Ever since the glaciers retreated, people have been traveling along the northwest shore of Lake Superior. Today, some travelers still paddle or boat the shore, but most drive by taking Minnesota State Highway 61. The highway officially runs 150.321 miles from a junction with I-35 and 26^th Avenue East in Duluth to its northern terminus at the Pigeon River Bridge over the international border between the United States and Canada.

Early Routes

From the 1600s through the mid-1800s, Indigenous, French, British, and American peoples paddled the northwest shore of Superior in the fur trade. In 1854, Anishinaabe people ceded the area to the United States.

By 1855, the fur trade in the Lake Superior region was beginning to decline, and the Soo Locks opened. For the first time, Lake Superior was opened to shipping travel with other Great Lakes. Since the mid-1600s, Lake Superior had been connected to economies around the globe through the fur trade, but the opening of the Soo Locks expanded these international connections since boats larger than canoes could now easily enter the watershed.

After the locks opened, steamboats arrived at local ports, and logging and mining industries grew. In the western part of the lake, Duluth became a significant port and a base for visitors to charter local boats to take them up the shore to camps where they hunted, fished, and explored what they considered to be “wilderness.” In reality, it was (and continues to be) the homelands of Anishinaabe peoples who had stewarded the land for generations.

When the lake was frozen or inhospitable to travel by water, the only other route was a footpath that generally followed the coast. Gradually, throughout the 19th century, this footpath grew into a sled dog road and then a wagon road. Eventually, this road became Minnesota Highway 61.

John Beargrease, an Anishinaabe man, was born near Beaver Bay and moved to Chippewa City (which was a community of mainly citizens of Grand Portage Anishinaabe several miles northwest of Grand Marais). Beargrease was influential in the road’s development and the modern-day namesake of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.

Beginning in 1879, Beargrease was the mail carrier for the Minnesota North Shore. With his sons, they brought over 700 pounds of mail and packages each trip from Superior, WI, to Grand Marais, MN. In the summer, they hiked along the shore, sailed, or rowed a boat. In the winter, they made the trek by dog sled. Along with the mail, Beargrease was also a vital source of news and weather to communities.

John Beargrease made his last mail runs in 1899 when Lake Shore Road was completed between Two Harbors and Grand Marais. From this point on, the mail arrived by stagecoach.

Building a Highway, Connecting Communities

By the 1910s, North Shore visitors began to take their newly acquired automobiles on the road. In 1921, construction began to upgrade the road and extend it from Duluth to the Pigeon River.  By the 1940s, the road had transitioned from dirt and gravel to pavement. The road contributed to the growing population and expansion of industries, including tourism, along the Minnesota North Shore.

The northernmost section, from Hovland to the Pigeon River, originally ran inland, bypassing the Grand Portage Anishinaabe Nation. Remnants of the original border crossing, known as the Outlaw Bridge, are still evident on both sides of the border.

Further modifications were made in the 1960s. In 1963, the road between Duluth and the Canadian border was commissioned as part of U.S. Highway 61 (whose southern terminus is in New Orleans). A four-lane express was also built inland of the original route that stretches for twenty-one miles between Duluth and Two Harbors. The original route remains open, allowing travelers to take the scenic route or the expressway. To this day, the remainder of the highway is a two-lane road with intermittent passing lanes.

After Interstate 35 was completed in the 1960s, U.S. Highway 61 was co-signed with I-35. In 1991, the federal highway was decommissioned from the Canadian border to its present-day junction with I-35 near Forest Lake, Minnesota. The section of US 61 north of Duluth was then redesignated as Minnesota State Highway 61.

Building a Highway, Bypassing a Cliff

Until 1994, motorists traveled directly along the edge of Silver Creek Cliff northeast of Two Harbors. Boulders and wooden guardrails were the only separation between the vehicles and a long fall into the lake. Frequent precipitation, seasonal freeze-thaw cycles, and wave erosion were constant issues for the highway in this section.

In the 1990s, The Minnesota Department of Transportation decided to address these challenges by creating a tunnel through Silver Creek Cliff that would bypass the cliff. They used modern tunnel-building techniques that had been used to build the nearby Lafayette Tunnel in 1991.

On July 29, 1994, the Silver Creek Tunnel opened with a celebration, including live music. A stream of classic cars was the first vehicle through the tunnel.

Highway 61 has been part of road trips my whole life. As a child, I remember heading south to Duluth or Minneapolis from Thunder Bay and waiting in our minivan in a line of vehicles surrounded by orange cones as Mn/DOT workers built the new tunnel.

Interestingly, I remember the construction wait times more than I remember the views from the original route! I do remember the excitement of getting to drive through the tunnel for the very first time. From that point on, going through the tunnel was always a highlight of the road trip.

Building a Highway, Creating Isolation

Throughout the Lake Superior watershed, the construction of highways has impacted the growth and decline of communities.

