Minnesota’s small towns are delightful. From well-known small towns like Ely,
Pipestone and Nisswa, to the truly tiny towns there’s nothing quite like
exploring a small Minnesota town with family and friends.
The Superior Hiking Trail is a 310-mile-long
hiking trail that follows the rocky ridgeline above Lake Superior. Access the
trail from many points from Jay Cooke State Park, through Duluth, and along Hwy
61 from west of Two Harbors to north of Grand Marais. Great for both day hikes
and backpack camping, enjoy scenic overlooks, waterfalls, forests and wildlife.
93 free backcountry campsites spaced every 5-8 miles.
Tofte is one of the many small communities dotting the North Shore. It’s a popular jumping-off point for kayakers paddling through the beautiful sea caves found on the shore.
Tofte is one of the many small communities dotting the North Shore. It’s a popular jumping-off point for kayakers paddling through the beautiful sea caves found on the shore.
The North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum on Lake
Superior's North Shore is a unique experience of the maritime heritage
engrained in the landscape and people who call this country home. Governed by
the Tofte Historical Society, the North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum is
dedicated to the collection, preservation and dissemination of historical
knowledge in commercial fishing and the early lifestyles on the shore and
waters of Lake Superior.
Maritime Objects, artifacts, photographs and images are at the heart of the museum's collections.
The museum is a replica of the twin fish house in Tofte. In the upstairs rooms,
safe from the rain and snow, old nets were dried on net reels and new nets were
seamed during slow periods. The second floor had a porch away from the lake
that was used to oil and dry corks. In good weather, rope and cord were hung
over the porch railings to dry.
The
Story of Mobility in America
Maritime Museums in Historic Towns
Museum
Exhibits from the fjords of Norway to the
isolated, rugged shoreline of Lake Superior, the Museum's exhibits take you
across the cultural landscape of North Shore commercial fishermen and their
families. From the stories about surviving the raging seas of the Lake to the
details of traditional North Shore boat building techniques, you can hear the
stories directly from the fishermen themselves.
Steamships were crucial to the development of tourism on the North
Shore and Isle Royale
Commercial Fishermen began to take in overnight guests in the 1920's to supplement their
income. Rustic, cold water cabins and luxury hotels have proven to be a lasting
part of the economy of the North Shore. Steamships helped this fledgling
industry by promoting the resorts and transporting potential guests. The steamship
captains, representing a link to the outside world, were important
personalities along the North Shore. They are remembered as nearly inseparable
parts of the ships they commanded.
Lake trout
and herring were the two predominant commercial fish
on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Whitefish, important on the south shore,
lacked proper habitat along this rocky coast. The increasing population of sea
lamprey in Lake Superior in the 1950's greatly harmed the trout populations,
and effectively ended their commercial harvest. Lampreys were originally
prevented from reaching the Great Lakes by Niagara Falls. With the construction
of the Welland Ship Canal in 1835, lampreys began to make their first inroads
into the eastern lakes, and steadily moved west. They first appeared in Lake
Superior in the 1940's.
Fishing Techniques
gill netting and hook line were the two
primary techniques used by North Shore fishermen. Although gill nets were used
for both trout and herring, the hook line was used only for trout. Nets were set in the beginning of the
season and moved several times; new anchors were needed with every move.
Attached to a coil of strong rope, the anchor was slipped overboard very
carefully as the rapidly descending line could entangle and pull a person
overboard. Many fishermen used local
rocks for anchors. When rocks with suitable natural shapes were unavailable,
grooves were chiseled in rocks of the appropriate size.
Connect for Travel to Lake Superior and Minnesota
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