Lac La Belle (French: “Lake The Beautiful”) is a small unincorporated community in Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The town was originally the site of a stamping plant for the copper mines of the Keweenaw, specifically the Mendota Mine and the Delaware Mine. Copper-bearing rock was transported from the mines to the stamping plant, where it was processed and loaded onto freighters.
The nearby lake of the same name averages approximately 30 feet in depth and empties into Lake Superior at Bete Gris. The Little Gratiot River and several creeks empty into Lac La Belle. A small roadside park within the town contains Haven Falls on Haven Creek, which also empties into the lake. ~wikidpedia
The weather wasn’t great for our trip, but it wasn’t all that bad either. We endured intermittent rain and the occasional snow flurry with party cloudy skies the majority of the time. The wind was actually calm enough to fly a few times. These shot were taking right from our cabin. The first shot is oriented East shortly after sunrise. The second is oriented West, you can see Lake Superior beyond Mount Bohemia and Lac La Belle. Such a pretty area in the Autumn.
LAC LA BELLEMOUNT BOHEMIA
Our cabin was right on the Lake. We were 4 short miles from Bete Grise/Lake Superior and 15 short miles from Copper Harbor – Hwy 41 was absolutely on fire with color; the canopy over the road was spectacular – more on that in another post. Here are some images of the cabin and surrounding area. A wonderful place to call home for a few days.
The Porcupine Mountains, or Porkies, are a group of small mountains spanning the northwestern Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Ontonagon and Gogebic counties, near the shore of Lake Superior. The Porcupine Mountains were named by the native Ojibwa people, supposedly because their silhouette had the shape of a crouching porcupine.They are home to the most extensive stand of old growth northern hardwood forest in North America west of the Adirondack Mountains, spanning at least 31,000 acres. In these virgin forests, sugar maple, American basswood, eastern hemlock, and yellow birch are the most abundant tree species. The area is part of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. ~wikipedia
The drive through the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness are was popping with color. We entered on the West side – Presque Isle River area. I was a lovely six hour drive from Red Wing, MN.
WEST SIDE
The Presque Isle River water falls are short hikes from the main road with ample parking places. There are quite a few stairs on one of the hikes. Another occasion to get the puppy-kids out of car for a walk. This Michigan state park was a bit more pet-friendly compared to WI and MN, where you are limited to an area or certain trails.
Geography
The most striking geological feature of the Porcupine Mountains is the long basalt and conglomerate escarpment parallel to the Lake Superior shore and overlooking Lake of the Clouds, a continuation of the same copper-bearing bedrock found farther northeast on the Keweenaw Peninsula. A second ridge farther inland, on the other side of Lake of the Clouds, includes Summit Peak, the highest point in the mountains at 1,958 feet. Rivers, waterfalls, swamps, and lakes lie between the rocky outcroppings. There are a number of waterfalls on the Presque Isle River in the extreme western side of the park. ~wikipedia
EAST SIDE
Lake of the Clouds Overlook is accessible from the East t side of the park. It is hard to beat the view from here. This area is wheelchair accessible via a long ramp.
It was mid 39 degrees with a 30+ MPH wind when we visited – Brrrrrr, it was cold. I must say that an iPhone does a tremendous job with a panorama. My phone was all over the place in that wind. You can see by the weather map below; although Lake Superior is a cold lake, this time of year it’s relatively warm and turn that snow right into rain.
Back in late August of this year (2014), my wife and I were in the Duluth area to shoot a wedding. We stayed in Brule, WI at Brule River Classics the evening before. We had a little time to explore before sundown. County Road H north of Brule parallels the Brule River almost all the way to Lake Superior; Hwy 13 will take you the rest of the distance. To get to the rivers end, Brule River Road is a short jaunt just off of Hwy 13. We anticipate coming back this way. This area was quite nice with plenty of opportunities to explore – including kayaking.
The reddish water was a bit of a surprise. I had originally thought it was a muddy Brule flowing into the blue Superior, but that wasn’t the case. The shoreline on the big lake must have consisted of this red clay; steady waves on the clay produces the color. A beautiful location to take in a sunset.
The second day started much like how the first ended – heavy think fog blanketing our surroundings. The fog certainly added an extra element to the photos though. After a bit of breakfast at the lodge we made our way out to the fish house and then out to the point. The hike was great – especially in the fog.
After leaving Cove Point Lodge we went back South to visit Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. It was too late the previous afternoon to go to Split Rock Lighthouse. We spent a great foggy morning there before heading back North and stopping at Palisade Head. There essentially was no view at Palisade Head, other than a ship heading for shore in some very dense fog. Tettegouche State Park was the next stop. We ended up skipping Gerorge Crosby Manitou State Park. The entrance isn’t right off of Hwy 61 and we just plain missed the turn. We continued on our way and visited Temperance River State Park as well as Cascade River State Parkbefore arriving in Grand Marais. We secured a room for the night at The Shoreline Inn and made our way to My Sister’s Place for a much anticipated evening meal. Traveling & photography are hungry business.
Here are my shots of the Minnesota North Shore – The in between, Day 2
It was a beautiful morning with a touch of fog rolling about on the lake. A quick visit to the waterfront and a stroll out along the breakwater was in order. From this vantage point it was easy to get a better view of the exterior of the abandoned site we just came from. The left behind Polaroid made you wonder – who was she, where was she from and what did she think about the beautiful place. The lone fisherman set against the lake and fog was interesting as well. The stroll was short, but pleasant. There is only one bad thing about traveling the North Shore of Minnesota; that is realizing it is time to head back home :-/
The third point of interest we found on our way up the North Shore to Temperance River State Park is the Two Island River. It is approximately 15 miles long and flows into Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota at Taconite Harbor. This private harbor is maintained by the Minnesota Power Company and Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. The harbor is a basin less than a mile long and not quite a half mile wide, protected by Gull and Bear Island and a series of breakwaters.
