All your old favorites, reimagined.
Many moons ago, I made a trip to the North Shore to celebrate my aunt’s birthday.
Complimentary Lake Superior shot.
We arrived in Duluth late in the evening, so we headed to JJ Astor’s for dinner, as it was conveniently located in our hotel.
JJ’s was on the top floor of our hotel, and was set up on a rotating, carousel-style floor, so your view of Duluth was constantly changing throughout the course of your dinner. My personal favorite – the lift bridge at sunset.
We treated ourselves to steaks and chocolate martinis, and I have to say, it was one of the most fun and delicious dinners I’ve had in awhile!
I’d never had a chocolate martini before, and they are too delicious. Dangerously so.
The next day, we headed to a bodybuilding competition Duluth was hosting. Denise had been prepping to compete, and wanted to get a feel for how the competition would run, as well as support some of her friends who were competing. It was pretty crazy to see how totally ripped the competitors were!
The next day, however, called for some North Shore hiking. We’d visited Grand Portage in January, and it was stunning, but we wanted to see it when it wasn’t frozen, so we made a mini road trip up to the border.
This trip in particular made Grand Portage skyrocket toward the top of my favorite State Park list.
LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL IT WAS.
I was in awe while we explored the park – the picture above is honestly my dream-come-true, ideal State Park location. It was so fun to hop around the rocks and stare at the river, which was forcefully rushing past us. You could see the spray from the waterfall in the distance, and feel the waterfall pounding the water reverberate in your chest. It was liberating and live-giving at all at once.
Sometimes, it’s just nice to get away. I think this is a perfect representation of how happy this park made me feel.
The waterfall was even more beautiful, in my opinion, than it was in January.
The waterfall was so strong, and the spray flying from it was so wild that the viewing decks were completely soaked.
I don’t know why, but that made it even more fun. As you may know, I’m obsessed with water and rain, so that probably had something to do with it. No matter where you went, you were going to get soaked from the waterfall. It was awesome.
It was the perfect start to our hiking adventure! Up next was one of my all–time–favorite parks, Judge C.R. Magney, which is home to Devil’s Kettle, a set of waterfalls that no one can figure out where the water flows to. It disappears into a kettle, and scientists have been unable to pinpoint the area that the water goes into.
It’s so beautiful. But where does it go?
I think that’s part of the appeal of this park to me – I like the mystery. To be honest, I hope they never find where the water flows to. I’d like it to stay nature’s secret.
Denise had never been to Judge C.R. Magney State Park, and I was super stoked to show it to her. To get to Devil’s Kettle, you first cross a little bridge that has a stellar view of the river. See below.
Love a good river surrounded by pine trees. That’s my jam.
Then you have to hike up a few hills along the river, which is a really lovely hike. In the spring, it’s super muddy, which is also kind of fun and definitely a challenge, as you’re mostly slipping your way uphill, depending on the choice of footwear you’ve made. When we went, however, it was pretty dry, which was nice.
Next are the stairs.
While it can be easy to get excited when you suddenly have a little reprieve in your hike while going downhill, I always remember that what goes down must come up, which, as is the nature of stairs, is just the case at Judge C.R. Magney State Park.
There’s a lot of stairs. About 175. But it doesn’t actually seem bad while you’re climbing them – there are also benches at landings along the way if anyone needs to take a little break.
The view of the waterfall is definitely worth it.
It’s a similar situation to Grand Portage – if you get even remotely close to the waterfall, you’re going to get drenched in water, which is part of the fun.
The last time I visited, the water was low enough that you could step out onto a rock in front of the waterfall, which was equally terrifying and freeing all at once. I remember that when you turned away from the waterfall, there was a giant, full-circle rainbow in front of you from all of the spray from the waterfall in the sun. One of the most beautiful and mesmerizing things I’ve ever seen.
However, during this trip, the water was too high to safely step out onto the rock, which was a bummer. You could still get pretty close to the waterfall though, which I did, because I love waterfalls and am a little obsessed with this one in particular.
We hiked to the top of the waterfalls, which was also cool. The last time I visited, there was a small bank that you could climb down onto to get a better view of the falls, but again, the water was so high that it swallowed the bank entirely. It was still cool to see the whirlpool-like start of the falls, though!
To fulfill the trilogy of my favorite North Shore State Parks, we made our last stop of the day at Cascade River State Park. We explored an entirely different section of the park this time, and while I didn’t think it could get more beautiful, it did.
