Caribou Falls State Wayside: An easy waterfall hike on Minnesota’s North Shore

Last updated on January 5th, 2025

Looking for a pretty waterfall along Minnesota’s North Shore that’s easy to get to, but not crowded? The hiking trail at the Caribou Falls State Wayside offers just that. It leads to a two-tier 35-foot waterfall that is sure to please!

Long-exposure photo of a two-tier waterfall at the Caribou Falls State Wayside along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota © Cindy Carlsson at ExplorationVacation.net

Caribou Falls is pretty in any season, but it’s at its most dramatic in spring.

I drove past the Caribou Falls wayside a few dozen times over the years without realizing there was a really good reason to stop. Don’t repeat my mistake! Minnesota’s Caribou Falls is definitely worth a stop as you explore the North Shore.

Hiking the Caribou Falls Trail

The Caribou Falls hiking trail is just over a mile roundtrip, although it’s worth a little detour to spend more time hiking along the river’s edge. This trail is a spur off the Superior Hiking Trail.

Explore the Caribou River

It’s a short walk from the parking lot to the Caribou River. But the Caribou Falls Trail doesn’t follow the river to the falls. (It runs through the forest and then drops back down to the falls.) However, it’s worth spending time exploring along the river’s edge on your way to or back from the waterfall. (Or both.)

Long-exposure photo of a river flowing over red rock with trees on both sides at the Caribou Falls State Wayside on Minnesota’s North Shore © Cindy Carlsson at ExplorationVacation.net

The Caribou River races by in spring. By summer it’s usually safe to step right into the river.

Read more about the Caribou River

Hiking to Caribou Falls

While the Caribou Falls Trail doesn’t follow the river to the waterfall, it does go through a pleasant woodland.

Photo of a woodland trail with a man walking on it in spring before most trees have fully leafed out at the Caribou Falls State Wayside on the North Shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota © Cindy Carlsson at ExplorationVacation.net

Hiking through the forest on the Caribou Falls Trail.

This area supports a mix of trees, with a few evergreens and a lot of poplar, birch, and maple. And the dappled light they create supports a lot of flowers, ferns, and other vegetation on the forest floor.

Photo of columbine leaves at the Caribou Falls State Wayside on Minnesota’s North Shore © Cindy Carlsson at ExplorationVacation.net

Mid-May was too early to see columbine in bloom along the Caribou Falls Trail.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many spring wildflowers in bloom when I visited. Even the leaves were just starting to appear on the trees along the trail. That made for a sunny hike.

By summer you’ll find more flowers and a lot more shade!

However, visiting before the trees fully leaf-out makes it a easier to enjoy views of the river below and Lake Superior in the distance.

Photo of the Caribou River from the hiking trail at the Caribou Falls State Wayside on Minnesota’s North Shore © Cindy Carlsson at ExplorationVacation.net

You can get some good overviews of the Caribou River from the hiking trail.

Caribou Falls nestles in a bend in the river. That means you have to get almost to the waterfall before you can see it. But, when there’s a lot of water going over it, you can clearly hear it before you reach the first of the stairs.

Photo of wooden steps winding down a hillside hiking trail at the Caribou Falls State Wayside on the North Shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota © Cindy Carlsson at ExplorationVacation.net

I could hear Caribou Falls before I reached the first set of steps down to it.

But even in spring when there aren’t a lot of leaves obscuring the view, you still need to be more than halfway down the stairs before you can actually see it.

Photo of a waterfall seen through trees at the Caribou Falls State Wayside on Minnesota’s North Shore © Cindy Carlsson at ExplorationVacation.net

Hey! There’s a waterfall down there!

And you don’t get a really good look until you are at the very end of the steps.

Photo of a woman standing on a boardwalk looking at a waterfall at the Caribou Falls State Wayside on the North Shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota © Cindy Carlsson at ExplorationVacation.net

The final few steps are under water, but you get a good view from the boardwalk.

