North Shore

Last night after the dunes I just kept driving for a bit, found a Planet Fitness, and did a very light workout to “balance out” what was basically sand-based suffering earlier in the day. Also got some red light therapy in and a hot shower, which honestly helped a lot. Legs were still questioning my decisions but slightly less aggressively.

Then I found a Walmart, pulled over, and that was it for the night. Easy setup. No drama.

Woke up around 6am and just kept moving.

Driving through Wisconsin was honestly kind of ridiculous in a good way. Just rolling green hills everywhere, super peaceful — one of those stretches where you don’t really need music because the drive itself is doing enough.

The bridge crossing from Wisconsin into Minnesota was pretty cool too. Just this huge bridge over the lake with really pretty views, and then all of a sudden you’re in another state and immediately hit a stretch of some of the ugliest roads I’ve seen on this trip so far. But only for a short time before it switches back into those lakefront views again, which are just… consistently stunning.

Then things started shifting toward the North Shore.

I was literally on the phone with my sister when I hit it and had one of those immediate “okay I need to stop RIGHT now” moments. Still mid-conversation, just scanning for anywhere to pull over because the lake + road + cliffs situation was doing way too much to just casually drive past.

First real stop was Gooseberry Falls State Park.

That place was really fun. Upper falls, lower falls, the bridge area — everything is kind of connected and really easy to just wander through. The best part is how open it all feels. No real barriers or separation, just rocks, water, and people doing their own thing.

You can walk right up to the falls, get hit with freezing spray, and technically if you were committed enough you could probably end up under it. I was not that committed, mostly because I was not dressed for “accidental waterfall immersion,” so I just did the normal thing: touched the water, immediately regretted how cold it was, and spent the rest of the time jumping around rocks instead.

It honestly made me think how fun it would be with my nieces and nephews there — just total chaos, kids running everywhere, everyone slipping slightly but in a controlled way.

From there I went to the lighthouse stop, which was… not great.

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park was under construction or something, and the viewpoint was just kind of rough. Overgrown, blocked, not much to actually see. A lot of weeds doing most of the visual work instead of the lighthouse. Probably a great stop on a normal day, but today it was very much a “drive up, look, leave” situation.

After that I went to Tettegouche State Park and that one brought everything back.

The cliffs there are actually insane. Straight drops into Lake Superior, huge open water, and that constant feeling of “this is beautiful but also you could absolutely mess your whole day up if you stop paying attention.”

Did a couple hikes — Shovel Point and then High Falls. Shovel Point was mostly just standing on the edge thinking “wow” repeatedly, and High Falls was more forest, river, and then suddenly loud water again.

That whole park kind of surprised me. I wasn’t even fully sure I should include it when I was planning the route, just one of those “I’ll be nearby anyway” stops. But I’m really glad I did. The rock formations especially reminded me of how much I used to like geology, which I honestly hadn’t thought about in a while.

Also everything is just… cold. Like aggressively cold near the water. Not sure if it’s the lake effect or just Minnesota being Minnesota, but it definitely wakes you up. It felt weird because it was actually a pretty warm day, but as soon as you step closer to the lake or out of the wooded areas it’s suddenly like a different climate entirely.

Next stop is Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is about a 10-hour drive away. So the plan is to make it roughly halfway today and stop in one of the bigger cities near the Minnesota border so tomorrow I’m right where I need to be.

Tomorrow is basically a maintenance + reset day. 40,000-mile service stuff, oil change, all that exciting adult car responsibility. Probably another Planet Fitness stop for a shower/workout situation, maybe groceries, water refill, then continuing the push toward Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Anyway — Lake Superior is way more dramatic than it has any right to be.Read more