Built environments, a form of material culture that includes highways and other infrastructure, shape the character and health of communities. Highways are connectors, but they can also lead to isolation. Throughout the watershed, communities whose downtowns are off of the main highways that make up the Lake Superior Circle Tour–like Ontonagon and L’Anse in Michigan and Wawa and Red Rock in Ontario, need to be creative to divert tourism dollars into their downtowns.

But more than economic impacts, the development of highways also impacts families and communities on a personal level. Staci Lola Drouillard, a descendant of Grand Portage Anishinaabe Nation and families from Chippewa City explains:

“Between 1920 and 1920, the trail once used by [John] Beargrease had become an expansive, scenic highway connecting Duluth to the Canadian border. What began as a narrow path through the woods then became a trail for dogsleds and horses. For years after that, the thoroughfare was only able to accommodate horse-driven coaches.

By the 1920s, Model Ts were able to make the trip, and soon after that, what was then a craggy, gravel road became a two-lane paved artery suitable for all manner of cars trucks, and buses. The construction of this road, Highway 61, effectively cut Chippewa City and east Grand Marais in two, separating the church from the cemetery and forcing the destruction of many of the community’s homes and community gathering places.” (Walking the Old Road, 257-8)

Being able to understand how these impacts continue to effect communities is one of the reasons to learn the history of highways and other forms of infrastructure.

Minnesota Highway 61 Today

Visitors who want to appreciate Silver Creek Tunnel to admire the workmanship or imagine what it was like to drive along the edge of Silver Creek cliff can stop at the wayside on the north end of tunnel. After parking, take a short walk southwest along the paved Gichigami Trail (which is also open to bicycles).

Within about a quarter of a mile, you will reach the lookout, which features expansive views and educational signs. The boulders and guardrails between the trail and lake are similar to what protected motorists from the cliffs edge before the tunnel was built.

Much like in the early 1900s, the highway continues to play an important role in the economic industries of the region, including tourism and mining.  Shifting the highway through a tunnel has also created a draw for rock climbers, offering them another spot along the Minnesota North Shore to hone their skills. Today, there are numerous state parks featuring stunning waterfalls (like High Falls), state natural areas (including Sugarloaf Cove), and scenic wayside rest areas along Minnesota Highway 61. They all offer beautiful scenery and opportunities to delve more into the region’s geologic, environmental, and sociocultural histories.

Today, travelers will also see evidence of the role of mining in the past and present, including the Northshore Mining Company (owned by Cleveland Cliffs) in Silver Bay and the coal-powered plant in Taconite Harbor that was officially retired in March 2023. Visitors can learn more about Taconite Harbor at the Cross River Heritage Center in Schroeder, Minnesota.

These juxtaposing images of natural scenery and extractive industries along Highway 61 reflect the multifaceted forces that have shaped the history of the Minnesota North Shore and the whole Lake Superior region since the signing of land cession treaties in the mid-nineteenth century.

References

Signs and historic markers along MN Highway 61 were influential in this post.

To learn more about Chippewa City or John Beargrease, I suggest Staci Lola Drouillard, Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe, (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2019).

In the Anishinaabe (or Ojibwe) language the island is known as, Mooniingwanekaaning. The island is the ancestral homeland of Lake Superior Anishinaabe and it was ceded to the United States by the Treaty of La Pointe in 1842 (negotiated and signed on the island, just like the subsequent treaty in 1854).

The Madeline Island Museum was first opened in 1958 by Bella and Leo Capser, who had been long-time residents of the island. The museum is located on the former site of the American Fur Company. A decade later, it was transferred to the Wisconsin Historical Society, which continues to manage the site. In the 1990s, the main building of the museum was constructed.

Today, Madeline Island Museum consists of the main building which houses a gift shop, a theater, and several exhibit spaces, including the main exhibit space, where Passage is currently displayed. This building is connected to historic buildings of the American Fur Company, including their warehouse.

“Passages: Ojibwe Migration to the Place Where the Food Grows on the Water”

“Passages” debuted when the Madeline Island Museum open in May of 2024.

Passages features a mix of text, historic photos, maps, historic petitions and treaties, displayed on the outside wall of the exhibit room. Moving clockwise around the room from the opening up panels, visitors learn about Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) perspectives on the Apostle Islands and surrounding region, their migration story to the region, Chief Buffalo’s 1852 journey to Washington after the Sandy Lake Tragedy, the Oshcabawis Pictograph, and the Treaty of La Pointe in 1854.

The opening panel from the “Passages” exhibit and another panel discussing the significance of the Apostle Islands.

Overall, the exhibit tells engaging, interconnected stories that will deepen visitors’ sense of place for Madeline Island, the Apostle Islands, and the Chequamegon Bay region. The panels frequently incorporate ojibwemowin (the Ojibwe language) and quotations from Anishinaabe citizens throughout the western Lake Superior watershed. Screen shares stories and knowledge from Anishinaabe citizens of Bad River and Red Cliff, and in one corner, a film screens the award-winning documentary Bad River (with a bench so visitors who want to take in part of the film are welcome to take a break).

Panels highlighting the voices from citizens of the Bad River and Red Cliff Anishinaabe Nations.

