Winter hiking at Gooseberry Falls
Every year around April, I start to feel like it’s time for a little trip. Eric’s birthday is the first week of April, and so we often use that as our reason for a road trip staycation. We knew the weather was getting nicer, so we went to Duluth, Minnesota. It’s no secret that Duluth is one of our favorite places in Minnesota. It gives us a lush and mountainy vibe while giving city vibes.
Lake Superior is truly a sight to see, especially in winter. That’s right– April in Minnesota is still winter, so move here of your own volition! we both feel drawn to the large body of water. It’s like the small secret freshwater ocean of Minnesota. We stayed near the canal in Duluth and explored the city, and after getting lunch with my sister and her boyfriend, we had plenty of daylight left, so we drove 45 minutes up north to Gooseberry Falls for a little Minnesota winter hike.
Is winter hiking worth it?
Winter hiking is a blast. No, I’m being serious! Believe me, if you had asked me to go for a hike longer than 3 miles at a standard room temperature half a decade ago, I would have said no with zero hesitation. Now add the element of snow ice and subzero temperatures. It’s a big no, right? Well… something changed over the last few years, and I find hiking to be relaxing now. Before this trip, I had winter hiked only one other time, and it was two months ago when we walked around an icy lake in our Yaktrax.
This was the first weekend of April, and snow in Duluth, and especially Gooseberry Falls had not melted yet. The best part though, was the weather was gorgeous. We were mostly jacket free in Duluth, and we bundled up extra for the hike. Also we actually didn’t even use the Yaktrax (Sorry, not sponsored by Yaktrax, but I lowkey wish they would, because they converted me into a winter adventuring girlie).
What does Gooseberry Falls look like in winter?
You’ll never believe it, but imagine a giant mountain of melting ice cream, because surprise– that's what Gooseberry Falls in winter looked like. The weather was so warm that you could see small holes of the waterfall flowing here and there, and there were signs everywhere warning patrons to not walk on the river!
I mean, you don’t have to convince me to not walk on a frozen body of moving water, however, we’ve been to Gooseberry Falls over a dozen times, so we just stood in spots that are usually little rocky plateaus or less than ankle-deep river. The water rushed through the pockets of months-old ice. It was dead silent, we still felt fully present in our surroundings.
Standing next to a frozen gooseberry falls, and beyond that bridge was the powerful and loud lake superior!
The trees were bald– and birds were chirping about. Outside the sound of the rumbling river beneath the ice, we also heard the crushing sounds of a furious Lake Superior nearby. That’s the thing about winter on the Minnesota North Shore… the waters are mighty– regardless of the time of year, and one could argue they’re actually more impressive in the harsh winter months since they’re still moving, even though everything around them is frozen in time.
Is Gooseberry Falls a popular winter hiking trail?
Gooseberry Falls is generally a popular destination for seasoned hikers and beginners alike. In the warm months, hikers walk mere feet apart in a uniform line through the trail to see the beauty of the falls and the lake. It’s just a popular spot on the north shore, and you often have to park on the street and walk to the parking lot near the visitor center, due to its high traffic most of the year.
We only ran into a handful of fellow winter hikers on our trip. A family was near the lower falls and one couple crossed our path venturing down the stairs, but that was about it. I was glad the trails were clear because I enjoy having personal space to wander freely at my own pace. After seeing the falls, we went back to the visitor center lot where we parked our car, and we drove down to the picnic area by the lake, and there wasn’t a car or human in sight (though we did see one alert whitetail deer on our trot to the picnic area on a cliff).
(A little disclaimer, I suppose, we went around 4:45 pm, and sunset was around 7:30 that day, so many people just don’t hike around dinner time.)
Does Lake Superior freeze in the winter?
I always wondered what happens to Lake Superior during winter. It’s essentially a freshwater sea, and it has waves like the ocean, so I had no idea what to expect it to look like. In my mind, I imagined it would freeze til maybe half a mile out, but apparently, it just stays unfrozen. The shores of the lake are definitely iced over, but not as much as you’d imagine it to be.
Something cool about the lake near Gooseberry Falls was the almost ice castle-esque look of the ice along the cliffsides. I was in awe of the waves crashing along the shores because the height alone was terrifying. I’ve seen it many times, but the size of the waves always astounds me, and this isn’t the ocean, its a lake. This massive lake has taken down ships, whole, and its absolutely frigid, with the temps staying around 35 degrees Fahrenheit year-round.
Seeing the lake violently crashing along a rocky cliff, and creating massive ice caps was crazy, and I was moved to say the least. We climbed around to the other side of the cliff to see it from up top, and the waves were crashing the 15 foot tall cliffside with ease, and we definitely got hit with a shower of chilly water, and so we called it a day then.
Spending time with my love in the places we love
It’s hard to explain how much these little trips into the woods mean to me, but I think it’s mostly because I’m with Eric. We complement each other well. I love adventure, and so does he. When I want to see a waterfall, he knows where to find them. I want to hike a mountain, and he plans the hike with me.
There’s obviously times where he is far more adventurous than me, like the time he wanted to go skydiving for his birthday about 5 years ago, and I… gladly watched from the field he was aiming to land into! But hey, he wanted to swim with sharks in the Pacific, and I leaped into the ocean to see the sharks with him, so there’s still some adventures left to be had!
I’m so grateful that he pushes me outside of my comfort zone for our adventures and experiences, and that when I want to get out of Minneapolis, he immediately hops in the car or jumps on a plane, ready to go to the next place on our list! Happy birthday to my love, Eric, aka the coolest guy I know.
