the surrounding area.
Rootbeer Water : Easy Family Fun Outdoor Activity
Amber White, a graduate student in the environmental chemistry and technology program at UW Madison suggests,
"You can try making your own rootbeer colored water with some leaves and a bucket of water for a fun outside activity."
The Cascade Falls trail is a 1.9 mile trail, that was absolutely beautiful. The hike along the trail was filled with a variety of plants, fungi, and lichen. About halfway through, I was worried that we had taken the wrong trail to try and get to the falls but Chris insisted that we trek forward and that we had to be close. I am so glad we kept going because when we finally arrived, the view of the waterfall was spectacular.
The way back felt shorter than the way there, although it was likely due to how rewarding it was knowing we had hiked the nearly 2 miles to see it before heading back to drive to our next stop, Black Beach.
Black beach was so worth the stop, it was so quiet and peaceful. It reminded me a lot of the beach that Chris and I were married on, Rosario Beach, in Washington State. What a perfect way to spend our anniversary, in a place that reminds us so much of that perfect day. While we were there, Chris spent his time skipping rocks and getting in the water, while I just sat on the beach and took in the incredible views.
When the sun started to go down, we quickly made our way to our last stop before heading back to Duluth for dinner, Split Rock Lighthouse.
Unfortunately, Split Rick Lighthouse was closed, so we drove down to the campground in the park where we were able to walk a short path along the campsites to the beach where we could view the lighthouse from across the water.
Being a West Coast Beach girl, I've always loved the ocean, and being in the midwest has been a drastic change from being a short drive to the beach. I never thought that lakes could be so beautiful.
Though, I still am a beach girl at heart, on our trip we saw so many beautiful stops, I would LOVE to come back to North Shore for camping along Lake Superior. I definitely think that Lake Superior has become my favorite part of Minnesota.
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