North Shore waterfalls putting on a late-fall show

GOOSEBERRY FALLS - For Northlanders who like to spend time outside, October may have felt like a lost month.

But the weeks of steel–grey skies, wet weather and tumbling temperatures have had a pleasant side–effect on the North Shore.

That weather has revived North Shore rivers, and right now the waterfalls are picture-perfect.

"The advantage of all those grey days is that the rivers have come up along the North Shore and now you got the beautiful water coming over the waterfalls," said Gooseberry Falls State Park Manager Paul Sundberg. "Normally the water's pretty low this time of year."

"It's really nice, just to not have so many people there because it's colder, and there's so much water running through after raining two weeks straight," said hiker Alice Peters of Duluth.

For North Shore hikers like Peters, it was worth waiting for the clouds to clear.

"Right now I feel like this is perfect hiking weather," she said. "It's cool, you don't get too hot [and] it's not so cold that you're freezing.

While the falls of the Gooseberry River are running high...

"You can see and hear it's just roaring over the falls now," Sundberg said.

... they're not alone. Waterfalls in other state parks, including Tettegouche, Temperance River and Cascade River, also are putting on a good show for late fall.

"Every one of the waterfalls on the North Shore, all of the state parks, and all the rivers are up considerably.  Taking advantage of seeing any one of them - it's a great time right now," Sundberg said.

For more information on North Shore state parks with waterfalls, go to their Web sites:

Gooseberry Falls State Park

Tettegouche State Park

George Crosby Manitou State Park

Temperance River State Park

Cascade River Sate Park

Judge C.R. Magney State Park

Grand Portage State Park