Top Seven Great Lakes Hidden Gems
April 14, 2021
The Upper Midwest is full of hidden waterfalls, incredible vistas, and some of the best campsites the region has to offer. Lake Superior has islands and rugged shoreline, with dramatic sea caves and arches. After living in the region for years and working as a Lake Superior Guide I’ve been lucky enough to visit some of the best Great Lakes hidden gems.
A few years ago, I was driving through Northern Wisconsin, I stopped at a small bookstore and browse the guides section. Driving from Bayfield, where I worked as a sea kayaking guide, through the Upper Peninsula I stopped at a bookstore. Ideally, I hoped to find some kind of trail guide that would not only give me good places to stop in my UP-road trip, for hiking and paddling both.
I browsed for a bit, but I couldn’t find a book that gave the highlights and points of interest for such a large region. So I wrote that book.
Hidden Gems of the Northern Great Lakes: A Trail and Paddling Guide covers the Northwoods of Michigan, Wisconsin, and the North Shore of Minnesota. Here, I’ve provided highlights for families on road trips and hardcore backpackers both. Basically, this guide book is designed to help you make your Great Lakes Bucket List. I want to help you find not only the places you should go but when you should go there, and practical planning concerns you might encounter along the way.
Top Seven Hidden Gems of the Northern Great Lakes
Hidden Gems of the Northern Great Lakes: A Trail and Paddling Guide has more than 150 hidden gems for paddlers, hikers, and sightseers. Not ready to sift through 150 different destination? Here are my top seven hidden gems of the Northern Great Lakes.
7) Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Near Traverse City, Michigan, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is home dozens of hiking and paddling routes. Sleeping Bear has clear water and bright sand beaches that rival the Caribbean, and incredible paddling routes.
Some of the best trails in Sleeping Bear include the Empire Bluffs Trail, the Dune Climb, and the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive (ADA-accessible). Driving through Sleeping Bear is especially beautiful in peak fall color.
6) Sea Kayaking the Pictured Rocks
Munising, Michigan is home to some of the most dramatic geology in the US. In the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, cliffs tower above bright blue water, the shoreline dotted with small sea caves and dramatic arches. The cliffs themselves look as if someone has dumped buckets of bright paint down them.
Sea kayaking underneath the Pictured Rocks is a bucket list worth trip, but did you know you can hike above the cliffs as well? The Lakeshore trail runs from Grand Marais, MN to Munising, MI and offers some of the best 3-5 day backpacking views in the United States.
Looking for Lake Superior Kayaking Routes? Click here!
5) Isle Royale National Park
Known as one of the least listed national parks, but most revisited, Isle Royale National Park is the best place in the Midwest to spot moose, with incredible backpacking trails and rugged Lake Superior shoreline. At 15 miles from the nearest mainland, Isle Royale is only accessible by boat or float plane.
Isle Royale is a destination for paddlers, backpackers, and wildlife enthusiasts alike. Often considered the true crown of the Great Lakes, Isle Royale full of hidden gems. My favorite places include McCargoe Cove, Rock Harbor, and Chippewa Harbor.
4) The Gunflint Trail
Just outside of Grand Marias, MN, the Gunflint Trial is a scenic route that cuts into the heart of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Here, you can wind past remote lakes and through rugged hills. If you’re lucky, you might spot a fox, or snowshoe hare, or maybe even a moose!
Recently, driving the Gunflint Trail to look for moose has become a popular activity for Minnesotan Photographers and moose-spotting hopefuls, but driving the trial does not guarantee a moose spotting! An early morning slow drive up the trail might increase your chances of seeing a moose. Still, if you drive the scenic route with the only intention of seeing a moose, you will likely be disappointed.
3) Cascade River
Somehow both deep in the woods and just off Highway 61, the Cascade River flows over more than seven waterfalls. The Cascade River Gorge, along with several other of the River Gorges along Minnesota’s North Shore, offers some of the most beautiful waterfall views in the Midwest. Cascade is just south of Grand Marais, MN.
Cascade River Hidden on the North Shore 
Cascade River rushes on a rainy spring day.
In my opinion, the best way to visit Cascade River is to go on a rainy, foggy day when it is especially green, then head up to Grand Marais after for some coffee on the harbor at Java Moose.
For more North Shore waterfalls and canyons, check out Hidden Gems of the Northern Great Lakes: A Trail and Paddling Guide.
2) Grand Portage National Monument
Just miles from the Canadian Border, Grand Portage National Monument is home to one of the largest collections of Ojibwe/Anishinabee art and artifacts in the world. The Grand Portage National Monument is absolutely free to the public, located right on Lake Superior. The park is a partnership between the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe and the National Parks Service to protect and perverse Ojibwe culture.
Today, the Grand Portage National Monument is a great place to not only learn about Ojibwe culture, the fur trade in Northern Minnesota, and to experience some of the incredible hiking trails and waterfalls up on the Grand Portage Reservation.
1) The Apostle Islands Sea Caves
“Can you believe this is Wisconsin!?” is probably the phrase most often said when visiting these dramatic caves. The “sea caves” are located near Bayfield, Wisconsin, and I strongly recommend you book a guided tour to visit them!
Two years as a sea kayak guide in the Apostle Islands, no, I still can’t believe this place is Wisconsin. The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is hidden in Far North Wisconsin, the last bit of land before the map bleeds into freshwater sea. On the Northeast end of many of the islands, you can find sandstone sea caves.
There are dozens more paddling routes and sea caves in the Apostle Islands, and dozens more hidden waterfalls throughout the Northern Great Lakes Region. Check out Hidden Gems of the Northern Great Lakes: A Trail and Paddling Guide, for the best hikes, paddles, campsites, and the logistics you need to know.
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