It’s no secret that I love maps, and the maps were one aspect of the exhibit that I particularly enjoyed. Throughout the exhibit, maps are used to situate the stories and narratives. Historic maps are also included in the panels. These maps are interpreted through Anishinaabe perspectives, illustrating Anishinaabe people’s environmental knowledge that has been passed on through generations.

Two panels featuring maps to show the importance of place.

“Passages” also does an excellent job displaying and interpreting the Oshcabawis Pictograph and panels displaying the full text of the Treaty of La Pointe from 1854. The panel also highlights and enlarges particularly significant passages of the treaty, like Article 2 which discusses where Anishinaabe people’s reservations in the western Lake Superior watershed will be located. This is one of the most effective displays of a treaty I’ve seen in a museum.

Potential Places for Expansion

The only place where I feel “Passages” could benefit from more context is the big jump from the Anishinaabe migration to Madeline Island to the Sandy Lake Tragedy. I know space (and time and budget) are always the realistic limitations of exhibits. In an imaginary world with unlimited exhibit space and resources, I’d love to see a panel on relationships between Anishinaabe people and new arrivals working in the fur trade (French, British, Americans, etc.) to help fill this gap.

This could also be a place to mention the island’s namesake, Madeline Cadotte (usually spelled as Ikwezewe in the Fiero double vowel orthography and is commonly spelled as Equaysayway in primary sources). Her life and her family’s lives are an example of how involvement in the fur trade led to many passages throughout the Great Lakes for Anishinaabe and other Indigenous peoples.

The fur trade also connects to the Sandy Lake Tragedy. Brenda Child (Red Lake) and other historians have shown how the mid-19^th century also corresponds with a demographic shift in (American territory) of the western Lake Superior watershed. Until this point, since European arrival in the area, Anishinaabe peoples were the demographic majority. However, from the mid-1800s on, Euro-Americans become the demographic majority.

Material Culture That Connects Past and Present

To me, the highlight of “Passages” is the stunning display of three canoes in the center of the room. They are a striking visual representation of the theme “Passages” and make clear connections between the knowledge and craftsmanship of Indigenous peoples in the Apostle Islands region across generations.

The center canoe is a dugout canoe made from white pine. Originally found on Madeline Island, it is part of the museum’s collection and is usually displayed in the old museum building. Another canoe is a birch bark canoe with a cedar bark sail constructed by the Great Lakes Lifeways Institute in 2023 constructed using traditional methods. The other is a dugout canoe made from white pine from the Red Lake Tribal Nation constructed in 2022 by the Great Lakes Lifeways Institute.

Together, the three canoes are an excellent example of how, despite political and environmental challenges, Indigenous peoples continue to adapt the methods used for generations so that these traditions endure into the present day.

This is the power of material culture—it serves a concrete connection across time and space.

“Passages” will probably also be on display at the Madeline Island Museum next year, but there may be additions or other changes, so I recommend visiting this fall if possible. I particularly recommend a visit if you live in the Chequamegon Bay area or a nearby region. While it is important for tourists to develop a deeper sense of place by learning Anishinaabe histories of the region, it is even more important for people who live on ceded territory in the region.

Take Your Own Journey to View Passages!

I’ve enjoyed all the rotating exhibits at the Madeline Island Museum since 2017, and “Passages” is definitely a favorite. Visitors can view “Passages” at the Madeline Island Museum till the end of the season.

The Madeline Island Museum is currently open 10 am to 5 pm from Wednesday to Sunday until October 19. Visitors must take the ferry from Bayfield (or their own boat) to get to the museum. The museum is about a block away from the ferry docks on the island, so if it’s the main reason for your visit, you don’t need to take a vehicle. However, if you want to explore Big Bay Town Park or Big Bay State Park after visiting the museum, you should take a vehicle (or bike).

If you are new to making trips to Madeline Island, familiarize yourself with the ferry schedule and what businesses are open and what their hours are. Remember, La Pointe is a small town, and while a lot of tourists visit, it has more limited amenities than what some tourists may be used to. If you prepare in advance, you are more likely to enjoy your trip!

Further References

To learn more about Anishinaabe perspectives on the Chequamegon Bay, listen to Mike Wiggins (the director the Madeline Island Museum) talk for the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Winter Storytelling series in 2023.

To learn more about Madeline Cadotte and the demographic changes in the western Lake Superior region in the mid-19^th century, check out Brenda Child’s book Holding Our World Together: Ojibwe Women and the Survival of Community (New York: Penguin Books, 2013).

Holding Our World Together: Ojibwe Women and the Survival of Community (Penguin Library of American Indian History)

• Child, Brenda J. (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 240 Pages - 01/29/2013 (Publication Date) - Penguin Books (Publisher)

$15.00

Buy on Amazon

To learn more about the treaty history of northwestern Wisconsin, check out Erik Redix’s book Erik Redix, The Murder of Joe White: Ojibwe Leadership and Colonialism in Wisconsin, (Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2014).

