The Summer Solstice and Wooden Boat Festival celebrates the best of summer on Lake Superior.
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Summer on the North Shore is a magical time of year—the sun is at its zenith, boats dot the Grand Marais harbor, and the warm days beckon us outdoors.
Join us for a joy-filled weekend that weaves together craft, community, and the beauty of long days by the lake. Discover, dance, paddle, create, and welcome the brightest season at this festival!
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Highlights
-Hands-on craft for all ages
-Harborside Boat Walk
-Live music and contra dancing
-Cookout and ice cream social
-Craft tools and supplies auction
-Summer Solstice Pageant by the Good Harbor Hill Players
Join us in celebrating the best of summer by Lake Superior. Enjoy family activities on the commons, gather for live music and a picnic by the harbor, or dance the night away at the community contra dance.
Whether you’re 2 or 102, hands-on exploration with traditional craft—kneading dough, making wood shavings, working with fiber—enlivens the human spirit. Saturday brings myriad opportunities for hands-on discovery: explore your creativity, see others’ creations, and get a taste of the magic that fuels North House every day of the year.
North House is fueled by our supportive community of students, instructors, program alumni, and members. We host a special celebration to recognize the folks of the folk school, along with a presentation on craft, our annual meeting, and a wood-fired pizza lunch. We will also host our Annual Meeting/Annual Members’ Gathering (RSVP Encouraged).
Spring is an explosion of life on the North Shore! The Northern Landscapes Festival celebrates the birds, wildflowers, and geology of this iconic region.
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Grab your hiking boots and come to North House Folk School for a weekend of field-focused courses and evening activities. This event is a great way to deepen your connection to the North Shore and meet others with a passion for nature and love of learning.
Spring is an explosion of life in the North! Discovering the birds, wildflowers, insects and more of this dynamic and rich northern landscape is the focus of this festival. Participation in the festival is open to anyone interested in hands-on learning and curious about the dynamics of the northern landscape.
This year’s course offerings allow nature-lovers the chance to explore the North Shore and learn more about the local ecology and geology. Discover the language of birds, forage for spring wild edibles, and learn the identifications and uses of many local plants.
Lutsen MountainsGondola fall color ride is worth the trip! The Lutsen area is one of the earliest to peak, between mid to end of September!
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You won’t find a better vantage point to view the Sawtooth Mountains and Lake Superior’s dramatic coastline.This aerial gondola is one of the North Shore’s most popular attractions, taking you on a scenic ride to the top of Moose Mountain.
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Rising 1,000 feet above Lake Superior, the gentle ride is an experience not to be missed.Keep your eyes open for eagles, pine marten, bear, timber wolves, and moose, explore hiking trails, or stop at the Summit Chalet at Lutsen Mountains for gorgeous views and lunch or a snack.
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For for the daily-updated fall color map from MN DNR link here.
Where can you find blueberries, strawberries, chokecherries, pin cherries, raspberries, and thimbleberries growing wild? Cook County, Minnesota is your place! Berry picking is a fun afternoon adventure, and one of the best things to do with kids when you need to slow down for a while. Find, identify and pick wild berries — and just try to save a few for your favorite berry recipe.
June is the month for strawberries. Sweet, tiny, prolific – don’t miss out! Then comes July, with the middle two weeks typically being the best time to gather blueberries. In August, it’s time for chokecherries, pin cherries, raspberries and thimbleberries. When you’re here, just ask your hosts to point you in the right direction, then arm yourself with a pail and enjoy the sweet harvest.
Never eat anything you are unsure of. Always taste test one berry before you toss down a mouthful. Although berry picking is one of many great things to do with kids, NEVER let children pick berries unsupervised. They are more likely to make mistakes in identification and ingest berries they shouldn’t.
Blueberries
Blueberries are the forest fruit that people associate most often with canoe country, and they’re plentiful throughout the region. They like dry, well-drained, rocky soil with good sun and are often found under jack or red pine stands and in recent burns. The plants are a woody shrub, usually less than two feet tall and resemble miniature trees. Blueberries almost always grow in patches from a few individual plants to many square yards in size. If you find one plant, you’ll probably find more.
