High Falls of the Baptism River pouring over a rock ledge in Tettegouche State Park on Minnesota's North Shore

North Shore waterfalls in driving order

Facts checked against official sources on November 11, 2026

Photo: Sharon Mollerus, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Falls covered
8 stops, Gooseberry Falls to Grand Portage
Shortest walks
Gooseberry (Middle and Upper Falls), Temperance River gorge, Cascade River lower loop
Tallest
High Falls of the Pigeon River, 120 feet (Grand Portage)
No permit needed
Gooseberry and Tettegouche visitor center lots, Grand Portage
Vehicle permit
$7 a day or $35 a year
In this guide
  1. All the falls in one table
  2. Lake County: Gooseberry to Caribou
  3. Cook County: Temperance River to the border
  4. Permits along the route
  5. Timing and safety
  6. Planning checklist

Short answer: Driving northeast from Duluth on Highway 61, the major North Shore waterfalls come in this order: Gooseberry Falls, High Falls of the Baptism River (Tettegouche), the Cascades of the Manitou River (George Crosby Manitou, an inland detour), Caribou Falls, the Temperance River gorge, Cascade River, the Devil's Kettle (Judge C.R. Magney) and the High Falls of the Pigeon River at Grand Portage. The shortest walks are at Gooseberry, Temperance River and Cascade River. Grand Portage has the tallest falls in Minnesota, 120 feet, per the DNR.

Most of these falls are in state parks, and most state parks need a vehicle permit: $7 for a day or $35 for a year. Three of the best-known falls have permit-free parking, which this guide flags.

This is a hub for planning a waterfall drive. Each stop links to its own guide where one exists. The order here is worked out from the location the DNR gives for each park and wayside, not from a published DNR list. Walk lengths, stairs and permit rules come from the Minnesota DNR park maps and park pages; sources are at the end.

All the falls in one table

Walk lengths are the DNR's figures for the trail named. "One way" means you walk back the same way.

#FallsPark or siteOfficial locationWalk (DNR)Stairs / terrainPermit?
1Upper, Middle and Lower FallsGooseberry Falls State ParkAbout 13 miles NE of Two HarborsWaterfalls Walk to Middle and Upper Falls (30 to 45 min); Falls Loop 1-mile loop for all threeAccessible route to Middle and Upper; stairs to LowerNo at visitor center / DOT wayside lot
2High Falls (60 ft) and Two Step FallsTettegouche State Park58 miles NE of Duluth; entrance 4.5 miles NE of Silver BayHigh Falls Trail 1.5 miles one waySteep, wooden stairs, bare rockNo at visitor center lot
3Cascades of the Manitou RiverGeorge H. Crosby Manitou State Park7 miles north of Finland on Lake County Road 7Cascades Waterfall 1 mile one waySteep, rock, stairsYes, entrance kiosk
4Caribou Falls (35 ft)Caribou Falls State WaysideLake County (DNR gives GPS: N 47° 28.080, W 91° 01.863)3/4-mile trail to the base of the fallsNot describedNot mentioned by DNR; 6-hour parking limit
5Hidden Falls and the gorge; Upper FallsTemperance River State Park1 mile north of SchroederGorge Trail 0.25 miles one way; Upper Falls 1 mile one wayStairs, bare rockYes, park office
6The Cascades and Cascade FallsCascade River State Park10 miles SW of Grand Marais, near milepost 101Cascade River Lower Loop, 0.5-mile loopHilly, packed dirt, bare rockYes
7Upper Falls and the Devil's KettleJudge C.R. Magney State Park14 miles NE of Grand MaraisDevil's Kettle Trail 1 mile one way, 1.5 to 2 hoursAbout 175 stairsYes, pay station at trailhead
8High Falls (120 ft) and Middle Falls (20 ft)Grand Portage State ParkAbout 36 miles from Grand Marais, at the Canadian borderHigh Falls Trail 1.2 miles round trip on the DNR map, "one mile" on the park page (paved, accessible); Middle Falls 4.5 miles round tripHigh Falls: boardwalk, no stairs listed; Middle Falls: steep and ruggedNo, all parking is rest area parking

For a sense of where these sit relative to towns, see Duluth to Grand Marais, stop by stop.

