A few weeks ago, I set out with the intention of writing an itinerary for the ultimate dog-friendly vacation on the Minnesota North Shore. Turns out, that’s not as easy as I thought.
Not for a lack of writing material, either.
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No, the challenge I ran into was that I couldn’t fit all the outdoor adventures the area had to offer into the measly three days I planned to visit.
Not a bad problem to have.
Every summer, my husband and I visit my mother-in-law at her snowbird summer home in Minocqua, Wisc. During that trip, we like to take a few days to drive up to Lake Superior and see what kind of hiking we can find. In 2024, we explored the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Last year, it was the Apostle Islands at the tippy top of Wisconsin.
YOU DON’T NEED A KAYAK TO APPRECIATE NORTHERN WISCONSIN’S APOSTLE ISLANDS
This year, we figured we’d try Minnesota.
So I booked us a little Airbnb right on the lakeshore in Tofte, we threw our packs, our boots and our German Shepherd in the truck, and away we went.
Admittedly, before this trip, I knew nothing about the stretch of land between Duluth and the Canadian border — aside from the fact that it’s very cold in the wintertime, and I imagined every guy up there probably looked something like the Brawny Man. So I relied on my old friend Google (and my very helpful Nightcaps readers) to build our itinerary.
Did you know there are eight state parks in that 150 miles of shoreline? EIGHT. So I knew we, sadly, weren’t going to hit them all on this trip. We’d have to pick a few and save the rest for next year.
At least a couple dozen people told me I had to go to Betty’s Pies in Two Harbors — an iconic little café that’s been around for 70 years. They have, I’m told, the best pies in all of Minnesota. Maybe all the Midwest. And like an idiot, I didn’t listen.
Instead, our first stop was at Iona’s Beach. Which was delightful, too.
Iona’s Beach is a cute little crescent-shaped shore in Two Harbors that, instead of sand, is covered by salmon-colored pink rocks. In other words, this is not the sort of beach where you stroll barefoot. The stones are pink because they’re made of rhyolite, a rock formed from ancient volcanic activity.
The area is named after a sweet little old lady named Iona Lind, whose family originally owned the land and ran the resort that used to stand where the parking lot is now.
Supposedly, the pebbles make a “singing” sound as Lake Superior’s waves shift them back and forth against each other. But if I’m being honest, they just sounded like regular rocks to me.
Still, Iona’s Beach is worth your time for a quick stroll and some photos along the shore.
Next up, we hit Split Rock Lighthouse.
A couple of things to note about Split Rock Lighthouse:
After hitting the Tofte General Store beer-bait-barbecue-and-tackle shop (not what it’s called, but it should be) for some food to cook, we headed to our Airbnb.
Friends, when I tell you it was like stepping back in time, I mean it. This particular property was built in the early 1970s and almost certainly has not been updated since. Our particular condo, though, had a 90s vibe — complete with an impressive collection of VHS tapes. We’re talking “Liar Liar,” “A Few Good Men,” “Forrest Gump,” “Titanic”! All the hits.
But we didn’t choose this rental for the decor. We chose it because it’s located smack on the top of a cliff overlooking Lake Superior. The kind of view that makes you want to pop open a bottle of wine, sit down in an Adirondack chair and just stare into the horizon.
And you best believe that’s what I did.
We planned Wednesday to be our big hiking day. But first, a quick stop to check out the giant rock formation they call Palisade Head. It’s a 300-foot granite cliff created in the Ice Age, and it’s a seriously cool challenge for rock climbers.
Or you can take the easier route like we did. Park your car in the designated viewing area and admire Palisade Head from afar. While we were there, we made conversation with a couple of dudes who proceeded to list all the cool hiking spots we needed to check out during our trip to the North Shore. It was at this moment I realized I should have scheduled out more than three days.
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From there we headed to Tettegouche State Park. I kept pronouncing it “Tet-uh-GOOCH-ee” (à la “way down yonder on the Chattahoochee.”) However, a sign in the visitor center informed me the correct pronunciation is “TET-uh-goosh.”
Bummer.
There are roughly 23 miles of hiking trails in Tettegouche, so we hopped on AllTrails and created our own adventure: Shovel Point to High Falls to Two Step Falls. I think we made the right choice.
Our route took us out to the lake shore, down along the river, to an incredible swimming hole at the base of High Falls, through some woody terrain and into a peaceful little lunch spot on the stream at Two Step. It worked out to about 6.2 moderate miles with multiple spots for Rocky to hop in the water and cool off.
