61 Gems on Highway 61: Your Guide to Minnesota's North Shore, from Well-Known Attractions to Best-Kept Secrets

by William Mayo, Kathryn Mayo

Overview

Discover the North Shore you haven’t seen.

Highway 61, from Duluth, Minnesota, to the Canadian border, is peppered with tourist hotspots that Minnesotans love. But even the most devout North Shore traveler doesn’t know Lake Superior like William and Kathryn Mayo do. These explorers and residents of the region outline the best sites that you may not know about in this revised and updated edition of the popular guide to the best sites and experiences along one of the state’s most scenic roads. The entertaining book spotlights 61 of the North Shore’s hidden treasures and tourist favorites, offering complete site details and need-to-know information, such as driving directions, accessibility, and fun facts. Full-color photographs and maps further enhance the usefulness of this handy guidebook, so get 61 Gems on Highway 61 for your next North Shore adventure. With this book in hand, you’ll experience the beautiful region in a whole new way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781591938545
Publisher:	Adventure Publications, Incorporated
Publication date:	07/01/2018
Edition description:	2nd Revised ed.
Pages:	136
Sales rank:	761,180
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

William Mayo is a former Duluth resident and has lived in Two Harbors, Minnesota, for the last 23 years. Long a part of the poetry scene of the North Shore and a former Artist-in-Residence for Isle Royale National Park, he has published work in National Geographic Traveler, Poets Who Haven’t Moved to St. Paul, and Zenith City Arts. He also holds an AAS Degree in Human Services and is an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Pillager Band. His love of the North Shore came early, while driving along old Highway 61 with his parents as a boy. Whether in a canoe, diving, or walking the beach, he is always awe-inspired by the eternal mystery of the Lake.

A Minnesota native and longtime visitor to the North Shore, Kathryn Mayo now resides within view of Lake Superior. Frequent trips “Up North” finally gave over to permanent residence, and Kate has drawn on her previous perspective as a visitor to the area in the compilation of these narratives. She spent most of her career in the role of counselor and is a licensed therapist and addictions counselor with an MA in counseling psychology.

Read an Excerpt

Gem 4: Stoney Point

How to Get There: On Old 61, travel about 8 miles from the Old Pump House at Lakewood. Turn right off of Old 61 onto Stoney Point Drive. This gravel road travels about 1 mile before rejoining Highway 61. There are numerous spots where there is enough room on the shoulder to park safely.

From Highway 61 Expressway, head north of Duluth for about 10 miles. Turn right at Alseth Road and follow it for about 1 mile all the way to Stoney Point Drive.

Accessibility: This is a great place to view the lake, and because it’s so accessible by car, anyone can pull off to the side of the road and get an eyeful without even getting out. The road also offers a nice place to take a stroll to stretch your legs, and it is relatively even and flat. Getting down to the water’s edge requires some scrambling on rocks, so use caution.

Cool Things to Know: Well known by locals as a great place to head to when the weather is roaring out of the northeast, this is an ideal spot for watching the Lake in her wild moods. When waves are crashing in a good blow, the spray can sometimes fly up over the road, giving you a safe front-row seat to the Lake at her most tempestuous.

The lay of the land, angle of the shore, and power of Lake Superior make this a favorite spot of surfers who say it rivals some of the best surfing locales in the world. A good day for surfing can happen even in mid-winter, and, if you are lucky, you’ll see many brave souls riding the waves here in full wetsuits. In good weather, you can explore the expanse of black basalt lava flow that is marked by clear striations and gouges left behind by the glaciers about 12,000 years ago.

Table of Contents

Site List

1. Glensheen
2. Brighton Beach
3. Lakewood Pumphouse
4. Stoney Point
5. Buchanan
6. Pierre
7. Edna G
8. 3-Spot
9. Two Harbors Lighthouse
10. Two Harbors Breakwall
11. Lighthouse Point Trail
12. Whisper/Giants
13. Burlington
14. Flood Bay
15. Kelsey Beach
16. Silver Creek Cliff Trail
17. Wolf Rock
18. Gooseberry Falls
19. Dire Wolf
20. Belle P. Cross Anchor
21. Gitchi-Gami State Trail at Twin Point
22. Iona’s Beach
23. Split Rock Falls
24. Madeira Pullout
25. Crazy Bay
26. Split Rock Lighthouse
27. John Beargrease
28. Silver Bay Marina
29. Rocky Taconite
30. Bean and Bear Lakes
31. Black Beach
32. Palisade Head
33. Shovel Pt. Trail at Tettegouche State Park
34. Tettegouche Camp
35. Crystal Beach
36. Illgen Falls
37. Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center
38. Sugarloaf Cove
39. Taconite Harbor
40. Father Baraga’s Cross
41. Cross River Heritage Center
42. Temperance River, Cauldron Trail
43. North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum
44. Butterwort Cliffs Scientific Natural Area
45. Cutface Creek Pullout at Good Harbor Bay
46. Grand Marais Breakwall
47. Chippewa City
48. Devil Track River Stonehouse
49. Kadunce Creek & Trail
50. Paradise Beach at Colvill
51. Devil’s Kettle
52. Naniboujou Lodge
53. Hovland Dock
54. Two Fish House Beach
55. Hollow Rock Resort
56. Mineral Center
57. Grand Portage Marina/Campground
58. Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center
59. Grand Portage National Monument
60. Mount Josephine
61. High Falls of Pigeon River