Sale

The Murder of Joe White: Ojibwe Leadership and Colonialism in Wisconsin (American Indian Studies)

• Redix, Erik M. (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 294 Pages - 09/01/2014 (Publication Date) - Michigan State University Press (Publisher)

$30.02

Buy on Amazon

Sugarloaf Cove is named after the iconic rock formation on the rock point. The point and shoreline is a 10.3 acre State Natural Area. In 1992, the Sugarloaf was found to protect the area. In 1998, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources transferred the 24 acres around the SNA to the organization. In 2005, the organization renamed itself as Sugarloaf: The Northshore Stewards Association.  

Today, thanks to the hard work of Sugarloaf: The Northshore Stewards Association, Sugarloaf Cove is protected and accessible to the public. Sugarloaf Cove has a gravel parking lot, an Interpretative Center, short hiking trails, and a lovely section of shoreline, including the iconic Sugarloaf rock formation.

Regardless of how you spend your time at Sugarloaf Cove, you have plenty of opportunities to take in the rich history—learning how the landscape has changed over time and appreciating its beauty in the present.

Sugarloaf Cove’s History

Sugarloaf Cove is the only significant natural harbor between Two Harbors and Grand Marais along the Minnesota North Shore.

Like other parts of the Lake Superior watershed, Indigenous peoples lived on the Minnesota North Shore for thousands of years. By the mid-seventeenth century, French fur traders and missionaries arrived in the Lake Superior region. By that time, Anishinaabe peoples (especially the groups that became known as Ojibwe people) were the demographic majority in the region. For approximately two centuries, Anishinaabe peoples formed relationships with French, British, and (eventually) American fur traders.

By the mid-nineteenth century, settlers on both sides of the border in the northern Great Lakes became interested in resources on Anishinaabe land, leading to the negotiations of land cession treaties. In 1854, at La Pointe on Madeline Island (Wisconsin), Anishinaabe peoples and American officials negotiated a treaty that ceded the iron-rich Minnesota North shore to the United States. The treaty was negotiated in the wake of the Sandy Lake Tragedy in 1850, which was an attempt by Americans to remove Anishinaabe people west of the Lake Superior watershed, which ultimately failed but led to a devastating loss of life.

The Treaty of La Pointe in 1854 legally opened the ceded territory to white settlement. Like other areas of the Minnesota North Shore, Sugarloaf Cove was now open to mining and logging.

In 1899, John Gunderson’s Norwegian family homesteaded at Sugarloaf Cove. John’s son owned the property from 1919 to 1939. The property had several owners from 1940 to 1943 until Consolidated Papers purchased the land around Sugarloaf Cove.

From 1943 to 1971, Consolidated Papers, Inc. used Sugarloaf Cove to store pulpwood logs during the winter. During the spring and summer, tugboats rafted the logs across Lake Superior to the papermills in Ashland, Wisconsin.

Consolidated Papers, Inc. maintained at least 14 buildings at Sugarloaf Cove, including two homes, an office with living quarters for two foresters and a clerk, and support facilities for loggers and rafters. Five underground fuel tanks, four wells, and a large maintenance garage also existed.

The State of Minnesota acquired Sugarloaf Cove in 1988, and it became a Scientific Natural Area in 1992. It expanded in 1996.

Seeing History Today: Through the Woods

Today, visitors can see many aspects of the logging history along the trails and shoreline at Sugarloaf Cove. The main trail is a loop that starts at the parking lot.

Hiking the trail in a clockwise direction leads you through a Norway Pine plantation planted in the decade following the closure of Consolidated Papers in 1971.

Shortly down the trail, you see old logs off to the side. These were part of the chute that carried pulpwood from the Upper Landing to the lake: the logs formed the sides of the chute, and thick metal cables were attached to notches in the logs to keep them in place. These logs have been lying in their place since Consolidate Paper closed, and they are slowly decaying and becoming part of the soil. When the log chute was in use, the area at the Upper Landing where the trail goes would have been cleared and opened—not like the forested terrain today.

Seeing History Today: Along the Lake

After walking through an alder thicket, you come to a view of the lake and can head down a spur trail to the ancient bedrock along the lake. The bedrock is basalt, a type of rock created by lava flows when the Midcontinental Rift was pulling apart 1.1 billion years ago. Six different lava flows are visible along certain points of the shore.

From the lookout, you can see Sugarloaf Cove. You can also see rings that were used to secure log booms. Log booms are barriers that hold together rafts of logs. Booms were used to hold together rafts of logs, and the booms were anchored to the rings on the rocky shores. Sugarloaf Cove was desirable because it is the only significant natural harbor that created a protected area to store the log rafts.

Rafts could be as large as 40 acres. When the booms were filled, the raft was tugged to sawmills  62 miles across the lake in Ashland, Wisconsin. The trips usually took between 72 and 120 hours. Typically, 6-8 trips were made to Ashland each summer.

A bit further down the trail is where the log chute dropped logs from the Upper Landing into the lake. The chute was 80 feet long and about 10 feet wide. There is little evidence of the chute in the present. The rings are the main reminder of the cove’s main purpose in the mid-20th century.

