Minnesota's High Point - Eagle Mountain (alt. 2,301 feet)
Pictures Of My Rainy Hike And Visit; Located Near Lutsen, MN and Lake Superior's North Shore - October 7, 2008
Eagle Mountain, Minnesota's high point, sits at 2,301 feet in altitude.
It is located 21 driving miles north of Lutsen in Cook County in Superior National Forest. This
is an attractive resort area for boating, lakeside lodging,
hiking/camping and
skiing at the Lutsen Mountain ski area.
How To Get There: 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 some kind of unique challenge,
and Minnesota's Eagle Mountain was no exception. It rained throughout the entire day!
The forecast called for things to clear up 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. Ah well, I didn't let a little
rain stop me! :)
I will admit I got a little out of hand with the
"one moment in time" theme as seen in the video clip below.
What can I say? I could not get Whitney Houston out of my head.
It really touched me that I was indeed above every person in Minnesota! :)
-Steve
It was a long 3.5 miles each way from the trailhead.
The trail was generally level with just a modest ascent near the summit. Because of the dreary
and rainy conditions, it was difficult capturing 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 they were in sturdy condition. My hunch is with all the rain of the previous two days,
creek and lake levels were probably 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! :)
At the summit, 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. Very pretty!
This high point was my tenth U.S. state high point. I am now in double digits! Ten down, 40 more to go!