Kicking Summer Off on the North Shore
There’s something about the first camping trip of summer — the way the air smells fresher, the way your campfire crackles a little louder after months of cold weather, the joy of a new birthday tent. This year, I decided to start the season right: with a weekend escape to Gooseberry Falls State Park and a sunny day trip up to Grand Marais with my youngest and our doggies.
Setting Up Camp at Gooseberry Falls
The drive up the North Shore of Lake Superior is its own kind of therapy — pine forests framing endless blue water, and small towns that smell like smoked fish and fresh donuts. Pulling into Gooseberry Falls State Park, I set up camp under tall pines, the lake just a short walk away.
Gooseberry’s trails are a dream in early summer: the waterfalls are rushing from spring snowmelt, wildflowers dot the paths, and there’s just enough warmth in the air to make you forget winter ever happened. I spent hours wandering the trails, stopping to feel the mist from the falls on my face and listen to the roar of the water.
A Day Trip to Grand Marais
No North Shore trip is complete without a stop in Grand Marais, a harbor town that’s equal parts artsy and outdoorsy. The harbor glistened in the sun as I walked the breakwall out to the lighthouse, the breeze off Lake Superior cool enough to remind me that this is no ordinary lake — it’s an inland sea.
Lunch was fish and chips at a local café, followed by wandering through art galleries and picking up a loaf of still-warm bread from the local bakery for the evening’s campfire. The drive back down the shore was all golden light and calm water — the kind of views you wish you could bottle.
The Perfect Summer Kickoff
Back at Gooseberry that night, we sat by the fire, bread toasting on a stick, and thought: this is what summer is supposed to feel like. The sound of waterfalls in the distance, the smell of pine smoke, and the anticipation of all the adventures still to come.
If this trip was any indication, summer 2025 is going to be a good one.
