Day 4- Lake Superior Bike Tour: Silver Bay to Grand Marais

Lake Superior Biking Route Silver Bay to Grand Marais

Day 4

This is what we woke to on the morning on Day 4 of our Lake Superior bike tour: approximately 8,967 mosquitoes repeatedly trying to penetrate the sides of our tiny, very damp, ultralight tent, which was situated in the middle of a gravel pit near an active construction site. We jammed our wet gear into our panniers as quickly as we could. We didn’t even eat breakfast.

The hoard of mosquitoes trying to penetrate the walls of our too small tent.

We visited Palisade Head early in the morning, but we couldn’t see anything because of the dense fog.

We biked about 5 miles north on Highway 61 before stopping. On the way there, we stopped at Palisade Head, which is accessed by biking up a very steep hill. When we got to the top, the lake was so socked in with fog that we couldn’t see the water at all.

Lake Superior Bike Tour Stealth Camping in Silver Bay, MN

Tettegouche State Park

We stopped at the Tettegouche State Park Visitor Center and Rest Area. It’s like a fancy coffee shop inside with leather couches, high top tables, paintings, and a massive fireplace. It was very early in the morning and the place was deserted, so we cooked our breakfast and made coffee there. The janitor did look at us kind of weird, as we casually ate our breakfast in full bike kit, but it was much better than being eaten alive by mosquitos outside.

In addition to the comfy leather couches, the visitor center featured this local artwork.

We decided not to explore the cliffs of Tettegouche because of the thick fog, but if you get the chance, the rocky shores here are amazing. Soon after the park, it started to rain. Then Ian got a flat, which we had to change in the yard of someone’s empty lake house to get off the highway

Ian fixes a flat in the yard of someone’s lakeside vacation home.

Ian got twice as many flats as I did on our bike tour around Lake Superior.

Temperance River State Park

It was not the most comfortable morning of riding, but soon we reached Cross River Falls, which marks the beginning of Temperance River State Park. Next to the bridge on Highway 61, you’ll find a staircase that will take you under the bridge to see the falls. Just after the falls, you can turn left off of Highway 61 to get onto the Gitchi-Gami State Trail.

We stopped at the Schroeder Area Historical Society for a break and to see Cross River Falls.

Immediately after Cross River Falls, you can get back on the Gitchi Gami State Trail.

The trail was quiet. In the deep fog, the pine trees of this boreal forest looked dark and mysterious. The trail crosses the Temperance River Gorge and Hidden Falls on a trestle bridge and the Temperance River twists its way through the mossy basalt below. The rushing water is the color of root beer.

Cycling Through Temperance River State Park in Minnesota

Tofte, MN

In Tofte, we briefly had to get back on the highway, but fortunately, the Gitchi-Gami State Trail starts up again on the right side of 61 just outside of town. One day this paved trail will stretch 88 miles, and allow cyclists to ride from Two Harbors to Grand Marais separate from the highway. Until completed, cyclists have to jump on and off Highway 61 to access the trail. It continued to drizzle as we biked north on the trail which mostly follows the highway very closely on this stretch.

The Temperance River Gorge was even more striking in the foggy weather.

The Gitchi Gami State Trail is one of the best parts of the Lake Superior Bike Tour.

The Temperance River has carved a deep gorge through the basalt of the North Shore.

It was cold enough in the rain and fog that we had to break out our high-vis jackets.

Nothing can beat traveling by bike through a boreal forest.

Lutsen, MN

We were able to stay on the trail until just outside the resort town of Lutsen, where we stopped to cook lunch. I drank one of the best cups of coffee I have ever had in my life from Fika Coffee in Lutsen. It could have been the brew, or it might have just been the fact that I was wet, cold, and tired and a cup of Maxwell House probably would have tasted like a fine Italian espresso.

Yeti enjoys Fika (a Swedish coffee break) too!

After Lutsen, we had to get back onto Highway 61. Going north, it was nothing but narrow shoulders and rain, rain, rain. We had to put on our high-vis gear in the hopes that cars would still be able to see us in the downpour. At one point it was raining so hard and there was so little visibility, that we had to wait out the deluge awkwardly under the awning of Kah-Nee-Tah art gallery. Cute store, but we were definitely too muddy to go inside. While bike touring, you get used to doing weird stuff like loitering outside of the only shop for miles.

