We absolutely loved this. It is a bit difficult to get to as you have to go past the train tracks…read moreand onto a dirt road, but it is well worth it. There is a large parking lot to park here in a beautiful beach with lots of places to sit and enjoy the scenery you can see old structures from mining and such you can also walk across a cement structure to the lighthouse at the end, which was very fun as well. This was a great spot for skipping rocks and enjoying the beautiful scenery and weather. Great photo opportunities here.

Agate Bay Beach sits beside the waterfront town of Two Harbors, Minnesota…read more First off, the town of Two Harbors, MN is a worthwhile stop to make while driving along the popular 150-mile North Shore Scenic Drive up the northeastern part of Minnesota's coast. Here at Agate Bay, you can pause to appreciate the setting viewing onto the endless waters of Lake Superior. The big highlight is walking on a cement pathway that extends out to a remote lighthouse observation point. This pedestrian strip only takes 10 minutes to walk, but it affords you a picturesque overlook into the wide-open appearance of Lake Superior. You can breathe in the fresh air while making the stroll over to the lighthouse and ultimately, coming to Agate Bay allows for a casual rest from driving, if you're not in any hurry. While visiting back in early June, there were a couple of cars parked in the lot and just a few tourists checking out this cool little beachfront. Generally, it was quiet and not nearly as congested as I had anticipated it to be for peak summer visitations. The historic lighthouse at the end of the beach pier is a rewarding opportunity for a picture with Lake Superior in the background. Lol, it made me ponder...how many of the 5 Great Lakes had I been to??? But overall, it's a pleasant moment outside. And definitely, making the journey on North Shore Scenic Drive is the epitome of enjoying nature, with loads of beautiful state parks and gushing waterfalls. Lastly, located just before the walking pier, they have a few picnic tables set up which is a nice chance to enjoy lunch with a view. From here at Agate Bay, I'd suggest grabbing dessert 3 miles away at Betty's Pies before spending time at fantastic MUST DO - Gooseberry Falls State Park.

This was an epic beach. It is past a campsite, but it is very well marked so you know exactly where…read moreyou're going. There's a small parking lot at the path toward the beach, but a lot of people park on the side of the road. It can get a little backed up and crowded so be careful of this. There is a bathroom here. There was also a man selling some merch such as sweatshirts and hoodies and they were super cute and locally made and owned. But the beach was the best part. It was incredible. The graphite was soft and it was black there was beautiful scenery surrounding the area and lots of benches and folks milling around the area. It's a great way to use man-made resource resources for good. We really enjoyed this spot and it's a great one to check out on your trip up north.

This is such a fun beach and about an hour-ish north from Duluth!…read more There is a small parking lot(free) and if you get lucky, you may be able to park there! Otherwise there is street parking and overflow!(both free) There is a golf cart that takes people back and forth from overflow to the beach for free! He does work off of tips, so be sure to throw some money his way! He is super nice, places music and has a cool bubble machine! You will walk down a short path and then... BEACH TIME!!! The beach has some areas with coarse rocks and then fine black sand! The beach is kept pretty clean and there are garbage cans as you are coming onto the beach and leaving. There are fire pits and picnic tables on a first come first serve basis. There are rocks for kids to climb on and stay entertained! The water is always cold, but on those hot days, it feels so good!!! It is a smaller beach and is gorgeous. We like to stop at the Rustic Inn, grabs some slices of pie, and eat the on the beach! Respects the area and make sure you leave with your trash! Together we can keep this beach as outstanding as it already is! **I dropped a star because there is no toilet, only a Biffy)

This is a super pretty waterfall which also happens to be a short walk away! Highly worth stopping…read moreby if you're traveling on the road and want to stretch out your legs, or to visit as an attraction in of itself. It's great since you don't need to purchase a permit to park in the wayside/visitor center lot. There's a pretty large visitor center with washrooms, a nature store, and exhibits. The exhibits were informative, ranging from the rocks of Lake Superior, to the animals of the forest park. I spent about 15 minutes here reading all the signs. The park store has ice cream, clothing, cards, and other sundries. It was pretty busy with people purchasing Gooseberry Falls State Park swag. I guess this park is pretty beloved! Finally, the walk to the falls was beautiful. It's paved all the way and very clearly laid out so there's no chance of getting lost. Some people were wading in the river and taking some amazing photos of this beautiful place.

This place is always on our stopping list when we're up north…read more The falls being easily accessible are also a great place to put your feet in the water and throw rocks. The visitor center is also very nice and well equipped with the extra bonus of ice cream treats!

Pebble Beach is in the heart of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. It's gorgeous! Walking down the…read morebeach, you will scramble up some rocks right into the iconic Lighthouse view. The beach itself is gorgeous. It does it crowded in the Summer but going in the Spring or Fall works too. I enjoy stopping by for pictures. It's really pretty!

A beautiful hike with breathtaking views of Lake Superior and the sea caves. You have to pay $5 to…read morepark there, which I never have a problem doing to keep areas like this around. The hike was about 1.8 miles to the sea cave over looks and back. You can keep going to see more if you wish too. There are also portions of the sea caves where you can actually climb onto to keep an even more up close and personal view. Highly recommend!