Before you reach cobble beach of the cove, the trail goes by a root cellar. It is the only Consolidated Paper building to survive in the present at Sugarloaf Cove. Consolidated Paper constructed at least fourteen buildings to support its pulpwood rafting operation when it was operating. A garage, office, and warehouse were at the base of this hill, along with the root cellar. While the cellar currently stores tools, its contents were used to cook many meals in the past.

The Cove and Sugarloaf Point

After the cellar, the trail follows a cobble beach. The multicolored cobbles and pebbles are evidence of billions of years of geologic activity. The basalt and rhyolite formed by the Midcontinental Rift are mixed with older rock carried by ice sheets from the northeast and Canada, including 2.7 billion-year-old granite and gneiss.

Sugarloaf Point was originally an island gradually connected to land as wind and waves deposited rocks. The land that connects the point to the shore is known as a tombolo.

The name Sugarloaf Cove comes from the high knob of rock near the tip of the point. In the late nineteenth century, the high knob of rock at the end of the point reminded settlers of the blocks of refined sugar that were molded into the shape of a cone and called sugar loaves.

Like the rocky shore on the mainland of the cove, there are numerous rings from the logging era on Sugarloaf Point. As you stand on the point on a wavy day with waves breaking around the tip and creating a swirl of currents, you can imagine the force the rings endured.

On windy days, the massive rafts of logs would constantly heave and shift in the waves and swells, pulling on the chains that anchored the boom logs to the rings.

I’ve visited the Minnesota North Shore when waves ten to fifteen feet tall crash into the rocky shore, shooting spray up much higher. It certainly wouldn’t be safe to be out on Sugarloaf Point on a day like that! Given everything the rings have been through, its remarkable they are still here.

From the tombolo, the trail continues southwest along the shore until it reaches Sugarloaf Creek. Then, it follows the creek, heading inland toward the Visitor’s Center.

The Tip of the Iceberg

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what you can see at Sugarloaf Cove! There are unique geologic features, including pahoehoe. This ropey formation shows how magma moved as the crust cooled.

Along with the unique geology at Sugarloaf Cove, there are rare lichens and plants, like the liverwort Atlantic Pawwort and Yellow Dot Lichen which are known as Arctic disjuncts since they are usually found in Arctic environments.

The Interpretative Center also offers numerous opportunities for visitors to learn more about Sugarloaf Cove’s geologic, natural, and human history! In the summer, it is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (make sure to check the website for updated hours). It has numerous mini-exhibits, including maps and historic photos, along with mini-exhibits about Consolidated Paper, geology, and animals in the forest. It also has a lovely covered deck and an inside restroom. A naturalist can also answer questions when the Interpretative Center is open.

There is a $5 fee to access Sugarloaf Cove. Or, you can purchase a reasonably priced annual membership!

If you visit Sugarloaf Cove on your trip along the Minnesota North Shore, you won’t regret it!

Sugarloaf Cove Location

9096 MN-61, Schroeder, MN 55613

The Black River Scenic Byway follows Highway 513 north along the Black River in the Ottawa National Forest, north of Ironwood and Bessemer. The mouth of the river empties into Lake Superior at Black River Harbor—the only public access point reachable by vehicle for Lake Superior west of Porcupine Mountains State Park in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

The Ottawa National Forest was created in the 1930s. The Black River Scenic Byway was designated a National Forest Scenic Byway in 1992 for its exceptional scenery and recreational activities. Today, the byway offers opportunities for hiking the North Country, waterfalling, camping, rockhounding, and boating. The approximately 35-mile-long Black River originates from Black River Lake, flows south over numerous waterfalls, and cascades through a forest of hemlock, pine, and hardwoods. The byway, river, and harbor have a rich history.

Nineteenth Century History

Before Europeans or Americans arrived in the region, Anishinaabe (or Ojibwe) and other Indigenous peoples lived along Lake Superior’s south shore. By the early seventeenth century, Anishinaabe people were the main group in the region. They fished at many river mouths along the shore, including the Black River.

The land that eventually became the Ottawa National Forest was ceded to the United States by the Anishinaabe peoples in the Treaty of La Pointe in 1842. Often referred to as “The Copper Treaty,” one of the driving motivations for the United States to gain access to the land to the western half of the south shore of Lake Superior (including the Keweenaw Peninsula) was the rich copper and iron deposits.

In 1845, agents of the War Department completed a survey of copper prospecting along the Black River. The same year, the Chippewa Mining Company began exploration in the area. The Chippewa Mining Company at Chippewa Hill focused on mining copper (the hill was also known as Copper Hill).

The Chippewa Mining Company is representative of the growth occurring throughout the western UP in the mid-nineteenth century. Many mining and logging companies opened. However, most were only profitable briefly, and some were never profitable. Despite the precarious success of mining companies, old-growth forests, particularly white pine (whose wood floated on rivers and waterways), were logged to support the ventures, providing materials for the new communities and mining infrastructure. After the Soo Locks opened in 1855, materials from the UP, like lumber, iron, and copper, could also shipped to growing population hubs in the lower Great Lakes like Milwaukee and Chicago.

