Grand Portage hosts two waterfalls, a ridge top overlooking Lake Superior, and the Pigeon River Valley, which is part of the international boundary line between the U.S. and Canada. The main attraction is High Falls, which is the tallest waterfall in Minnesota with a drop of 120 feet.
This was the day we were going to do two hikes, so we wanted to pace ourselves by starting with the “easier” 1-mile hike. One mile seems hardly worth bothering about, but we’ve done enough of these now to know that the distance can be deceiving. A one-mile hike uphill may be considerably more difficult than a 3-mile level hike.
We arrived around 10:45 a.m. on another nice day – 65 degrees, which is beautiful hiking weather. We missed the sign on the way in and thinking there wasn’t one (Tettegouche didn’t have one, after all), we decided to pose in front of the Welcome Center sign.
While waiting for Kris to use the facilities, I occupied myself with taking photos to make it seem like I wasn’t overhearing a conversation taking place in the parking lot. I couldn’t see the participants, but it was a stern fatherly lecture, the kind given by parents all the world over since time and sin began. “You just did the very thing that I asked you not to do. How can we trust you when you behave like that?” And so on. I’ve been on both sides of that one and sympathized.
There was a nice overlook at the beginning of the hike and we took several bad photos of ourselves there – backlit. But at least you can see the scenery, which is the best part anyway.
We headed out on the short trail and immediately encountered this sign, which seemed the height of absurdity in an increasingly absurd world. Your tax dollars at work!
The trail started off as asphalt, which is fairly common, and then became a nice dirt path with the ubiquitous tree roots charmingly placed. I had been concerned that going to something called “High Falls,” was going to require a lot of uphill climbing, but apparently we’d started off on high ground and didn’t have much further to go. Yea!
The falls were beautiful, of course. It’s impossible to have ugly waterfalls, right?
The password sign was right at the lookout station, so I quickly placed my next painted rock while we were still alone there. Another group came right away and to my delight, I heard one of the guys say, “Look, someone left a rock here!” Tee hee! This was the “love” rock.
It was getting crowded, so we left for the short walk back and saw more signs that fall is on the way.
We finished the hike in just under an hour, got another photo of us in front of one of the beautiful signs by the welcome center and then discovered the other park sign on our way out. So much of us! 🙂
We stopped by the Grand Portage National Monument on our way down to the next state park because we also have a National Parks and Monuments Passport book that needed stamping. We’d taken our kids here some years ago (maybe 15?). It’s one of those places where the people who work the exhibits assume the persona of people who lived during that particular historical time. I took a few photos and we wandered a bit and then left for Judge C.R. Magney State Park.
Knee Score: 2-3. Short hike, not too much uphill, nice paths.
Thanks for joining us!
I’ll probably delete this in the morning unless I’m already working on the post about JCRM State Park.
Next Hike: Judge C.R. Magney State Park
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