Hearts in Hawai'i
State Park #24--Tettegouche State Park
7/25/2024
If I had to crown a King of Minnesota State Parks, it would be Tettegouche. We hiked a couple relatively short trails here on a clear day with temps approaching the 70's.
But first we had to stop at Gooseberry Falls State Park so I could add to my T-shirt collection!  Our timing wasn't ideal as we arrived a half hour before the gift shop opened so we took the opportunity to check out the High Falls once again.
A distant view of the Gooseberry River as it winds its way to Lake Superior
A look up at the State Highway 61 bridge where it crosses the Gooseberry River
The High Falls flow has receded quite a bit since last month's heavy rainfalls
Patty in front of the High Falls
Why is Tettegouche our favorite State Park? First, it's only an hour and a half north of Proctor so it's very easily accessible. Second, their trails, partciularly the Shovel Point Trail, deliver as much bang for the buck as any other state park. While it's a short trail, it's difficult from the standpoint of having so many stairs--300, according to the lady I chatted with in the Visitor Center! I had to stop at a few points heading up the trail on our way to the gazebo and one of a few fantastic overlooks of Lake Superior.
This isn't a quiet trail--even though it was a weekday, we had plenty of company during our hike and the chance to chat with many of them. We were blessed to meet a wonderful Australian Shepherd puppy named Capri while at the next to last overlook. Beautiful dog! I also met up with a guy sporting a Nikon D7500 camera (this is the third or fourth iteration beyond the D7100 which I owned prior to making the jump to a full-frame Nikon) and engaged him with a brief chat about Mirrorless vs DSLR. He seemed happy with what he was currently shooting.
The pictures I was able to take speak for themselves. It was a struggle to ascend and descend all those stairs. The payoff was in the views we found.
A boardwalk path leads the way toward an overlook of the Baptism River
Nice view of a rocky shorline along the way
Arriving at the Baptism River to this great view
Baptism River
Man, a lot of stairs to climb to get back up to the trail!
Now on the Shovel Point Trail, an overlook reveals this view to the south and of Palisade Head (with the antenna tower)
Another shorter cliff view
Don't be lulled into a false sense of "this is easy!"--a lot more and steeper stairs await
Why shoot this? Just an interesting tree whose root structure caught my eye
A quite short spur trail leads to this outstanding view
Finally at the end of the trail, we discover our reward
But another uphill climb awaits as we begin the hike back
Initially, our plan was to hike the Shovel Point Trail and then proceed to George Crosby Manitou State Park where we intended to hike the very short Benson Lake Trail. By the time we got back to the car, my achilles was flaring up and Patty was flat out gassed from the hike, so we decided to save that park for another time, probably in conjunction with a visit to Temperence River State Park further up the shore.
Previous: 7/16/2024--State Park #23--Schoolcraft State Park
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last updated july 25, 2024
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