Chippewa Hill was attractive to the company owners because the nearby harbor and wharf could allow them to ship the copper throughout Lake Superior. However, like many companies, the Chippewa Hill Mining Company only found small traces of copper and never made a profit.

In 1884, land surveyor William A. Burt surveyed the region. He found a wagon road going from the mouth of the Black River to the Chippewa Mining Company. Two decades later, in 1904, Michigan constructed a wagon road from Bessemer to the mouth of the Black River Harbor. A portion of that road is the current Black River Scenic Byway.

By the late 1800s, a small commercial fishing village formed at the harbor. On the mornings the weather allowed, fishermen headed out onto Superior to set and check nets.  When they weren’t out on the lake, fishermen used the roads to travel to the growing communities that supported the mining industry, like Bessemer and Ironwood. Both towns were platted and incorporated by the 1880s as the Milwaukee and Western Railroad was built in the region.

The creation of a commercial harbor required dredging to ensure there were adequate water levels for fishing boats. Evidence of dredging the harbor is located on the east side of the river. The Ottawa National Forest has a meadow restoration project on the dredge pile, growing native pollinators that tolerate the rocky, coarse ground through which water drains rapidly.

In the past and present, access to water and geology affect how humans use the land. The river, waterfalls, and the beach continue to draw visitors to the area.

The Civilian Conservation Corps

The Black River Scenic Byway region grew significantly in the early twentieth century.

By 1930, the mining and lumber booms in the western UP were on the decline. Economic struggles in the Northwoods were reflected nationally as the United States entered the Great Depression. After Franklin D. Roosevelt’s election, the federal government took on several projects to stimulate the economy, including creating the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933.

Workers from Camp Norrie—the CCC camp in Ironwood—built significant parts of the infrastructure at Black River Harbor that you see in the present, including the 210-foot suspension bridge that spans the river, the pavilion, and a small stone outbuilding. A sawmill was set up on-site to provide the timber needed for the projects.

Construction started on the bridge in 1938 and was completed by 1939. The bridge was rebuilt in 1968 and upgraded in 2009. It features stone supports at each end that illustrate classic CCC masonry. It was also built with steel suspension cables and steel plates. In the present, the bridge plays a key role in the recreation area—connecting the parking lot, boat launch, docks, and picnic area on the west side of the river to the beach area on the east side of the river. The bridge is also part of the North Country National Scenic Trail.

 By the 1950s, the commercial fishing industry at Black River Harbor had ended, and by the 1960s, the largest iron mines in the region had closed. The steel industry switched to focusing on high-grade iron from deep-shaft mines to taconite ore that could be economically mined from open pits. The region’s economy was undergoing major changes.

Along with evidence of the CCC, visitors who take the Black River Scenic Byway to the harbor can also see evidence of the history of commercial fishing. The wooden fishing boat, the Nancy Jean, is on display in the picnic area on the west side of the river. Built in 1913 by the Dan Kidney Boat Factory in De Pere, Wisconsin, the Nancy Jean is a gasoline wooden boat displaying her builder’s fine craftsmanship. She was used as a commercial fishing boat in the 1930s. In 1940, her career shifted to work as a chartered fishing boat until she was abandoned about a decade later.

In 1991, the Ottawa National Forest Service purchased the Nancy Jean for one dollar with the plan to bring her to the harbor and create an accompanying interpretative exhibit. Today, she welcomes visitors—who pass by her on their way to the suspension bridge—reminding them of the harbor’s fishing history.

Black River Scenic Byway Today

Today, tourism is one of the main economic drivers in the region. When driving the Black River Scenic Byway, visitors can stop at Copper Peak for sweeping views or ride mountain bike trails. Most railroad tracks in the region have been converted to ORV and snowmobile trails.

Visitors can explore the five waterfalls (Greater Conglomerate, Potawatomi, Gorge, Sandstone, and Rainbow Falls). At the harbor, they can rock hunt for agates or Yooperlites, swim, launch their own boat, or charter a boat for a half or full-day excursion. They can camp at the nearby national forest campground or book rooms at nearby private lodging. As a sign by the United States Forest Service mentions, the real riches in the area are not copper—they are the harbor, the lakeshore, and the waterfalls.

Black River Harbor Location

GPS coordinates to parking lot entrance:
46.664076, -90.047018

The Black River Scenic Byway is a great area for a day trip or as a base camp to explore the western UP!

TLDR: Both are great.

Geologic Differences Between Pictured Rocks and Apostle Islands

Both areas have striking geology, but there’s also distinct differences. The majority of Apostle Islands is Jacobsville sandstone, which is very old (approx 1 billion years old). Jacobsville sandstone also makes up the bottom layer of Pictured Rocks. But most of the visible sandstone is the much younger Munising formation (approx 500 million years old).

Touring Pictured Rocks and the Apostle Islands by Boat and on Foot

The Pictured Rocks boat cruise is more dramatic than the Apostle Islands. The cliffs are higher, the sandstone colors are more varied, there’s more picturesque rock formations, and there’s more waterfalls. However, you’ll see more evidence of human impact (lighthouses, modern docks and ranger stations, historic fish camps) on the Apostle Islands Tour.

