Memories in the Miles MN

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. -"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost Have you heard of George Crosby Manitou State Park? This park is one of the least-visited state parks, despite it's location on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Is it "less traveled" due to quality? Absolutely not! There are two main reasons why this park isn't spoken of: location and trail difficulty.  It's off the main roads, so the park is a 20-minute drive from Highway 61. The trails themselves are tough - full of rocks and roots, narrow, and not always well-marked. This is by design - the park is intentionally under-developed to create more of a wilderness experience. This is precisely the reason I chose George Crosby Manitou as one of the stops on our North Shore weekend last fall (read about our full weekend and find our agenda here ). Huge bonus - it has a cascade waterfall! To get to the park, navigat...

Alright, I'm finally getting started on my Fall on the North Shore series! Last fall, my husband and I had a rare chance to spend a weekend on the North Shore of Lake Superior during peak fall colors. Read about our full trip and view our itinerary here . Section 13 of the Superior Hiking Trail ( AllTrails map ) was our first stop of the weekend. Fall is a very busy time on the North Shore, so I was intentional about choosing trails that were a little more off the beaten path. An easy way to avoid some of the crowd is to hike a trail that is even slightly off of the main road, Highway 61. The fact that this trail is only named "Section 13" also indicated that it probably wasn't well-traveled. The Superior Hiking Trail runs along the North Shore of Lake Superior and is maintained by a non-profit organization (Superior Hiking Trail Association) and countless volunteers. Main trails are indicated by a blue blaze on trees, while spur trails are marked in white. The south...

It's almost the most magical time of the year in Minnesota! I am so in love with fall, as it brings cooler temperatures, light breezes, and, best of all, vibrant colors. After falling in love with the North Shore of Lake Superior, I knew I HAD to get there during peak fall colors. However, fall is also peak work season for my husband, so I knew it was going to be difficult. Last fall, we were lucky enough to have a rare free weekend at the end of September to make it happen. I am very intentional about planning itineraries and hikes around time of year, weather, crowds, and specific colors. My goal for this weekend was to find trails less traveled (the North Shore is crazy busy this time of year!) and specifically seek out orange and red. While vibrant yellow provides a beautiful contrast to the greenery around, I prefer the fiery hues. Plus, the green and yellow combo reminds me too much of a neighboring professional sports team of which we will not speak. 😉 The Minnesota DNR pro...

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park (one of my favorites so far) is named because it contains some of the last remaining portions of Minnesota's Big Woods. A huge highlight of the park is its waterfall. In addition, the park contains a unique nature playground that is the perfect ending to a family hike. We stopped at Nerstrand Big Woods on the way home from our visit to Lewiston  as part of our quest to visit all of the Minnesota State Parks and complete the Hiking Club and Passport Club. This was our fourth state park in three days, and my 7-, 5-, and 3-year-old were a bit tired, but these trails were interesting enough to capture and keep their attention. The park has full bathrooms with running water, so after a bathroom break and snack, we set off on the 2.2 mile Hiking Club loop, listed on AllTrails as the Nerstrand Beaver Loop . The whole trail is wide, well-maintained, and shady. It has a few ups and downs, but they weren't very steep and it was overall easy. The falls come...

Our family loves nature and loves free, so nature centers are a favorite for us. When planning a play date for my daughter and her friends at Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park, we got the added bonus of checking out the Trail of Small Wonders. This year's event ends on July 29, so hurry over to check it out! Westwood Hills Nature Center is fun in itself. We first discovered it two summers ago, when we explored some of the 160 acres of trails, and saw a deer, turtles, and beekeepers working in the apiary. The nature center building is home to a few raptors outside and other small animals inside by the exhibits. The outdoor play area was being built at the time, so we were excited to return and see the final result. There is a small playground, a flowing water activity, and a nature play area where the kids built a fort with large branches. Now for the highlight of the day - The Trail of Small Wonders! The St. Louis Park Friends of the Arts offered a workshop on buildin...

This park had me at "No mosquitos!" Whitewater State Park (Altura, MN) is known for Chimney Rock and for not having (many) mosquitos due to very little standing water. We visited this park with our 7-, 5-, and 3-year-old on our trip to Lewiston, MN . I knew these trails would be a bit of a challenge for my children, which is why I wanted to start the day at this park. Make sure you bring plenty of water and be ready to take breaks. The Visitor Center had a lot of fun activities and we spent time there both before and after our hike. My children especially enjoyed the taxidermy animals, ranger outfits, and magnetic fishing activity. The Hiking Club Trail at this park is interesting, because the booklet tells you to just hike from the Visitor Center to the end of it and then loop back on the paved road/trails. The AllTrails version of this, Coyote Point Trail to Dakota Trail , has you going out and back on the same trail. Since we wanted to see Chimney Rock anyway, we decided t...