Grand Portage State Forest

About Grand Portage State Forest

The waterfall, the highest in the state, is a serious obstacle to the river, which requires carrying yourself to a place and portage. American Indians created an ancient 9 mile route to bypass the waterfall, and the path became known as Grand Portage, and it is still one of the most popular hiking trails in Wisconsin.

Today, visitors of all levels can admire the waterfall overlooking the lake, as well as the river, creek and Great Lakes, Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.

The spectacular landscape provides an ideal setting for hiking, biking, canoeing, camping, fishing and other outdoor activities. The park is designed for daily use and covers more than 1,000 hectares of paths, trails and trails for all ages and abilities.

The park is located in the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and Lake Superior, about one mile east of the park, west of Lake Michigan in the Great Lakes.

Mixed forest - deciduous forests cover most of the park and dominate the Great Lakes National Park and Grand Portage State Park. Visitors will also see a variety of wildlife such as wolves, coyotes, elks, elks and other wildlife.

This wooded area provides access to the Dove River, which runs through the park, as well as Great Lakes National Park and Grand Portage State Park. The slopes and ridges of large ridges are home to a variety of wildlife including wolves, coyotes, elks and elk, including the Grand River and its tributaries.

The geology of the high waterfall is a story of fire and ice, geologists say, and there are rock layers that can be seen inside the canyon. The ancient sea covered what is now Minnesota with mud, which hardened over time to form a layer of slate and slate, the so-called Rove Formation. It all began about 4,000 years ago with the formation of Lake Superior, the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, according to the National Park Service.

The continent began to spread, with the rifts stretching from what is now eastern Lake Superior to Kansas. Huge glaciers blasted away the soft rocks of slate and slate, leaving the harder, more resistant rocks, basalt, standing. As the rocks of the old Rove Shales penetrated Grand Portage and turned the contact area into slate and the rock beneath into rock, basalt and lava streamed through the canyon. The cliff on which the waterfall runs is a diabase, which is very resistant to erosion.

This is the fourth interglacial period, with the last glacier receding about 10,000 years ago.

The advance was caused by a combination of glaciation, ice sheets and melting glaciers and volcanic eruptions.

The lake level slowly sank and the land in the Lake Superior basin gradually recovered from the ice load. The ridge of Grand Portage State Park would form an isolated archipelago along the coast.

Over the centuries gravel has been deposited on the terraces of the receding lake, and the path to the High Falls leads directly to one of these gravel terraces.

About 9,000 years ago, the sea level fell to the point where an estuary was located at the bottom of the High Falls gorge. The gorge is only 9,000 years old, as it is a post-glacial land form, and the river flows through it at a speed of about 1.5 miles per year.

Geologists speculate that the canyon was cut off, filled with sediment and dug out again after the glaciers began to rise as the lake level sank. Evidence of this is the presence of an estuary at the bottom of the High Falls Gorge, as well as other evidence of sedimentation.

The glacier ridges throughout the park lend the varied terrain a wealth of animal species.

Visitors can look out over the canalized bays, rivers, islands and waterfalls that are located in the estuary, as well as the river and the island waterfall.

The natural conditions in the area are breathtaking and it is a great place to wear hiking shoes, walking shoes or even hiking pants. The area around the Grand Portage State Forest and its surroundings is rich in Indian history and fur trade. Travellers and traders faced torrential rapids, cliffs and rocky terrain that was impossible to cross, as well as harsh weather conditions.

The only way to get around these obstacles was on foot, on horseback, canoe, boat or even on foot with the help of a small group of people.

The park is located in the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, and Lake Superior is located about one mile east of the park. The nine-kilometre walk became known as the "Grand Portage" and eventually gave the area its name.

This is a unique situation as it is the only state park not owned by the State of Minnesota. The park was founded in 1884 as part of the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, a reserve with about 2,000 people.

The land is leased by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which holds it in trust for the Grand Portage Band. The development and operation of the park are primarily the responsibility of the Ministry of Natural Resources and are carried out by the Parks and Recreation Department.

Take State Highway 61 about 36 miles north, and the park entrance is on the west side of the highway until you reach the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, about one and a half miles south of Fort McMurray.