Joe WhitsonExplorer

Every Autumn, Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota designates some of it's best roads as official Fall Color Routes. These roads go deep into the forest, far from towns and cell phone reception to show off the best Minnesota has to offer. Peak season is short, only a week or two sometime between mid-September and mid-October, so plan ahead and don't miss your opportunity.Driving all t...

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 ...

Sugarloaf Mountain is one of the most popular hikes in the Marquette area. The easy hike quickly takes you up to clear views of Lake Superior and is perfect for a winter afternoon. Begin your hike at the trailhead off of Big Bay Road north of Marquette. There are two routes to the top - labeled easy and difficult. Both are easy, the difference is whether you prefer trails or stairs. The easy ro...

Imagine you have been driving for hours through North Dakota. The landscape is uncompromisingly flat and there isn't so much as a tree to obscure the horizon in any direction. Then, with no warning, the topography transforms. The prairie around you crumbles, dropping down into a series of immense ravines, gullies, and hills. What was endless monochromatic grassland becomes a multihued dreamscap...

This beautiful, green hike takes you along Beaver Creek, as it winds through a lush gorge within the bluffs. Park at the entrance to Beaver Creek Valley State Park, where the park ranger can direct you to the trailhead. Here is a helpful map of the park.

Situated on top of a series of craggy bluffs, Interstate State Park is a small park that offers amazing views of the St. Croix River gorge. With a pine forest ecosystem usually only found a hundred miles north of the park, the lichen encrusted rocks and spring wildflowers offer the Northwoods experience without the long drive. Suggested Hike A 3 mile trail runs from the main park entrance (the...

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...

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...

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 uni...

Halfway between Schroeder and Grand Marais, Cascade is usually little more than a pit stop on a longer trip. Since the main cascades are just a quarter mile from the highway, there is usually little incentive to further explore the 5300 acre park. However, those who take the time to wander around are rewarded by one of the most beautiful parks on the North Shore, if not the entire state.The par...

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...

This easily accessible loop takes you on a moderate walk around Lake Harriet, a popular recreational site for cyclers, walkers, runners, and families. You can cycle this trail in the clockwise direction, or opt to walk. Be sure to explore the surrounding park and gardens, afterwards!

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...

The Lookout Point Loop actually combines parts of three trails to bring you through some of Wind Cave's best prairieland. Begin at the trailhead for Centennial and Lookout Point off of Hwy 87 and take Lookout Point trail east to Beaver Creek. At Beaver Creek, you'll catch the Highland Creek Trail and follow that until you hit Centennial Trail. You'll loop back through Reaves Gulch and Curley Ca...

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...

John A. Latsh State Park is directly off of Hwy. 61 a few miles north of Winona. Begin your hike at the parking lot, following the signs for the Riverview Trail. The hike itself is a short, but steep climb on a series of steps up the side of the Mt. Charity Bluff. Winding through verdant valley forest, thick with ferns and wildflowers, the stairs eventually emerge onto a bluffland prairie scatt...

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...

Grasslands National Park is Canada's only prairie national park and is the perfect place to dive into a true prairie wilderness. This park is mostly backcountry, but taking the Eco-Tour route through the western section will allow you to sample the park and give you easy access to a number of short, interpretive trails.Begin your drive in the tiny town of Val Marie, SK. Take Hwy 18 west to the ...

Isle Royale National Park consists of Isle Royale, a fifty mile long and nine mile wide island in Lake Superior, and about 45 smaller islands around (and within) it. Remote and undeveloped, the shores can be visited by watercraft, but the only way to see the interior is to walk across it. Because the island has only one large predator population (wolves) and one large prey population (moose), i...

Great River Bluffs State Park follows a series of impressive bluffs along the Mississippi River just south of Winona. For those of you who think Minnesota is as flat as a pancake (and I'm not saying there aren't places in the state that are), Great River Bluffs will be a surprise. King's and Queen's Bluff are half hills, gradually rising from the valley only to end in a 500 ft cliff along the r...