You know how I feel about waterfalls. I was in waterfall heaven.
I especially appreciate parks that you can get up close and personal with the waterfalls, which is definitely the case at Cascade River State Park.
In fact, there was a really cool double rainbow above one of the waterfalls, and I was able to (safely) sit right at the edge to get the perfect shot.
Super fun and got the shot!
It’s a double rainbow! It was beautiful, and we sat quietly at the edge of the waterfall for awhile, just staring at it flicker.
We hiked through another trail in the park, and it led to some pretty groovy views of Lake Superior, as well.
10/10 recommend all of these parks.
We’d taken off Monday, the next day, which I mention because apparently Monday is the perfect day to visit the lighthouse at Duluth. There was no one there, which was pretty abnormal, as it’s typically pretty busy there.
We had a fun little photoshoot there though, since no one was around, which was kind of fun!
Find someone who looks at you like I look at this lighthouse.
I also got a shot of my favorite little lighthouse that reminds me of The Great Gatsby, because there is a literal green light at the end of the dock.
I read that someone recently purchased the lighthouse, with plans to renovate the inside and live there, which makes me happy, as there’s a soft spot in my heart for this lighthouse, and I’m glad that someone’s taking care of it.
Denise kept saying that she really wanted to see a ship come into the harbor and the bridge lift for it, so we were pretty stoked when a tiny dot appeared on the horizon.
It chugged along quite slowly through the water, but it was massive.
And Denise got her wish! The bridge lifted for the ship, and she was pretty excited to have seen it.
Before leaving Duluth, we grabbed breakfast at one of our favorite spots, the Vanilla Bean. Every single thing there is delicious and I demand that you go there someday.
Every time I visit, I try to order the Scandinavian Breakfast, because it sounds delicious and is apparently their most popular item. So popular in fact, that every time I’ve been there, they’ve sold out of it. No matter what time of day. But this was my day! I finally got it! Must have been a Monday thing. The Scandinavian Breakfast is house-made caramel pecan bread pudding grilled like French toast and drizzled in caramel, and it is as mouthwateringly good as it sounds.
It was probably the best breakfast I’ve ever had. It felt like a real victory.
On our way home, we went to another fan-favorite (and by fan, I mean myself), Jay Cooke State Park.
This is one of my favorites, because you can run around on the rocks like it’s a playground, and again, get close to the water.
It also has a super fun suspension bridge that I like to walk across.
We hiked up to the waterfall, where I had a moment in which I very casually felt like the Queen of the whole world.
There’s something about these parks, man.
Again, you can get right up to the top of the falls, and get some pretty cool views. It’s a nice place to just sit and think for a little while.
Someone else apparently had the same thought, because they’d MacGyver-ed what seemed to be the least safe seating arrangement possible.
Wasn’t willing to test that out, myself.
Another reason that I like this park, is for whatever reason, when you continue on your hike into the woods, it suddenly feels like you’re in Lord of the Rings.
I don’t know why, but something about it screams Lord of the Rings to me.
It also has lots of teeny purple and white flowers scattered around it, which are really delicately beautiful.
One of our last stops on the trip was to the Lazy Moose Grill in Moose Lake, which has become one of my favorite places. All weekend, I’d been saying that I wanted a strawberry shake, but everywhere we stopped along the way was closed or didn’t have them. But finally! The Lazy Moose wasn’t so lazy, and they came through for me and my strawberry shake needs.
It was as delicious as it looks.
It was a cute little place, and had a little hall with retail items, including a super cool hiking sweatshirt that I purchased and promptly wore.
I got a chicken sandwich, which was so tender and good, and it came with fries that were hand cut and phenomenal. They also make their own bread and pickles. Drooling.
Don’t even get me started on the chicken wild rice soup. It hit the spot after a few days of hiking.
Lastly, we stopped at a small shop in Moose Lake, where I found the steal of the century.
One of the first Polaroid Land Cameras, for a mere $25. It was in mint condition and came with a leather carrying case, complete with all of the original accessories and instructions. FOR $25. Ridiculous. I scooped it up in a heartbeat.
It was the perfect end to what was, quite frankly, the perfect weekend! It was a much-needed refresh to get outdoors and feel free again. Next, I’d take it a step further and take a semi-spontaneous trip to Denver. More adventure ahead!
Want to read more about my 25 Things list? Click here for more adventures.
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