Long-exposure photo of a two-tier waterfall at the Caribou Falls State Wayside on Minnesota’s North Shore © Cindy Carlsson at ExplorationVacation.net

It’s a little hard to see the top of it from the boardwalk, but Caribou Falls is a beauty!

When I visited in May, it appeared there were a couple more steps below the water. There was no visible beach. Later in the season you should be able to get closer – like right up to the base of the waterfall.  Of course, there won’t be as much water flowing over the falls, so it won’t be quite as dramatic. But the ability to explore from the beach seems like a good trade-off.

Caribou Falls used to be a separate state park

Caribou Falls offers enough great scenery to be a state park. Today it is part of Temperance River State Park. But once upon a time, it was a separate state park.

In 1947 the 92 acres that include Caribou Falls became a state park. As is true today, there wasn’t enough space to build a lot of park facilities. That limited Caribou Falls State park to a hiking trail, a few picnic tables, a parking lot, and a trail to the river and falls.

Because of the park’s small size, Caribou Falls was reclassified as a state wayside in 1969. (A state wayside is an area that would be worthy of being a state park if it were bigger. It’s not intended to serve highway traffic like a rest area, just hikers and other day users.)

But that change also led to less investment in the site. By the mid-1970s signs directing visitors to the wayside were gone and the area seems to have been mostly abandoned as a park of any sort. Planning for the Gitchi-Gami Recreation Trail brought improvements to the Caribou Falls wayside by 2018. That included roadside signage, so travelers along the North Shore can easily find the wayside.

Where are the caribou?

Despite seeing caribou this and caribou that as you travel around Minnesota, you won’t see any caribou in Minnesota. Sorry. You need to go to a zoo or head up to Canada if you want to see caribou.

Photo of two caribou (reindeer) resting at the Minnesota Zoo in January 2015 © Cindy Carlsson at ExplorationVacation.net

The only caribou in Minnesota are in zoos, like these at the Minnesota Zoo.

And, even in Canada, woodland caribou like those once found in Northern Minnesota are extremely rare around Lake Superior.

Read more about caribou

Plan your trip to Caribou Falls on Minnesota’s North Shore

Located nearly half way up Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior in Temperance River State Park, the area around Caribou Falls State Wayside is the homeland of the Ojibwe (Anishanaabe or Chippewa) people and their ancestors. It’s among the most beautiful areas in Minnesota.

And Caribou Falls is an easy stop even if you don’t plan to travel the entire shore from Duluth to Canada.

Getting to the Caribou Falls Wayside

The Caribou Falls State Wayside is located just north of Little Marais on Highway 61. That’s about a 3½ hour drive from Minneapolis, but there are so many things to do along the way you should plan at least a full day just to get up there.

(While the wayside is within Temperance River State Park, you access each from different places.)

This isn’t a day trip from the Twin Cities, but it can be part of a weekend get-away. Of course, it’s better if you have at least three or four days to take advantage of the fabulous scenery you’ll find all along Lake Superior’s North Shore.

From Duluth it’s a 1½ hour drive, so very doable as a day trip. But again, this area is worth as much time as you can give it.

If you’re on the Superior Hiking Trail, Caribou Falls is on the Caribou Falls spur trail between Silver Bay and Lutsen. It’s NOT at the Caribou Trail trailhead by Caribou Lake.

Facilities

The Caribou Falls State Wayside is very basic. It’s largely designed to support day hikers.

  • Parking is available for a dozen or more cars, but limited to 6 hours. Overnight parking is prohibited.
  • There is one pit toilet.
  • Basic signage makes the Caribou Falls trail easy to spot from the parking lot.
  • There are no picnic tables.
  • Plan to take trash with you when you leave.

Most of the Caribou Falls Trail is a simple dirt path through the woods. There’s little elevation change until you near the waterfall. But then, as you descend, you follow a series of wooden steps. The steepest section has steps linked by boardwalks and sturdy railings. There are even a couple of benches as you drop down to (and climb out of) the Caribou Falls viewpoint. The stairs and boardwalks were in excellent condition in May, but that can change quickly.

