Joe WhitsonExplorer

Begin your trip at the Seagull Lake boat launch at Trail's End Campground. The campground, located in Superior National Forest at the very end of the Gunflint Trail, is an hour and half drive from the nearest town of Grand Marais and is a great place to stay the night before. There are no motors allowed in the BWCA, so you will need a canoe or kayak, which you can rent from the nearby Voyageurs...

Mount Revelstoke, located in the Columbian Range on the border of Alberta and British Columbia, is the only summit in the Canadian Rockies you can reach by car. The windy road from the Trans-Canadian highway rises about 4000 ft. offering increasingly expansive views of the valley below. The park is known for its fields of wildflowers, so try to visit during their incredibly short growing season...

The largest of Wisconsin's Apostle Islands, Madeline Island is about the size of Manhattan, but extremely sparsely populated and a great place to explore a north woods ecosystem. The best way to get to the island is by ferry from Bayfield to La Pointe. From La Pointe, it is about a ten minute drive to Big Bay Town Park, the best place to camp on the island. There is a state park with camping, b...

Quetico Provincial Park, just north of Minnesota in southern Ontario, is the Canadian portion of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA). Truly a wilderness area, the 1.2 million acre park has no roads, few trails, and allows in just a tenth of the visitors that canoe the BWCA to the south. With over 2000 lakes, the best way to explore the park is by water. Motorized boats aren't gene...

This diverse, 2,702-acre park has trails for both day hikers and backpackers – some with scenic views of the St. Croix River, others which drop into quiet ravines. For the best views of the valley, explore off-trail, where you may find hidden bluffs with panoramic views.The park also offers horseback riding, mountain biking, swimming, and cross-country skiing, in the winter.A good introductory ...

Crow-Hassan Park Reserve is the largest prairie based park in the Twin Cities metro area. Although there are many ways to experience Crow-Hassan including horseback riding, canoeing on the scenic Crow River, or even staying the night in one of the park's campgrounds, the simplest way to enjoy it by foot.The park is known for its prairie, so if you're visiting for the first time, that is a good ...

Named after a legendary Native American princess, Minnehaha Creek cascades over a cliff in these dramatic falls just minutes from the downtowns of both Minneapolis and St. Paul. A favorite place for summer picnickers, the falls are beautiful all year long. They are strongest in June after the Spring rain, but winter transforms the falls into an icy tower. For hikers or snowshoers, take the sta...

Built in the 1930's by the Works Progress Administration, Lake Bronson was originally designed to be a major tourist attraction for the region. Due to lack of funding, most of the planned projects were never completed and the park has faded into obscurity. However, it still offers some of the best prairie hiking in the area and is one of only places in the United States you can experience aspen...

Whitewater State Park is at the cusp of bluff country, straddling the Whitewater River, a small tributary of the Mississippi. Spring and Autumn are the best times to visit. In Spring you'll hit wildflower season when the forest glades in the depths of the valley folds are literally carpeted with flowers. It's like wading through a sea of white and yellow and violet. Get a wildflower guide and h...

Amnicon Falls State Park, as its name suggests, has a waterfall as its central feature. Amnicon is a small and developed park and the biggest attraction is the covered bridge connecting the main park to a small river island.Do the main loop trail beginning at the covered bridge. You'll be rewarded with great views of the cascades and craggy banks as well as open pine and cedar forests and unide...

Although there are dozens of ways to do this trip and I encourage you to explore, I suggest one hike that I think does a good job of introducing this areas to new visitors. If you are planning on snowshoeing like I suggest, try to get a day with a good amount of fresh snow (6+ inches). Packed snow works fine and is easier to handle, but it's just not as fun.Almost all of the Minnesota State Par...

Trail's End Campground is located at the very end of the Gunflint Trail, a remote highway that cuts into the heart of the Minnesota Northwoods. Catch the Gunflint Trail in Grand Marais along Highway 61 on the North Shore of Lake Superior. From Grand Marais, you'll wind your way sixty miles along the beautiful wilderness road, a trip that takes about an hour and a half. The campground, which is ...