There isn’t a wayside rest here although it would be a perfect candidate for just that. With coal power plants under environmental pressure, the Taconite Harbor Energy Center may completely shutdown at some point (at least 1 of 3 turbines by 2016). Train tracks criss-cross the river with the large taconite operation in the immediate vicinity. Big industry and the public milling about recreating isn’t necessarily an ideal equation I suppose. One can image and dream though.
I still maintain this would be a wonderful location of an expansive wayside rest with a short trail upstream along the cascading waterfalls and another down to Lake Superior. Beautiful views of the waterfalls, river and the numerous wildflowers in full bloom made this an easy decision to turn around, park and explore further.
Schroder, just up the road, is another great place to stop. There is a pretty good set of cascades on the Cross River – depending on the water level and flow – which all of the North Shore rivers and waterfalls are subject to. Google Maps captured a photographer capturing the scene as it did its drive-by.
Cross River – Schroeder, MN -Google Maps, Street View
Here are my shots from our stop along side Hwy 61 at the bridge over Two Island River.
Judge C.R. Magney State Park is the seventh park you will encounter along the North Shore. Devil’s Kettle Falls is the main draw here. This is a very unusual, and even mysterious waterfall. As you can see in the featured image, the river is split in two as it goes over the falls. The section on the right, lands at the base of the falls and continues downstream. The section on the left vanishes into a pothole known as the Devil’s Kettle and no one knows where it goes. It is believed that the water makes its way out to Lake Superior by means of underground passages, but the exact details are unknown. They have thrown dyes and logs and other things into the pothole, but apparently nothing ever comes out. If you have ever worried about falling over a waterfall, imagine falling into the Devil’s Kettle. Read more on Devil’s Kettle…
History
Concrete foundations in the campground and picnic areas of the park are remnants of a transient work camp built there in 1934 by the State. The camp provided work and lodging for men displaced during the Depression years. In addition to building trails, logging, and completing public service projects, these men helped fight a fire in 1935 that burned more than 10,000 acres in the area. Later the men set up a sawmill and began to salvage fire-damaged wood.
In 1957, a 940-acre parcel of forest along the Brule River was set aside as Brule River State Park. The park became Judge C. R. Magney State Park in 1963 when the Minnesota legislature selected this park as a memorial to the late Judge Magney, a lawyer, mayor of Duluth, justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and a strong advocate of Minnesota State Parks, especially those along the North Shore. With his influence, he was instrumental in establishing 11 state parks and waysides along Lake Superior. Over the years, parcels of land have been added to the park which today totals 4,642 acres.
Park Features
More than half of those 4,642 acres have no trails. The upper two-thirds of land this park occupies has almost no trails. The only trail runs parallel with the Brule River and eventually veers off to connect with the Superior Hiking Trail. There are 9 total miles of hiking trails in the park. This park has a good amount of semi-modern drive-up campsites. Fishing opportunities are plentiful here on the Brule River or a tributary, Gauthier Creek, for Brook and Rainbow Trout. The Spring time brings on the Steelhead run and Fall host the Salmon run.
Here are my shots of Judge C. R. Magney from a recent visit.
Gooseberry Falls State Park is the first state park you will encounter heading North from Duluth. This “gateway to the North Shore” is situated 40 scenic miles North from Duluth along Hwy 61 and the beautiful Lake Superior shoreline. Known primarily for its waterfalls, five in all, this park offers some tremendous views of the awesome power of water. The 23 mile long Gooseberry River runs through the park with varying degrees of volume as it is highly dependent on rain water runoff. The river was plump with water for our visit in July; we photographed all but Fifth Falls. Other items of interest include Agate Beech and the 18 miles of hiking trails, of which 8 are mountain biking trails. There is no shortage of things to see at this park.
History
The area known as Gooseberry Falls State Park is intricately tied to human use of Lake Superior. At different times, the Cree, the Dakotah, and the Ojibwe lived along the North Shore. As early as 1670, the Gooseberry River appeared on explorer maps. The river was either named after the French explorer Sieur des Groseilliers or after the Anishinabe Indian name, Shab-on-im-i-kan-i-sibi; when translated, both refer to gooseberries. In the 1870s, commercial and sport fishermen began to use this area.
By the 1890s, logging became the principle use of the land around the Gooseberry River. In 1900, the Nestor Logging Company built its headquarters at the river mouth and a railway was used to carry the pine to the lake for rafting to the sawmills. Because of fires and intensive logging pressures, the pine disappeared by the early 1920s.
With the rise of North Shore tourism in the 1920s, there was a concern that the highly scenic North Shore would be accessible only to the rich. As a result the Legislature authorized preservation of the area around Gooseberry Falls in 1933. The following year, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began to develop the park. CCC crews built the park’s stone and log buildings and the 300-foot long “Castle in the Park” stone retaining wall. They also laid out the original campground, picnic grounds and trails. The area officially became Gooseberry Falls State Park in 1937. The CCC camps closed in 1941, but the park’s CCC legacy lives on. Designed with ties to the CCC, a new visitor center/wayside rest and Highway 61 bridge was opened in 1996. CCC camp photo albums: Camp life, Buildings/historic site, Legacy Self-guided Tour checklist & map.
