North Shore fall colors ( MN)

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
- Albert Camus

Yes, autumn is here and am already in the mood for it. I can see the leaves changing into bright yellow and gold just outside my window. Living in autumn’s paradise ‘Minnesota’ as people say, I had the opportunity to see the best fall colors ever when we visited the north shore region which is absolutely gorgeous during this time of the year.

Depending on the weather and varieties of trees, the fall foliage colors tend to peak around the last week of September. The early season starts with the maple trees in September to early October. The fall colors wrap up with the poplar trees through late October.

We took to the roads on the evening of 1st Oct.2011 along highway 35 to Duluth. We spent the night there and started the next morning along Scenic route 61 enjoying the colorful scenes on the way.

As usual we had another adventure in this trip too. Our car suddenly showed maintenance required and we had to rush it off to a nearby repair center in two harbor area where it took almost an hr. After that we moved on towards forest road 166.

Everyone was busy clicking photos and I clicked them…

Temperature, moisture and elevation play significant role in this change of color in the leaves. Hence along this trail we could see the variation in colors of the leaves. It’s a great experience to be travelling through scenic roads especially during the autumn season.  We were overwhelmed by the stunning colors of the leaves. The spectacular visions of yellow, orange and red colors almost blinded us.

Enjoying the view along the road we moved on towards country road 4 towards Lutsen Mountains. As we approached the area the hue of red, yellow and orange increased at a larger scale.

Brilliant maple reds, golden aspen yellows, and the rust shades of tamarack provide a fall color palette unique to the Lutsen area.

We took the two-mile Gondola ride up the Moose Mountain and enjoyed some phenomenal views of Lake Superior and the inland forest from the top. At the top was a deli and viewing platform.

It was near to dusk when we returned and enjoyed the spectacular sunset from atop the ride. The journey was memorable. From there we headed to Grand Marais for the night.

Next day was even more exciting. We drove towards the famous Gunflint trail. It is one of the most beautiful areas to see fall colors. Here the views were breathtaking.

Words and photos cannot do justice to the real beauty of this area. I couldn’t stop myself from clicking pictures continuously.

From here we drove to Cascade river state park. We took the two mile hike to the top of the lookout point from where we could see miles and miles down below. The mountain seemed to be burning with the leaves of the trees mostly red and orange.

We witnessed a fantastic sunset from the lookout point.
The trees in this area consist of mainly sugar maple, aspen [aka poplars], paper birch, ash, silver maple, tamarack (a deciduous coniferous tree) and some black cherry and oaks. There are also balsam firs, white spruce, white pine, red pine, jack pine, and white cedar. The crisp, cool air and warm weather added a bonus to the trip. Seeing such splendor in the air I can surely say that autumn is the crowning glory of the year.