Lake County: Gooseberry to Caribou

1. Gooseberry Falls

The first big stop, and the easiest. Three falls sit next to the visitor center, and the DNR calls the Middle Falls "Minnesota State Parks' most visited waterfalls." Park at the visitor center / DOT wayside lot, which state law exempts from the permit requirement. The DNR notes that parking for more than two hours is "not always available" there. In winter, a half-mile trail to the Upper Falls is maintained. As of November 2026, the DNR lists a special deer hunt from November 7 to 22, 2026 that closes trails on the north side of Highway 61; the falls area stays open. Full detail: Gooseberry Falls.

2. Tettegouche: High Falls of the Baptism River

The DNR map calls High Falls "the highest waterfall completely within the boundaries of Minnesota" and the park page puts it at 60 feet. The trail starts at the visitor center, goes down to the mouth of the Baptism River, then follows the river inland 1.5 miles. A side stairway reaches Two Step Falls on the way. The visitor center lot needs no permit.

Alerts as of November 2026 (DNR, updated November 2, 2026): "The bottom of the steps has washed out at the base of the High Falls and Two Step Falls viewing steps." The Cascade Trail is closed beyond its first half mile after 2024 flooding, and the DNR says the Cascade Falls of the Baptism River "are no longer accessible." The same alert lists a special firearm deer hunt from November 7 to 22, 2026: everything on the inland side of Highway 61 is closed to visitors without a hunt permit, while the lake side, including the visitor center and the mouth of the Baptism River, stays open.

Palisade Head is about 1.5 miles southwest of the visitor center, if you want a cliff view with the falls.

3. George Crosby Manitou: the Cascades (inland detour)

This one is off Highway 61. The DNR directions: "From the village of Finland, go seven miles north on Lake County Road 7." The DNR map describes the Cascades Waterfall route as 1 mile one way with "rocky footing" and stairs, returning the way you came. The DNR calls this a "wilderness state park," with rugged, hilly terrain, so it suits hikers more than a quick photo stop. Buy a permit at the entrance kiosk.

4. Caribou Falls State Wayside

A small state wayside rather than a park. The DNR waysides page lists a 3/4-mile trail "along the Caribou River" to "the base of Caribou Falls (35 foot waterfall)," with access to the Superior Hiking Trail. It is seasonal: "open from May until November. It is not plowed or accessible in the winter." State waysides have a six-hour parking limit and no overnight parking. There is one vault toilet.

Exposed tree roots on a boulder above the rushing, tea-colored Cascade River in Cascade River State Park, Minnesota
Photo: Sharon Mollerus, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cook County: Temperance River to the border

5. Temperance River

The shortest gorge walk on the shore. From the Highway 61 lot on the northeast side of the river, a paved trail leads to a deck with a view of Hidden Falls, then turns to gravel and rock stairs along the clifftops for 0.25 miles. To reach the Upper Falls, continue upstream 1 mile one way, crossing on the Gitchi-Gami State Trail bridge. The DNR is direct about the water: "Do not swim in the Temperance River due to dangerous and unpredictable river currents." Permits are sold at the park office.

6. Cascade River

The DNR's "only have an hour" pick here is the Cascade River Lower Loop, a half-mile loop to the Cascades Overlook and Cascade Falls. The DNR feed describes the Cascades as "a series of five small waterfalls," and the park map says the river "plunges 120 feet through a deep, twisting gorge." Permits are required.

7. Judge C.R. Magney: the Devil's Kettle

The Brule River splits around a mass of rock: half "plunging 50 feet into a pool and the rest pouring into a massive pothole," per the DNR. The trail is 1 mile one way with about 175 stairs, and the DNR says to plan 1.5 to 2 hours. Buy a permit at the trailhead pay station. Full detail, including what DNR hydrologists found about the pothole: Devil's Kettle hike.