Taking a quick break after a large hill on a stretch of 61 that actually had a wide shoulder.

RV Traffic on the Lake Superior Circle Tour Bike Route from Silver Bay to Canada

The things you will find while biking around the world's largest lake...

Grand Marais, MN

Eventually the storm lifted enough for us to continue up highway 61, but by midafternoon the traffic was quite intense. Some stretches have narrow shoulders and there are more RVs on this stretch of Highway 61 than anywhere else. We finally reached the adorable but incredibly touristy town of Grand Marais. Get ready for the world’s best donuts and overpriced restaurants with plenty of Northwoods decor. Along the trail on the outskirts of town, there is even some sort of goat/mini-golf situation, called Putt n Pets.

In our quest to complete the Lake Superior Ale Trail, we took the opportunity in Grand Marais to get a flight of beer at Voyageur Brewing. The sun had come out, and we had their entire outdoor deck to ourselves for some reason. The deck furniture was drenched, but we were equally drenched, so it worked for us.

Voyageur Brewing was one of our favorite stops on the Lake Superior Ale Trail.

Biltong is the perfect snack for a bike tour beer break.

It had turned into a beautiful sunny evening. The shoulder of Highway 61 north of Grand Marais is wide and wonderful to ride. Past the bustling vacation destination of Grand Marais there is much less traffic, but the shoreline becomes even more beautiful. We even had a tailwind, and it was the fastest we had felt on the whole tour. The highway follows the lakeshore closely, and we were treated with sparkling views of the deep blue lake and rocky pebble beaches.

Highway 61 gets so much better north of Grand Marais! You'll love biking here.

One of the most intriguing spots along the shore is Senator Chuck Wiger’s whimsical rock garden. The “garden” is an unruly collection of rocks, fallen trees, drift wood, and scrap metal that is interspersed with animal sculptures. As we biked past, we asked each other “What the heck is that?”

You notice the most interesting things while biking around Lake Superior that you might not notice while driving.

Kadunce River

We stopped at one of the North Shore’s pebble beaches at Kadunce River State Scenic Wayside. The lake was still, and we were insulated from the highway by a wall of cedars and birch. While eating a meal of Knorr pasta sides and biltong, we watched the fog roll in and over Grand Marais down the shore.

The North Shore offers tons of opportunities for photography.

Waiting for dinner to cook at Kadunce River Scenic Area.

Feeling tired after riding all day in the rain, but enjoying the Lake.

The conditions were so great for biking we continued up the shore even though daylight was waning. Right before we reached the small settlement of Hovland, Ian got another flat tire. We had already passed the spot where we had planned to camp in the Superior National Forest. So instead of helping Ian with his flat, I biked ahead to scout out a campsite.

This evening on Minnesota’s North Shore was one of the highlights of our Lake Superior Bike Tour. We could see Grand Marais on the spit of land in the distance.

Flute Reed River

What I found was the Flute Reed River Wayside Park—a rest area that was probably abandoned 30 years ago, making it an excellent option for stealth camping. The road in was roped off, and the concrete pads where picnic tables must have once rested were completely overgrown. I quickly biked back toward Ian to let him know about the spot. I found him slogging up the massive hill out of Hovland toward me.

If you look carefully, you might find sea glass or an agate on one of Lake Superior’s many pebble beaches.

Biking in the rain on Day 4 was rough, but eating dinner on the lakeshore made it worth it.

We dragged our loaded bikes through the ferns and brush, shaking loose an army of mosquitos from the vegetation, as we found a spot to camp that was far enough into the forest to be out of sight of the highway.

Setting up the tent was like a slapstick comedy routine with Ian and I furiously clapping and swatting the mosquitoes away while wearing floppy bug nets on our head. For the sake of traveling lightly, Ian brought nothing but his cycling tights, which offer great protection from saddle sores, but little protection from the Minnesota state bird. Yet somehow I seemed to sustain the most bites.

Biking through Judge CR Magney State Park at the end of the day on our Lake Superior Circle Tour. Moments later Ian would get his third flat tire.

In a matter of minutes we had crawled in to our low slung shelter, which was still wet from the previous night. After killing our the 40 or 50 mosquitos that had also crawled in with us, we quickly fell asleep in our more than slightly damp sleeping quilt to the sound of the Flute Reed River nearby.