Cascade River State Park

Cascade River State Park

—Lutsen, MN—

Cascade River State Park is one of my favorite parks on the North Shore.  It sits just north of Lutsen and is full of meandering waterfalls and great trails.  This is a park we visit every time we are up north.  This is what the MN DNR has to say about it:

 "Come to Cascade for the rushing river and grand waterfalls that lay within a gorge, lush with moss and ferns that grow on black volcanic rocks. Hike the trail through birch, spruce and white cedar; stop to see the views of Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. Trails connect with the Superior Hiking Trail and the North Shore State Trail and offer great recreational opportunities to hikers and cross-country skiers."

This park is also right off of Highway 61, so it is hard to miss from the road.  We made it to the park around 4:30 pm with the long drives, and our time spent in the state parks time was flying.  We quickly found the first set of coordinates at the ranger station.  From there it was a long drive through the park to the next point.

Our second stop was at this small building – it was just a empty building full of tables, and I think they use it for classes.

It was starting to get a bit chilly do I decided to have Marcus and I put on another layer just in case we got cold (important detail for later although it was a very nice day so far).  We grabbed the coordinates and found our way onto one of the hiking trails.  It brought across a quaint river and a set of cascading falls.

When we got to the other side of the river we looked at the map and the coordinates and were not exactly sure which trail to take.  We were at a trailhead that split three ways, and it was obvious that one was incorrect but tough to tell between the other two, so we decided to follow the river and went down that path.

The view was beautiful – with the river falling down the stream bed – but we quickly figured out this direction was wrong.  We headed back up the path and went the other way.

Have map, will geocache.

"This way looks good..."

We could tell were were on the right path soon and we kept on hiking... and hiking... until we hit a problem.  The path ahead was getting pretty narrow, and there was plenty of poison ivy on it.  Luke and Marcus decided to head back and look at the falls, and I kept moving forward.

I walked for a while and found the next marker.  This just gave me the coordinates to the forth and final location.

Do you see the clue...
 "Take a seat to fill out the log"

I was feeling pretty positive.  The hike was going pretty well, and the woods were pretty and not too buggy.  I noticed that the chill seemed to be picking up, and I heard some rolling thunder in the distance.  I tried to text Luke to say I found the 3rd location, but my cell phone said no service...

After one third of a mile I was close to the final location, but nothing really jumped out at me... 

... then I remembered the comment on the last spot... "Take a seat..."  I turned around and saw a log!

The "bock bock" card was the Horned Grebe.

I grabbed the cards and turned around to head down the trail.  I was probably about a mile back at this point.  I tried to text Luke one more time, but there wasn't enough cell service.   

At this point my luck changed... The thunder in the distance became rain and it downpoured.  I don't have any pictures because I was hurrying back and didn't want to get my camera wet.  I was just hoping my boys were not getting soaked too!  I hurried, but because the ground is just rocks and mud I had to very careful not to slip and fall in my sandals.  I was really lucky that I had decided to add that extra layer on this hike because it helped keep me a bit drier.  I finally got back to the car and changed into my extra clothes in the shelter (picture above).

The good news is that Luke and Marcus were in the car before it started raining and they stayed dry.  After I changed we got back in the car and drove off to the next stop.

As I stated before this is an amazing park, and I want to leave you with some great views.

Lots of cascades!