Our Trip Up North: Hiking Trail Recs + What I Wore While Hiking

What I Wore:

The girls sweaters are from Goumi and you can use code KARINEMILY for 15% your order

When I tell you that there is an actual Heaven on earth, I am not lying to you. That place is the North Shore of Minnesota. Maybe you think I’m exaggerating, but it is truly an oasis of peaceful nature that while, yes, has been touched by tourism, has maintained its wildness in such a way that when you visit you feel as in you are TRULY removing yourself from the distractions of this world.

I eagerly await our annual trip every year, and always wish they could last just a little bit longer. We always tent camp, I’d say it’s mostly for the kids, but we’ve found a campsite that has sites right on Lake Superior so I’ll willingly endure a stiff back in favor of that view for a few days.

Last year when we took our annual trek up Highway 1, I did a pretty detailed blog post about where we go most years, what fudge we buy on repeat, where to get the best fresh Lake Superior fish dinner, etc. So I will direct you to that post here…

However this year we did branch out a bit and we tried two new spots that ended up being so incredibly magical that we will be adding them to our repeat location list.

The first was Black Beach in Silver Bay, MN which was so unbelievable gorgeous! Of course, it was a black beach which made it beautiful, but it was a secluded little cove surrounded by rock outcroppings that the were breathtaking. Plus the kids had a fun time climbing around on them. We’ll definitely revisit this beach again – just a tip if you do visit though: make sure to drive to the second parking area otherwise you’ll miss the best views.

The second spot was Illgen Falls near Illgen City. This spot had a short hike down to the waterfalls, and the views were spectacular. But on top of the views, at the top of the falls there were lots of little rock pools for the kids to play around in. We spent at least an hour here just playing around on the rocks and watching the craw dad’s swim around in the rock pools… and obviously enjoying the view of the huge waterfall splashing down in front of us.

Overall this was a great trip, and we loved most moments of it… there was a pretty epic throw up moment in the tent on the last moment after a certain child indulged in a little too much fudge, but for the most part these trips just keep getting better and better and I’m really thankful for that considering the struggles we’ve had in the past.

Well I know this was a very regionally specific post in terms of helpful tips, but I hope you enjoyed the photos nonetheless. 😊

Until next time,

Karin

Leave a Comment

2 Comments

  1. 7.20.23
    Bethany Borgschatz said:

    Love it! Thank you! We are headed up on Saturday and plan to visit at least four state parks and the black beach. Hoping to impress my teenagers! 😉

    • 7.21.23
      Karin said:

      It’s definitely a lot harder to impress teenagers I’ll admit, but I’ll bet they love it!

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