High Falls was the star of the show.
On our way back to the condo, we decided to drive up Oberg Mountain. The loop gave us stunning vistas and a really cool overlook of Oberg Lake. I was pretty tired after Tettegouche, but this was well worth the extra 2.5 miles.
That night we headed up to Moguls Grill & Taproom for post-hike burgers and beers. It’s inside the Caribou Highlands Lodge, which serves as a ski resort in the wintertime. Dogs aren’t allowed inside the restaurant, but we snagged some food to go and sat out on the patio.
There, we met a nice elderly lady named Patrice who said she comes to the North Shore a few times a year “to escape the far-left hell scape of Minneapolis.”
Those fellas up on Palisade Head told us we have to check out the Gunflint Trail.
So much great hiking on the Gunflint Trail! Beautiful country! Such cool wildlife! I see moose all the time!
I do not love the idea of running into a grumpy moose out on the trail. But their sales pitch got me.
Upon further research, though, I discovered the Gunflint Trail is actually a 57-mile byway that stretches all the way from the lakeshore into the Boundary Waters and damn near to Canada. Since we didn’t budget enough time to cover all that ground, we chose the very first trail off the Gunflint: Pincushion Mountain.
On the way up US 61, though, we stopped at a local coffee shop called Fika that came highly recommended by our Airbnb host.
Holy cow, you guys, are you familiar with maple syrup lattes? Because they are, I learned, very much a thing in northern Minnesota.
Now listen, I drink my coffee like my grandpa does: strong, black and by the bucket. One step short of jet fuel. But what’s the point of driving 16 hours from home if you don’t try the local fare?
My goodness. That maple syrup latte was worth every bit of the (probably) 500 calories it cost me. What a concept. Consider it fuel for the 5.75-mile Pincushion Mountain Loop.
Half of this trail was on an old logging road, which the curmudgeonly reviewers on AllTrails didn’t love. I swear people on AllTrails will complain about everything.
The grass was too tall in some places. I had to step over a log. A bug landed on my shoulder!
You’re in the woods, Sharon.
That said, the logging road portion of this trail was a little boring, but that’s fine. Because the payoff was an epic view of Lake Superior and Grand Marais from the top of a massive bald monolith.
Pro tip: Make sure you veer off this loop to check out Barrier Falls. We went down to the bridge at West Devil Track before turning around and heading back to the loop.
The climb out of there was a bit of a b—-, but suck it up, buttercup. You’ve got a maple syrup latte to burn off.
After this hike, we walked around Grand Marais — a charming little harbor town. We stopped by the Gunflint Tavern for lunch. But heads up, it is not dog friendly except for the upstairs bar, which does not serve food. It does, however, serve the Fulton 300 IPA, which is 10/10 if you’re into that sort of thing.
If you find yourself in Grand Marais, do yourself a favor and make the windy walk out to the lighthouse. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it was so cold out there that I cursed myself for not bringing a beanie. In July!
Grand Marais is just about 35 miles to the Canadian border. However, my husband and I did not go to Canada. Because we are PATRIOTS.
Just kidding. It’s because both of our passports are expired. But we plan to remedy that soon.
On our way out of town, we noticed Voyageur Brewing Company. It looked like a fun spot, and I wish we would have known about it ahead of time. They have a blonde ale that’s very popular around these parts.
One cool thing about the North Shore is that everything is right off US 61. You really can’t get lost. So on our way back to Tofte, we stopped for a quick 1-miler at Cascade River State Park.
This is an easy little trek — even after you enjoyed a beer or three in Grand Marais. Ask me how I know.
The next morning, I set my alarm for 5 a.m. so that I could catch the sunrise. With a perfectly east-facing condo right on Lake Superior, it’d be criminal if I didn’t drag my butt up for one sunrise.
And, friends, it was so, so worth it.
On our way back to Minocqua, we popped in Coho Cafe & Bakery. No exaggeration — the best pancakes I’d ever tasted in my life. Absolute perfection.
As we enjoyed our breakfast, we plotted next year’s adventure. Grand Portage, Thunder Bay, Devil’s Kettle, the Summit Express gondola up Lutsen Mountain, the Boundary Waters. All the things we just didn’t have time for this year. And all dog friendly.
Truthfully, we fell in love with Grand Marais. That seems like an obvious base camp for the 2027 Great White North adventure.
And I promise — this time — we’re hitting Betty’s Pies.
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