We started our 66 day fall trip to Northern California and Southern Oregon by first visiting our son in Duluth, Minnesota. Several fall trip reports will follow this one because we visited so many places in a single trip and the limitations of the Forum format.
Duluth is one of the most scenic cities in the mid west since it is perched on a low mountainside overlooking Lake Superior and the Duluth Harbor. Traveling Northeast from Duluth on state highway 61 along Lake Superior is also one of the most scenic trips in the mid west. We drove along the Skyline Parkway going into the city with many scenic pullouts along the way and later walked along the harbor.
Our visit started with camping two nights at nearby Jay Cooke SP without a reservation mid-week without difficulty. Jay Cooke SP has a large flat shaded campground with both reservable and non-reservable sites, showers, and routinely fills on weekends. Jay Cooke SP has an extensive dayhiking trail network and the trails along the St Louis River are the most popular with the "swinging bridge" as the highlight.
Looking down the St Louis River from the "swinging bridge":
Looking up the St Louis River from the "swinging bridge":
From Skyline Parkway views, looking northeast at the city of Duluth:
Looking southwest at the city of Duluth, the harbor, and St Louis Bay:
Looking south at the outer harbor from Skyline Parkway:
This zoom view shows a lake iron ore carrier being loaded in the harbor. A iron ore train is arriving to unload directly into the ore carrier. Iron ore is stored in piles on the ground during the winter when ice blocks navigation and then supplements ore trains to load lake ore carriers during the shipping season. The Iron Range is about 50 miles north of Duluth and sends ore to several Lake Superior harbors.
Here is a harbor view of several iron ore wharves:
My winter past time is sorting pictures and trip reports...
Duluth is one of the most scenic cities in the mid west since it is perched on a low mountainside overlooking Lake Superior and the Duluth Harbor. Traveling Northeast from Duluth on state highway 61 along Lake Superior is also one of the most scenic trips in the mid west. We drove along the Skyline Parkway going into the city with many scenic pullouts along the way and later walked along the harbor.
Our visit started with camping two nights at nearby Jay Cooke SP without a reservation mid-week without difficulty. Jay Cooke SP has a large flat shaded campground with both reservable and non-reservable sites, showers, and routinely fills on weekends. Jay Cooke SP has an extensive dayhiking trail network and the trails along the St Louis River are the most popular with the "swinging bridge" as the highlight.
Looking down the St Louis River from the "swinging bridge":
Looking up the St Louis River from the "swinging bridge":
From Skyline Parkway views, looking northeast at the city of Duluth:
Looking southwest at the city of Duluth, the harbor, and St Louis Bay:
Looking south at the outer harbor from Skyline Parkway:
This zoom view shows a lake iron ore carrier being loaded in the harbor. A iron ore train is arriving to unload directly into the ore carrier. Iron ore is stored in piles on the ground during the winter when ice blocks navigation and then supplements ore trains to load lake ore carriers during the shipping season. The Iron Range is about 50 miles north of Duluth and sends ore to several Lake Superior harbors.
Here is a harbor view of several iron ore wharves:
My winter past time is sorting pictures and trip reports...