We hiked the Lakeshore Trail from the Meyers Beach parking lot. (National Park Service. $5 parking…read morefee; $2.50 if you have a Senior Pass or Access Pass. May, 2023). As noted by others, this is a launch point for kayaks to launch for views of the sea caves and cliffs. We were at this location twice in late May, 2023, and national park Rangers were there on both days (Wednesday, Friday) ensuring that kayakers were prepared for the rough and cold waters, and to provide guidance to hikers. There are clean vault toilets at the location. Regarding the Lakeshore Hike, we did about 2.2 miles of the hike, returning on the same trail to make it about 4.4 miles roundtrip. The trail continues to a campground site (I believe NPS reservations are required) but we didn't go that far. The first 1.8 miles are largely inland, without views of Lake Superior. Of this segment, the first 0.7 miles are almost completely on a double plank boardwalk that goes over swampy land in parts. It requires some stepping up and down on planks, following terrain changes. After you cross a service road at 0.7 miles, the trail alternates between plank boards and regular trails. As you approach the crevasse at 1.8 miles, there are quite a few ascents and descents wherein you go down to a stream-bed and then back up. Some of these are steep but have logs to help with footing. The stream crossings all had sturdy boards or bridges to cross. At 1.8 miles, you reach the crevasse area with views of Lake Superior. Take a look on both sides to see sea caves and the deep crevasse. There are benches here too so it made a great lunch spot. Be careful not to get too close to the edges. It's a long way down! Beyond the crevasse, walk another 0.4 miles to the "basin". This stretch is relatively easy (flat) walking with spectacular views. My husband, who has been hiking in the Himalayas recently, found the entire trail to be easy. For me, I'd characterize it as moderately challenging. On the positive side, there is very little elevation change, so I wasn't huffing and puffing. However, I have balance issues, so I didn't particularly like the footing for the ascents/descents to the stream beds nor all of the roots on the trail. Some of the steps up and down, even on the boardwalk, were also a bit too high for my short legs! Having walked with hiking poles and an occasional hand from my husband helped. Finally, remember bug spray. The mosquitoes are active. 4-star rating overall instead of 5 due to distance required to walk to get views of the sea caves and mosquitoes. 5 stars for the Park Service.

Great location on Lake Superior. Your experience depends on…read morewhat site you have and what you are comfortable with. I know you can say that about all campgrounds, BUT this one has sites that are really packed close together with water access and others that are in a field across the road from the beach... neither is ideal in our mind. There is a highway close by like all the reviews mention. It wasn't loud from our site, but when we walked the campground it was loud in other parts. We did take note on what sites we would stay in if we went again. I would tell you but then we'd never be able to book them. This is a busy place that is hard to get into even for the not so great sites... That being said, there wasn't people noise. Everyone was quiet and respectful. Fun activities nearby: Hiked to town on the trail to visit the lighthouse. Rented a kayak at the beach and paddled to the lighthouse. Dog swam and froze to death in the lake... Lots of rocks to pick. Everyone is agate searching.

This was our tenth year, we came for 10 days in July and back for 5 days in September. Katie in the…read moreoffice has always been very helpful and especially this year with the new reservation system. Great campground with great sites in the new section and great view of the Lake. one of our favorites.

I love state parks, and this one was everything I hoped for and more…read more Visited on a Saturday in August so it was quite crowded, but we still managed to find a parking spot and once we left the parking lot it wasn't too bad. The visitors center is large and clean with lots of information, bathrooms, a gift shop, and places to sit around a fireplace. They were doing a lesson on primitive fire building when we arrived. We unfortunately had a limited amount of time, so we only did the brief hike down the beach and out to Shovel Point, but both were absolutely stunning and I wish we had more time. I'd love to come back someday and hike more and possibly camp as well.

Minnesota really does their state parks correctly - they sometimes double as rest stops for weary…read moretravelers. It's totally a win-win. The rest stop area of the state park visitor center was very nice. Picture windows let the outside sunlight in. Vending machines were well stocked, and the washrooms were spacious and clean. The visitor center was large, with an area with exhibits and displays about the history and the natural features of the park. The information desk abuts this area. There's a gift shop that sells souvenirs and last minute hiking/camping items. There's also ice cream and small snacks. If you want to spend significant time outside here during the summer and forgot mosquito repellent, I highly recommend picking up a canister of 40% DEET. You'll definitely need it! Palisade Head was absolutely gorgeous.

Such a fabulous scenery in old town and then over the lifting bridge, which lifts every 30 minutes…read more The drive to the beach was beautiful curvy roads and beautiful infrastructure and houses and we really enjoyed the marsh scenery that we encountered. There's plenty of parking on the side of the road and lots of entrances to get to the beach. The beach is beautiful with the city in the background or the lighthouse Sandpoint in the other direction the water was clear there was so much soft sand, and plenty of rocks to look for. We were told by locals to look for the Agote rocks plenty of treasures we found here. This is a must see and check out on your visit to Duluth.

Used to study on the beach here, now I walk it with my dogs or friends to catch up and listen to…read morethe boats come in. Pets are suppose to be on leash on the MN side, but seem to be fine off leash on the WI side (: some people don't mind off leash controlled pups on the leashes side tho. Deer flies can be a bother in the summer months.

Hidden gem on the South Shore of Superior! Located just out of Port Wing on Big Pete Road, you can…read morehave the best of both worlds: clean unpopulated beach on Lake Superior AND a beautiful boreal forest! Park along Big Pete Road or walk in...you won't regret it!

Lost Creek is the best! They have great service, reasonable rates and well-trained staff. I've gone…read moreout with them for multiple overnight kayak trips and am always impressed with the planning and awesome food. Can't wait for the next adventure with Lost Creek!!

This was a great paddle out to the caves near Meyers Beach. Abby and her associate were very…read moreprofessional and provided all the necessary safety precautions and kayaking techniques. I've kayaked AK, HI and the San Juans (WA) and this was the best! It's a very short bus ride to Meyers Beach so you don't waste a lot of time getting on the water. As a side note, I later learned from another type of boat tour on Madeline Island that there are a few pretenders in the kayak tour business but Lost Creek is considered by locals to be one of the best!!