8. Grand Portage: High Falls of the Pigeon River

The DNR calls High Falls "the tallest waterfall in Minnesota with a drop of 120 feet." The paved, accessible High Falls Trail ends on a 700-foot boardwalk with three viewing platforms, one wheelchair accessible. The DNR park map lists it as 1.2 miles round trip; the park page says it is "an easy, one mile round-trip hike." No vehicle permit is required: "All parking is rest area parking."

For more effort, the Middle Falls Trail is 4.5 miles round trip to a 20-foot falls, with "several hundred feet of elevation change." The DNR says to allow "at least 3 hours." The park is day use only. Cell phones near the border may pick up an Ontario signal, which is on Eastern time.

Permits along the route

  • Permit-free waterfall parking: Gooseberry (visitor center / DOT wayside lot), Tettegouche (visitor center lot) and Grand Portage (rest area). The DNR waysides page does not mention a permit for Caribou Falls; it lists a six-hour parking limit.
  • Permit required: George Crosby Manitou, Temperance River, Cascade River and Judge C.R. Magney.
  • The math: a one-day permit is $7, per the DNR permit page. A year-round permit is $35 and covers "unlimited visits to every Minnesota state park and recreation area" for a year. If you will buy five or more day permits in a year, the annual permit costs the same or less.

Timing and safety

  • Pace: the DNR's North Shore itinerary says to "plan 1 hour to hike each 2 miles of intermediate trail."
  • Spring: the DNR's waterfall weekend is built for spring, when rivers are high. It warns that "spring trails can be muddy" and that rocks "can be slippery when wet or icy."
  • Winter: Gooseberry keeps the half-mile Upper Falls trail open for walking. Grand Portage's High Falls Trail is "wide, relatively flat, easy" in winter. Caribou Falls wayside is not plowed.
  • Fall: for color timing, see North Shore fall colors.
  • Water: both Gooseberry (Upper Falls) and Temperance River prohibit or warn against swimming because of currents.
  • Before leaving Duluth: the DNR's own waterfall weekend starts at Jay Cooke State Park, then takes I-35 north through Duluth to Scenic 61.

Planning checklist

  1. Decide how far up the shore you are going: Gooseberry and Tettegouche work as a short day; Cook County falls take a longer day or an overnight.
  2. Buy a $35 year-round permit if you will stop at several permit parks.
  3. Check each park's DNR page for alerts. As of November 2026, Tettegouche's lower High Falls steps are washed out, its Cascade Trail is partly closed, and Gooseberry and Tettegouche are closed inland of Highway 61 for the November 7 to 22, 2026 deer hunt.
  4. Pack traction in shoulder seasons; North Shore falls are wet rock.
  5. Plan the longer hikes (Devil's Kettle, Grand Portage Middle Falls) for the start of the day.

Related guides: All North Shore guides · Minnesota hikes and waterfalls · North Shore state parks compared · Superior Hiking Trail day hikes · Split Rock Lighthouse visiting guide

Sources

Keep planning

The Cascade River dropping over a series of rock ledges into dark pools in Cascade River State Park

Cascade River State Park

Cascade River State Park planning guide: the half-mile Cascade Falls loop, Superior Hiking Trail loops, 40 drive-in and 5 backpack campsites, winter and costs.

The Devil's Kettle on the Brule River, where half the river drops into a pothole

Devil's Kettle hike

The Devil's Kettle hike in Judge C.R. Magney State Park: distance, stairs and permits, plus what DNR hydrologists actually measured about the disappearing water.

Split Rock Lighthouse above Lake Superior on the North Shore Scenic Drive

Duluth to Grand Marais drive

Duluth to Grand Marais on Highway 61, stop by stop: Scenic 61 vs. the expressway, every state park in order, where you need a permit, and winter driving notes.