SPLIT ROCK LIGHTHOUSE STATE PARK
LENGTH 4.6 miles
TIME 3:15
DIFFICULTY Moderate-Difficult
ROUTE-FINDING Easy-Moderate
MAPS & PERMITS DNR Split Rock Lighthouse State Park map. USGS quad: Split Rock Point. A permit is not required.
GETTING THERE The trailhead is located at the wayside on the north side of Country State Road 61 0.3 mile beyond the 43 mile marker just prior to crossing the Split Rock River.
TRAILHEAD GPS 47c 10′ 56.1 “N 91° 24 31.0W
The Split Rock River Trail is one of the most popular hikes on the North Shore. It offers spectacular views of the lake as well as the excitement of a river leaping and tumbling over rock ledges and slides. Pines and cedars soften the rugged walls of the narrow river gorge.
By North Shore standards, the Split Rock River drains a relatively small area of about 40 square miles. Other rivers, such as the Manitou, Cross, Temperance, Cascade, Baptism, and Pigeon, drain areas that range from 91 to 610 square miles. Two branches of the Split Rock River join about four miles upstream from Lake Superior. For the next two miles the river drops 110 feet in elevation. In the third mile, amid the roar of water contending with gravity and rock, the river plummets over 350 feet. Finally, the valley opens up and the floor levels out. Here, in its last mile, the river slackens its pace before emptying into Lake Superior.