However, if you’re boating/sailing/sea kayaking, there are a lot more options in the Apostle Islands. You can pick routes and launch points based on wind. It can be calm on one side of the Bayfield Peninsula, while there’s significant waves on the other.

Apostle Islands Gallery

Pictured Rocks has higher cliffs and more lakeside waterfalls. Apostle Islands has more sea stacks and caves. This is one of the reasons sea kayaking among the islands is so great. It also makes for awesome boating and sailing.

There are also some really top-notch rivers for paddling (like the Bois Brule, the White River, the Namekagon) and inland wetland areas near the Apostle Islands.

Hiking, Swimming, and Beach-going

The Apostle Islands has several short (less than 5 miles) day hikes along the lake shore. Pictured Rocks is better for backpacking and longer day hikes along the lakeshore. The Chapel-Mosquito Loop hike at Pictured Rocks is often cited as the best hike in Michigan. It’s approximately 10 miles. The Meyer’s Beach Sea Cave hike at the Apostle Islands is like a mini version, and it’s an out-and-back. If you hike the first 2 miles (for a 4 mile round trip hike), you get to see beautiful lakeshore views.

The Apostle Islands has better swimming. You have a wide variety of shallower beach areas on both sides of the peninsula. I think the Apostle Islands area has the best swimming beaches in the Lake Superior region. I find the water temp is often milder than some parts of northern Lake Michigan and Lake Huron that are less protected and more exposed to deep water. Pictured Rocks has the Grand Sable Dunes and the Log Slide. And they’re both epic. Personally they’re my favorite dunes in Michigan (which has by far the best dunes in the whole state).

Pictured Rocks Gallery

Exploring Nearby Towns

Both areas have a range of options for small towns and for lodging from motels to rustic camping. Munising sits at the west end of Pictured Rocks (and is where cruises depart from) and Grand Marais at the east. I prefer Grand Marais for it’s off-the-beaten-track, quirky small town vibes. Munising has a lot more amenities. There’s also a variety of smaller communities inland in the area. I haven’t spent enough time dining in either community in the past couple of years to comment on the dining options. We are usually camping and cooking our own food.

Bayfield is the gateway to the Apostle Islands. It’s got great historic architecture and is the launch point for the cruises and the ferry to Madeline Island. It’s got a lot of locally owned businesses, including 2 amazing independent bookstores and about half a dozen restaurants open in the summer. Washburn, Ashland, Cornucopia, Herbster, and Port Wing are all nearby towns along the Bayfield Peninsula and the Chequamegon Bay. Personally, if you want less touristy vibes, I highly recommend Cornucopia. It’s got a great beach, a really cute marina, and some fun dining options.

South of both are hundreds of miles of national forest lands, including networks of inland lakes, rivers, and wetlands. This provides lots of options for hiking, paddling, and off-roading.

Which to Choose for Your Adventures?

To me, Pictured Rocks is breathtaking and dramatic on a large scale. The sheer cliffs. The stunning sandstone shapes like Miner’s Castle and Chapel Rock. The waterfalls along the lake, including Spray Falls–the most dramatic of them all. The big waves the lake kicks up along that coast. The huge dunes. The highs and lows of backpacking. Coming up for front country camping in May before the crowds and seeing the effects of the winter along sandstone cliffs. Pictured Rocks is what first made me instantly fall in love with the UP and the whole south shore of Lake Superior.

I fell in love with the Apostles more slowly, over time, on a smaller scale. I loved the feel of singing sand between my toes, laid-back days at the beach in mild water, wetlands areas with carnivorous plants like pitcher plants and sundews, the ways the waves carve intricate holes, caves, and arches in the sandstone shore, and the constantly changing and shifting way the river mouths and beaches are resculpted after storms. If you know the place, you see the dramatic change. If you are just passing through, it may seem like just another river mouth and sand beach.

I could never choose just one. I love them both.

Location of Agate Falls

M-28, Trout Creek, MI 49967

History of Agate Falls

The United States acquired legal control of the lands that Ontonagon river flows through by signing the Treaty of La Pointe in 1842 with Ojibwe peoples. The Ontonagon Boulder is another important part of the story about the river and relationships between Ojibwe people and Americans in the region. But that’s a story for another time.

In the decades following the treaty, new industries including mining (copper and iron) and logging developed. During the logging era, the Ontonagon Rive served as a highway transporting logs to the mills at Ontonagon Harbor (present-day Ontonagon, MI). During those years, if you were at Agate Falls, you’d see a parade of logs dropping over the falls. According to the sign on site, original accounts describe the falls as sheer with a bridal veil affect, but through time, logs chipped away at the bedrock producing the stepped falls that we admire in the present. Other accounts describe dynamite being used on the falls to smooth out the log’s journey and make the drop less sheer. By the late 1800s, railroads were replacing rivers as the most common form of transportation. A railroad bridge was created over the falls in 1899.