Photo of a man standing on a wooden boardwalk in the woods with railings and stairs visible in the distance at the Caribou Falls State Wayside on Minnesota’s North Shore © Cindy Carlsson at ExplorationVacation.net

There’s a lot of new-looking infrastructure to ensure more people can get to the waterfall safely.

I didn’t count how many steps there are, but there are a lot of them.

When is the best time to visit Caribou Falls?

Caribou Falls flows throughout the year, but your experience will vary with the season. The amount of winter snow and summer rain will determine how much water is flowing through the Caribou River and over the falls at any given time. Water levels will greatly impact your experience, but can vary greatly from year to year.

Read more about when to visit Caribou Falls

Tips for hiking the Caribou Falls Trail

This is generally an easy trail, but there are a LOT of steps to get down to the falls and back up again. They are solid, easy to use stairs, but there are a lot of them and there isn’t a lot of space for people to pass.

Keep a close eye on children as you’ll find both rushing water and very steep drop-offs along the trail.

The Caribou River is a designated trout stream. You’ll find brook trout, rainbow trout and three kinds of salmon in the river, but fishing regulations in this area are a little complicated.

Bring water.

Some of this area is a little wet and marshy most of the year, so be prepared for mosquitos, ticks, and other biting insects. (Tick-borne Lyme disease is present in this part of Minnesota.)

Other places to visit near Caribou Falls

Caribou Falls State Wayside is in Temperance River State Park.  That puts it in the middle of some of the North Shore’s favorite parks. There’s lots to see and do here!

The entrance to the main part of Temperance River State Park is just a few minutes north of the wayside north to visit Sugarloaf Cove, and Cascade River State Park, and the funky little town of Grand Marais.

In under an hour drive south you’ll find Tettegouche State Park, Palisade Head, Black Beach, Split Rock Lighthouse, Iona’s Beach, and Gooseberry Falls.

George Crosby Manitou State Park is just inland from Caribou Falls. It’s a winding ½ hour drive, that includes travel on a few unpaved roads.

link to "Exploring Minnesota: Lake Superior's North Shore & the Gunflint Trail " with map

Check my post on what to do along the Minnesota’s North Shore for more information and ideas!

Lodging near Caribou Falls

A wide range of lodging is available along the stretch of Minnesota’s North Shore. However, this is a very popular tourist area both for travelers from Minnesota and those coming from other places. Thus, availability is very limited and prices are high from late spring through fall. Book ahead!

You can find a lot of the options (but by no means all) for lodging of all types and at all price points on TripAdvisor and (affiliate links). If you want to rent a house, (affiliate link) also has a lot of options, including many suitable for families.

Camping

There are also a lot of camping options. These include campgrounds (and cabins) in state park, state forests, federal forests, and private campgrounds. State parks and the best of the others fill during peak season, so you’re best off to book well ahead.

Follow these links for more information on camping in Minnesota state parks, state forests, and the Superior National Forest.

Looking for more information?

I discovered that the Caribou Falls State Wayside was once a state park in Everyone’s Country Estate: A History of Minnesota’s State Parks (1991) by Roy Meyer. (It’s briefly discussed on page 166.) Meyer’s book is an opinionated, but well researched, history of the Minnesota State Park system through 1990. It was published by the Minnesota Historical Society. I bought my well-used copy through (affiliate link).

Want to learn more about Minnesota caribou? Niche has a great (but depressing) piece called Woodland Caribou and Borders that discusses the destruction of both the caribou and the Indigenous people who lived in harmony with them. Agate also has a good piece on the history and future of caribou in the Lake Superior basin.

See more pictures from the Caribou Falls Trail and Minnesota’s North Shore on Lake Superior at CindyCarlsson.com.

Link to Caribou Falls State Wayside on Minnesota’s North ShoreLink to "Exploring Minnesota: Lake Superior's North Shore & the Gunflint Trail with a map on ExplorationVacation.net

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