Eagle Mountain, Minnesota's high point, sits at 2,301 feet in elevation. It is located 21 driving miles north of Lutsen in Cook County in the Superior National Forest. This is an attractive resort area for boating, lakeside lodging, hiking/camping and skiing at the Lutsen Mountain ski area.

Directions: From Duluth, travel east on Highway 61 along the north shore of Lake Superior. It is approximately 91 miles to Lutsen. In Lutsen, travel north on Highway 4 for 17 miles. (At this point, there is clear signage all the way to the trailhead.) The road ends into a "T" intersection (Road 170). Make a right and travel four miles to the roadside trailhead.

It seems many of my high point visits offer a unique challenge, and Eagle Mountain was no exception. It rained throughout the entire day! The forecast called for things to clear in the afternoon, and apparently much of Minnesota enjoyed partly sunny skies after two days of rain, but not in northeast Minnesota. A constant drizzle and sometimes harder rainfall never left me during my seven mile round trip hike today.

I will admit I got a little out of hand with the "one moment in time" theme as seen in the video below. All I will say is, I could not get that Whitney Houston song out of my head, and it really touched me that I was above every person in Minnesota! :)

-Steve

	It was a long 3.5 miles each way from the trailhead. The trail was generally level with a modest ascent near the summit. Because of the dreary and rainy conditions, it was difficult to capture quality photos of the autumn foliage. The adjacent photo was one of the few decent shots taken.
	Three or four sections have boarded crossings over creeks. The adjacent photo shows harrowing make-shift logs over the creek, although admittedly they were in sturdy condition. My hunch is with all the rain from the previous two days, water levels were higher than usual.
	This is a pretty view of Whale Lake. The trail travels along this body of water for a distance before ascending to the summit.
	There is a grand overlook that many trip reports allude to on the Internet. Well, not only was it raining, but Eagle Mountain was engulfed in fog. I am 99% sure this is the overlook. There was no view today!
	There it is! The Minnesota high point. I only encountered one party of four hikers throughout the afternoon. (They were coming down as I was traveling up.) Besides them, I had the entire trail and mountain to myself. A large plaque explains some of the history behind Eagle Mountain. Thick forest covers any views at the top of the mountain. I really like the middle photo which shows some of the colorful fall foliage. This high point was my tenth U.S. state high point. I am now in double digits! Below are my previous state high points: New Jersey High Point Florida High Point Colorado High Point Connecticut High Point Pennsylvania High Point Maryland High Point West Virginia High Point Delaware High Point Iowa High Point ColoradoGuy.com on Facebook