Agate Falls has a been a tourist attraction for almost a century. In 1935, a resort with cottages and a tavern opened at the falls. In the resort’s early years, there was a staircase with over 125 steps leading down to the falls. By 1955, a motel replaced the cottages. By the early 1970s, the original tavern building had burned and the motel was converted to a bar. I’m really interested in learning more about this history. I’ve just started looking into it, so at this point I don’t have more to share. But if anyone has any information, I’d love to hear it!

From the sign at the rest area:

River of Timber
Agate Falls

During the pine logging era of the late 1800s, the Middle Branch of the Ontonagon River before you was the “highway” to the mills at Ontonagon Harbor. From here you could have watched a seemingly endless parade of logs plunging over the falls. Reportedly, the falls originally had a sheer drop with a bridal veil effect. Some people say that the logs themselves chipped away at the bedrock, producing the steplike falls of today. Others claim dynamite was used to smooth the passage of the logs. Either way, anglers know the base of the falls is a prime spot to catch rainbow and lake trout during their spring spawning migration.

Agate Falls had its beginning as a tourist attraction when a resort with cottages and a tavern opened in 1935. A motel replaced the cottages in 1955 and was converted to a bar after the original tavern burned in the early 1970s. During the early resort years, a series of 125+ steps led to a viewing platform at the base of the falls. The railroad bridge above the falls, completed circa 1899, is now part of a snowmobile and recreational trail system that offers a panoramic view of the river and surrounding forest.

Agate Falls Today

Today, many sections of the Ontonagon are classified as a National Wild and Scenic River, including the upper courses of the East and Middle branches in the Ottawa National Forest, the entire Cisco branch, and the middle section of the West Branch from Cascade Falls to Victoria Reservoir. There is a roadside stop on M-28 near Agate Falls that is maintained by MDOT. It has outhouses and a water pump. There is sign about the history of the falls and a short accessible path to an overlook at the top of the falls. While you can see water running over the edge of the falls, you don’t get a good view of the actual falls.

There are unofficial footpaths that head up to the old railroad bridge, which is now part of an ORV and snowmobile trail system. There are no more stairs to the bottom of the falls. However, there are also several unofficial footpaths leading down to the base of the falls. This is where you get the best view. However, the paths are narrow and steep in portions. We tended to stay to the right (several paths split to the left and had very steep descents) and we slowly meandered are way down to the bottom of the falls.

The base of the fall is a popular fishing spot for rainbow and lake trout during the spring spawning season. There was a mix of anglers and visitors admiring the beauty of the falls when we visited this past June.

If you are visiting Agate Falls, it’s definitely worth it to check out Bond Falls! Other nearby sites include O-kun-de-kun Falls, Old Victoria, the Victoria Dam, Sturgeon Falls, Silver Mountain, and many small waterfalls. Agate Falls is surrounded by the Ottawa National Forest, so there’s no shortage of places to explore.

High Falls History

The drops of High Falls and the smaller Middle Falls are not possible to navigate in a canoe or other watercraft. As a result, Anishinaabe (also known as Ojjibwe) and other Indigenous peoples in the region used a portage trail to bypass the falls. The trail is known as Gichi Onigamiing in the Anishinaabe language and the Grand Portage in English. The trail was later used by French, British, and American fur traders who were headed further west beyond Lake Superior into the interior of the continent.

After land cession treaties in the mid-nineteenth century ceded land to the United States and British Canada, the logging industry grew on both sides of the border. On the Canadian side, white pines were cut by Arrow Lake and sent to Whitefish Lake by a log slide at the western end of the lake. Then the logs would float through Whitefish to the Little Whitefish River, to the Arrow River, and to the Pigeon River, where they would finally enter Lake Superior. Some of these white pine were then floated to present-day Thunder Bay and were used as pilings for the docks at the grain elevators. Logs were also cut in nearby areas and floated down other tributaries of the Pigeon River. When standing on the American side of High Falls today, you can still see remnants of the log flume that was used to drop the logs from the top of High Falls to the bottom.

High Falls Location – Minnesota

9393 MN-61, Grand Portage, MN 55605

High Falls Location – Ontario

7671 Hwy 61, Neebing, ON P7L 0A2, Canada

Getting to High Falls from the US and Canada

If you park at the Visitor’s Center at Grand Portage State Park in Minnesota, it’s approximately a half a mile hike to High Falls along a paved path. The path is accessible and at the end of the path is a wooden ramp that leads to accessible viewing platforms. There’s also a set of stairs to an additional viewpoint.

If you park at the Ontario Travel Information Center (the first building on your right after you cross the border), you can take the High Falls Loop Trail in Pigeon River Provincial Park. It’s about a one and a quarter mile single track hike for the loop.

Regardless of which side of the border you access it, you can appreciate High Falls’ rich history and natural beauty. It’s one of my favorite waterfalls in the Lake Superior watershed and definitely worth a stop if you’re doing the Lake Superior Circle Tour. It’s also worth taking the drive from Grand Marais or Thunder Bay to High Falls, even if you don’t plan on crossing the border.