Temperance River State Park, 7620 West Highway 61, Schroeder, MN 55613
Along the north shore in Minnesota there is a little town called Schroeder, and just north of this town is the Temperance River State Park. The park entrance is on the east side of the road, but the trails we took were on the west side of the road.
We parked along 61 and took the superior hiking trail along the northern part of the river all the way up to Carlton Peak. It is a beautiful journey.
The trail starts near hidden falls, which, if this is all the further you get you still have a lot to see. It isn’t far the to first looking point. You get a glimpse of the falls hiding behind some rocks.
A better view is just a little ways further, but you will need to walk up some rock stairs. They did a great job making the path look almost natural at times, like the stairs where crafted by the Earth and not placed by man.
The river is this beautiful, powerful, twisting, turning thing at this point in the river. It carves its way through the rocks and creates whirlpools along the way which is way there is so much foam in the river.
About a mile or so in you will come across a sign stating Carlton Peak 2 miles and Britton Peak 3.6 miles. Take the journey up to Carlton Peak if you have the time. There is quite a bit of walking up hill, but the view is amazing.
A view from the bottom looking up at Carlton Peak will make you take a pause, but it really is worth it. I believe there are shorter journeys up to the top from another trail head if you only want to see the peak.
There is a place where you can write in a journal about who you are and why you are there. We were going to attempt to go up from there, but if you walk a little further an easier path will present itself. Luckily someone saw us and pointed this path out to us.
The view of Lake Superior from here reminds you just how big that lake really is because you can’t see all of it. It almost looks like it isn’t a lake, but instead the sky shining blue and touching the trees.
The view away from the lake is just this ocean of trees. It seems to extend forever.
On our trip back to our car a squirrel posed for a picture. I swear he chased us down and waited for me to get this pic.
Camping near the Temperance River in the State Park by the Lake looked like it might be pretty amazing. You are pretty close to your neighbors, but the view is great and the trails down to the Lake and beach area are pretty sweet.
We walked along the beach just as the sun was setting and the moon was rising. We knew we needed to get back to the car, but it was hard to walk away from these fantastic views.
If you get a chance to see Hidden Falls, Carlton Peak, or any of Temperance State Park take the opportunity to see it all. It is part of the Superior Hiking Trails and a piece of the trail that you will not want to skip.
