Fox Along the North Shore: Cascade River State Park

LUTSEN, Minn. — Now that summer weather is here and the kids are out of school, the North Shore is starting to see more visitors.  We recently stopped at Cascade River State Park and met a few people from across the country.

“It’s amazing.  Absolutely breathtaking. Beautiful. I haven’t seen anything like it,” said park visitor Benjamin Boucherle.

The reputation of the North Shore stretches across the country and that includes Iowa where Benjamin and Angela Winter traveled from to experience its natural beauty.  It was Benjamin’s first time making the trip and he was not disappointed.

“So gorgeous. It’s just absolutely insane,” continued Bucherle.

Right off Highway 61, there is a short, but rigorous half mile hike where you can see Cascade Falls, and the Cascades themselves – five small waterfalls over a short stretch of the river. With a bridge that crosses the river, there are more vantage points to see the waterfalls and its surroundings than many other parks across the country, at least according to Bob and Irene Henrich who are touring the Great Lakes all the way from California.

“You go to Yosemite Falls and you don’t see much of the river above it, you just see the giant falls coming over.  These are smaller but much more dramatic I think,” said Bob Henrich.

Located in Cook County just 10 miles south of Grand Marais, Cascade River State Park is home to camping, hiking, fishing, and of course, waterfalls.  Prior to visiting the Cascade River, our friends from Iowa made several other stops along the North Shore. For them, each waterfall continued to amaze and impress.

“The falls are crazy. We went to Goose River was it? Gooseberry,” said Bucherle.

“And then yesterday we did the Temperance River and saw waterfalls there too,” added Winter.

Each waterfall and park along the North Shore comes with its own unique beauty that is hard to pass up when traveling along Highway 61. The Cascade River is no exception.  However, in addition to the waterfalls, there is one constant with all of these stops that you can always rely on, and that is Lake Superior as the backdrop.

“We’ve done some camping at the Temperance River and up in here, but really, getting to the lake and seeing the shoreline, it’s beautiful here. Kind of the best part so far,” said Henrich.