Gooseberry Falls State Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, United States, on the North Shore of

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

. The park is located in Silver Creek Township, about 13 miles (21 km) northeast of

Two Harbors, Minnesota Two Harbors is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Minnesota, United States, along the shore of Lake Superior. The population was 3,633 at the 2020 census. Minnesota State Highway 61 serves as a main route in Two Harbors. Gooseberry ...

in Lake County on scenic Minnesota Highway 61. The park surrounds the mouth of the Gooseberry River and includes Upper, Middle and Lower Gooseberry Falls.

History and facilities

The

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennia ...

authorized preservation of the area around Gooseberry Falls in 1933, and the area was officially designated Gooseberry Falls State Park in 1937. The

rustic style Rustic architecture is a style of architecture in the United States, used in rural government and private structures and their landscape interior design. It was influenced by the American craftsman style. According to the National Park Service, � ...

resources in Gooseberry Falls State Park were constructed by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

between 1934 and 1941. The structures are notable for their stone construction, using red, blue, brown, and black

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

. The designs were supervised by the Minnesota Central Design Office of the National Park Service and construction was supervised by two Italian stonemasons. In 1996, the Joseph N. Alexander visitor center was built, providing space for interpretive displays, a cinema screening room, and a gift shop. The visitor center hosts public events including nature, wildlife, astronomy, and music programs. The architect was Duluth-base
David Salmela
for which he won the 199
AIA Minnesota
award. This park provides 70 non-electric camping sites that are available year-round. There are 18 miles (29 km) of

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trails, including of

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

trails. The trails connect to the

Superior Hiking Trail The Superior Hiking Trail, also known as the SHT, is a long hiking trail in northeastern Minnesota that follows the rocky ridges overlooking Lake Superior for most of its length. The trail travels through forests of birch, aspen, pine, fir, and ...

. There are popular picnic and swimming spots on the trails.

Park geology

The north shore of Lake Superior is almost entirely underlain by a series of at least 19 lava flows. The Gooseberry River has cut through the flows from the uppermost layer to the lower falls where it flows into Lake Superior. Three distinct layers of lava can be seen from the highway bridge. The lower flows were more compact and hard, but the upper flows were vesicular, containing pockets that later filled with various minerals including those that formed the Lake Superior agates which can be found along the beach where the river ends in Lake Superior.

Wildlife

This park is home to the mammalian species of

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

Canadian lynx The Canada lynx (''Lynx canadensis''), or Canadian lynx, is a medium-sized North American lynx that ranges across Alaska, Canada, and northern areas of the contiguous United States. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears w ...

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

, timber wolf, and

marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...

. Fish that swim in the lakes are migratory

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

and

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

. Bird watchers may see a variety of conifer-dependent birds,

raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

s, and

herring gull Herring gull is a common name for several birds in the genus ''Larus'', all formerly treated as a single species. Three species are still combined in some taxonomies: * American herring gull (''Larus smithsonianus'') - North America * European he ...

Gallery

File:Gooseberry Falls 1.jpg, File:Gooseberry Falls 2.jpg, File:Gooseberry Falls 3.jpg, File:Gooseberry Falls 4.jpg, File:2021AlexanderVisitorCenterGooseberryFallsStateParkMN.jpg, File:Gfp-minnesota-gooseberry-falls-state-park-gooseberry-river.jpg, File:Gooseberry Falls State Park - Fall Colors (22287367439).jpg,

References

DNR Gooseberry Falls facts

External links

{{authority control 1937 establishments in Minnesota Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Protected areas established in 1937 Protected areas of Lake County, Minnesota Rustic architecture in Minnesota State parks of Minnesota Waterfalls of Minnesota Landforms of Lake County, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Lake County, Minnesota