Gooseberry Falls State Park

Minnesota 61 along the North Shore of Lake Superior is an amazing drive. From Duluth to Grand Portage, the North Shore Scenic Drive offers spectacular views and countless recreational activities. One of the most popular spots along Minnesota 61 is Gooseberry Falls State Park.

Upper Falls - Gooseberry State Park

The centerpiece of Gooseberry Falls State Park are the Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls. All three falls are rather close together and very accessible from the Gateway Plaza Visitors Center. The Upper Falls sit north of the MN 61 bridge over the Gooseberry River. Both Middle and Lower Falls sit below the bridge. There are many vantage points for each of the falls and they make for impressive viewing.

Geologists date the falls to two events. The basalt rock found at the falls were a result of a long inactive rift zone from 1.1 billion years ago. Further, the retreat of glaciers from the Great Ice Age over 10,000 years ago carved out the rocky gorge the Gooseberry River and falls traverse.

Further upstream from the Upper Falls is the Fifth Falls. It is about a two mile round trip hike from the Visitor Center.

Besides the falls, there are over 20 miles of hiking trails and numerous campsites open in the summer. The Gitchi-Gami State Trail runs through the park which is a paved bike/recreational trail. During Winter months, snowshoeing, snowmobiles, cross-country skiing, and ice climbing are extremely popular within park grounds.

Middle Falls

The park dates to the early 1930s and its development was assisted greatly by the Civil Conservation Corps (CCC). The Corps laid out many of the trails, the original campgrounds, and picnic areas. One of the retaining walls built by the CCC is known as "The Castle in the Park". Today, the Gateway Plaza Visitor Center honors the members of the CCC that developed the park.

All photos taken by post author - August 2006.

Comments

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process. The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents. Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes. When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood. The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71. The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway. Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog