I parked my car, crossed through Grand Portage State Park's spacious visitor center and stepped onto a paved path on the far side. Immediately, I sensed the urgent rush of Pigeon River's High Falls. The cascades were half a mile away, but already the raging waters murmured like a busy freeway, a noise that grew with each step.
All along Minnesota's North Shore each spring, snowmelt from the Sawtooth Mountains swells rivers and turns waterfalls into powerful spectacles. Grand Portage's falls are among the best. The 120-foot drop makes them the tallest in the state. A wide paved trail eases the half-mile walk to the stunning sight, making it accessible to virtually everyone. Another distinction: These falls are the farthest north in the state. "Welcome to Canada," a text message on my smartphone said, before it warned about international rates. I was still in Minnesota, but the border crossing was just up the road.
On the trail, I stopped to hunt for woodpeckers in towering birch trees that were pockmarked from the birds' earlier insect hunts. I ambled down a dirt side trail to get a closer look at calm backwaters. I crouched down to observe what looked to be miniature pine trees but were really a form of moss. Then, I climbed a short set of stairs and laid eyes on the roaring falls. Water tumbles over rock in three distinct falls, which join at the bottom in fierce, roiling waves. The commotion created so much mist that I returned to the trail as wet as if I'd taken a shower.
The state park
The pristine landscape of Grand Portage State Park — where eagles, otters, deer and moose live in a forest of paper birch, quaking aspen, spruce and pine — belongs not to Minnesota, but to the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa. In a unique arrangement, the state established the park with the Chippewa in 1989 and now leases the land from the tribe.
A half-mile, wheelchair-accessible trail leads to the dramatic High Falls. Deeper in the woods along a dirt trail, the Middle Falls take a less dramatic drop. There are 5 miles of trails at the park. For more information: 1-218-475-2360; www.dnr.state.mn.us/grandportage.
Because it is designated a rest stop, the parking lot at Grand Portage State Park does not require a $5 daily or $25 yearly vehicle permit as do other state parks in Minnesota.
Grand Portage National Monument
For centuries before Europeans arrived, the Chippewa who traveled on the area's waterways avoided the falls of Pigeon River by portaging along a 9-mile footpath. When European voyageurs arrived, the Indians showed them the way. In an arrangement that benefited both — the Indians caught beaver and traded the furs for wool blankets, kettles and other goods — the North West Co. established a trading post in what they called Grand Portage (French for "great carrying place").
In a grand building overlooking Lake Superior, the Grand Portage National Monument offers exhibits on the history of the region and a well-produced 20-minute film. A walkway leads to the trading post (www.nps.gov/grpo).