Raspberries
Next on the list for most folks is raspberries, which are also found throughout canoe country. They like disturbed soil and lots of sunshine. Recent burns and openings in the forest are likely places to look. Along portage trails and around the edge of campsites are good habitats, too.
Thimbleberries
Thimbleberry, also called salmonberry, is a close cousin to the raspberry. Look for the huge, maple-like leaves that are from 4-8 inches in diameter. The plants are almost always about three feet tall and very bushy. Earlier in the summer, thimbleberry has beautiful white flowers that are very similar to wild rose.
Strawberries
Wild strawberries are a passion for some and the best pickin’ patches are closely guarded secrets. They like well-drained soils and lots of sunshine. You’ll find them in forest openings, along portage trails and around some open campsites. The plants are very small, low to the ground and the berries like to hide beneath the leaves.
These are a few of the fruits and berries you are likely to encounter on your next trip to Cook County. There are many other berries and fruits in the forest – some edible, some not. It is always best to be sure of what you are eating and taste test even if you feel sure. Remember to be a good forest grazer and leave more than you take.
Blueberries in the Gunflint Trail area ripen late July and in full bloom early August. Wild blueberries are easy to identify, looking much like the grocery store variety, only smaller. The plants are woody shrubs, usually less than two feet tall and resemble miniature trees. They grow best in dry, well drained, rocky soil with good sun and are often found in recent burn areas. Now through August 13th
Blueberries will be measured by weight, and must be picked fresh and not store bought.
2022 WINNERS & WEIGHTS:
1st Place: Mark | 1.9 grams weighed at Chik-Wauk Nature Center
2nd Place: Paul | 1.85 grams weighed at Voyageur Canoe Outfitters
3rd Place: Lynne | 1.82 grams weighed at Chik-Wauk Nature Center
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Weigh Stations
Weigh stations will be designated by large road signs at various resorts and locations along the Gunflint Trail.
The Keeper’s Tour explores the site through the eyes of the keepers and their families. Hear stories about what it was like living on site at Split Rock Lighthouse.Guided tour of historic grounds and lighthouse are available now through mid April, tours are offered on Saturdays and Sundays only. For more details or to reserve your tickets, link here.
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Lighthouse History
Walk in the century-old footsteps of the lighthouse keepers and come face-to-face with the 1000-watt bulb.
Located on a 130-foot cliff on the rocky coast of Lake Superior, Split Rock Lighthouse is an intact 1910 light station that guided ships across the often stormy waters of western Lake Superior. Today, Split Rock Lighthouse is a Minnesota state historic site and a National Historic Landmark.
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Lighting the way
In the early 20th century, Lake Superior was, as American novelist James Oliver Curwood called it, “the most dangerous piece of water in the world.” As Minnesota’s iron ore industry was booming, the need for safe passage of freighter ships drove the U.S. Congress to appropriate $75,000 for a lighthouse and fog signal at Split Rock — that’s nearly $2 million today.
Not much has changed since the lighthouse was built in 1910. At the top of a 32-step spiral staircase, the lantern room houses the original French-built Fresnel lens that still turns with its original clockwork mechanism. While the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1969, the lantern is still in operational condition and is lit each November 10 during the Edmund Fitzgerald Beacon Lighting Ceremony.
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Repels ships, attracts people
In the late 1930s, the lighthouse drew about 100,000 people each year — about five times as many visitors as any other station in the service. When the U.S. Coast Guard absorbed the Lighthouse Service in 1939, it publicized Split Rock Lighthouse as “probably the most visited lighthouse in the United States.”
Today, Split Rock Lighthouse draws visitors from around the world, all year long. Surrounded by Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, the lighthouse is a spectacular destination where visitors can enjoy the changing of Minnesota’s seasons, and it is one of the best locations on the North Shore to get up close and personal with the largest Great Lake.
