High Falls of the Pigeon River

High Falls of the Pigeon River is the tallest waterfall in Minnesota, plummeting 120 feet over a basalt cliff on the Minnesota-Ontario border at Grand Portage State Park. The Pigeon River, swollen with water from the Superior National Forest, pours over the ledge in a thundering curtain that generates a perpetual cloud of mist visible from the viewing platforms. The dark volcanic rock of the Canadian Shield provides a dramatic backdrop, and the remote borderland setting adds a sense of wilderness grandeur that sets this waterfall apart.

The trail to High Falls is a 1-mile round trip on a paved and boardwalk path that is wheelchair accessible for most of its length. Two viewing platforms at the end provide different perspectives of the falls — a lower platform puts visitors at eye level with the base, while a higher platform offers a panoramic view of the entire drop and the river canyon below. The park also offers a more challenging 5-mile round trip trail to Middle Falls, a scenic 40-foot cascade upstream.

Late spring through early summer offers peak water volume from snowmelt. Fall foliage in late September paints the boreal forest in golds and russets. The park is Minnesota's only state park managed in cooperation with the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. A state park vehicle permit is required. The park is located at the end of US-61, just 150 miles north of Duluth, making it a worthy destination on a North Shore road trip.