If you are into extreme sports, ski jumping is definitely something you should try. Suicide Bowl (don't let the name put you off) outside of Marquette, MI is one of the oldest and most established ski jumping clubs in the country and a perfect place to either get started or hone your skills.  Before you go: Contact the Ishpeming Ski Club to set up a time to go to Suicide Bowl. There isn't open ...

The easy 2.4 mile hike follows the route of the Dakota Valley trail. Beginning at the swimming beach, located at the very bottom of the Redwood River Valley, the trail slowly climbs, winding its way through all of the different ecosystems the park has to offer. It summits at an overlook where you can see the river and much of the valley, a view best seen during peak fall color season.For most o...

This moderate hike takes you to the highest point in Minnesota, at all of 2,301 ft in elevation. The first part of the hike, which runs along Whale Lake, is a gentle upwards climb. You gain most of the hike's elevation in the final push to the top, within the last mile of the hike. Enjoy the view, rest up, and head back down the trail.Don't forget to get a day permit at the parking lot.

Begin your hike behind the Visitor's Center and follow the path to the left towards the Prairie Loop Trail. The path quickly breaks out of the woods into an open prairie, looping through the tall grasses and burr oaks. The pond with its boardwalk is a great place to see Canada Geese, Tundra Swans, and different ducks - ask at the visitor's center and they may give you seeds to feed the birds. T...

It is 3.5 miles long one-way from the visitors center (3815 American Blvd. East 55425) to Cedar Ave. Bridge. Whether because of the foreword thinking early Minnesota legislators or simply because of the inhospitality of nature, most of the riverfront on both the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers throughout the Twin Cities is undeveloped, protected for the survival and enjoyment of people and ani...

The Noquemenon Trail Network in Marquette, MI puts on a series of races the last weekend of January every year featuring a 50k ski race, skijoring races, and fat tire bike races. Among the shortest of these is the Noquemenon Snowshoe 5k. If you are interested in getting a feel for snowshoe running or winter race culture, this is a great one to sign up for.  The race begins at the Forestville Pa...

The Noquemenon Trail Network (NTN) is an extensive network of non-motorized trails in and around Marquette, MI and has become a popular site for winter fat tire biking. If you haven't fat tire biked before, the benefit of the nearly four inch wide tires is that it gives you incredible traction on ice and loose surfaces like snow or sand, making mountain biking a four season sport.  If you don't...

This loop takes you from the Franklin Bridge to the Washington Avenue Bridge, crossing through campus, in between. Start at the Franklin Bridge (southeast end), walk down the stairs, and then take the elevated walkaway across the river, heading north.The middle section of the loop takes you past the University of Minnesota boathouse, as well as the Weisman Art Museum (free admission).Head acros...

Begin your hike at the Noquemenon South Trailhead and follow the markings for the Morgan Creek Falls loop. You will immediately have to cross Hwy 553 to get to the main trail. From there, you have two options to reach the falls. The first and more scenic is the marked Noquemenon trail (look for blue blazes on the trees). This trail is very circuitous, winding back and forth along the hills and ...

The locals will tell you that if you go one place in Marquette, MI, it needs to be Black Rocks Cove. A favorite cliff jumping site in the summer, the cove is just as worth visiting in the winter in order to see the impacts of Lake Superior's winter storms on the landscape like the ice blasted trees and the undulating pancake ice in the cove.  While much of the main road that loops around Presqu...

An easy hour along the North Shore Scenic Byway from Duluth, Tettagouche State Park is a rugged, 10,000 acre park on Lake Superior. Although the interior of the park offers miles of trails to waterfalls and mountain tops, the best way to see the coast is to take the easy hike to Shovel Point. Begin your hike behind the visitor's center following the signs for the Hiking Club trail. The trail he...

A labyrinth of gullies, hoodoos, and ravines, Badlands National Park in western South Dakota is a welcome break from the unrelenting flatness of the surrounding prairie. The remote park is also a paradise for backcountry hikers and campers who really want to escape the crowds and explore wilderness far from trails and roads. With a famously dark night sky perfect for stargazing, easy to see wil...