Cook County

11 photos · 2021–2022

11 photographs tagged Cook County, 2021–2022.

Autumn-colored water lily pads float on a still pond in Cook County, Minnesota. — Cook County sits at the northeastern tip of Minnesota along Lake Superior's North Shore, bordering Ontario and encompassing much of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The county's terrain includes numerous bogs, beaver ponds, and small wetlands fed by the Sawtooth Mountains' runoff, where floating-leaved plants like water lilies and pond-lily species take hold in shallow, still water. By early October, water lily pads in the region typically turn shades of yellow, orange, and red as chlorophyll breaks down, a seasonal change tied to shortening daylight and dropping water temperatures. Much of the county's land is managed by the Superior National Forest, which oversees a large share of Minnesota's remaining undeveloped wetland habitat.

A cabin on McFarland Lake surrounded by birch and conifer trees in autumn foliage, northern Minnesota. — McFarland Lake sits along the Arrowhead Trail, a county road in Cook County near Grand Portage in far northeastern Minnesota. The lake lies close to the Canadian border and the eastern edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, an area popular for canoe access points and backcountry paddling routes. Cabins along this stretch of the Arrowhead Trail are mostly private, seasonal retreats built for fishing and access to the surrounding Superior National Forest.

Gravel road through northern Minnesota forest in autumn with yellow larch and evergreen trees. — The Arrowhead Trail runs roughly 27 miles north from Minnesota Highway 61 at Hovland to South Fowl Lake on the Canadian border. Most of the route is unpaved, passing through the Superior National Forest and skirting the eastern edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Cook County maintains the gravel surface, which sees heavy use by hunters, anglers, and leaf-peepers each fall as sugar maples and aspen along the corridor turn color. The road ends at a boat landing on South Fowl Lake, one of the closest public access points to Canada in this part of the state.

Dirt road through northern Minnesota forest displaying autumn foliage with yellow and red trees in distant fog. — The Arrowhead Trail is a roughly 20-mile gravel road, designated Cook County Road 16, running north from Hovland on Lake Superior's North Shore to the Ontario border at the Pigeon River. The route cuts through the Superior National Forest, passing stands of aspen, birch, and white and red pine mixed with maple that turn color each September and October. It's maintained as a low-traffic forest road rather than a state highway, popular with anglers heading to backcountry lakes and with fall-color drivers making the trip up from Highway 61.

Fog over Loft Lake in Northern Minnesota — Foggy morning over Loft Lake as seen from Shoe Lake Road in Northern Minnesota.

Flooded beaver wetland with standing dead trees near Shoe Lake Road in Superior National Forest, Minnesota. — Shoe Lake Road runs through the Superior National Forest in Cook County, Minnesota, near the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The surrounding forest is a mix of northern hardwoods and conifers, including birch, spruce, and balsam fir, typical of this part of the Superior National Forest. Beaver activity is common along the region's low-lying wetlands, where dammed water and downed trees create the shallow ponds and standing deadwood found throughout this stretch of forest. The area sits within the Laurentian Divide watershed, which separates drainage toward Lake Superior from waters flowing north toward Hudson Bay.

Mixed forest canopy in autumn with red, orange, and yellow deciduous trees among evergreens in Northern Minnesota. — Superior National Forest covers more than three million acres across northeastern Minnesota, including Cook County, and stands as Minnesota's largest national forest. The forest's canopy is a mix of birch, aspen, maple, and conifer species, a combination that produces a wide range of color change each autumn as hardwoods turn while pines and spruce stay green. Birch and aspen typically shift first, often in late September, while maples follow with reds and oranges. The forest is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and includes roughly 445,000 acres of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness within its borders.

Temperance River flows through golden autumn foliage in Superior National Forest, Minnesota. — The Temperance River runs roughly 22 miles from its origin near the Laurentian Divide to Lake Superior, dropping through a series of potholes and gorges carved into volcanic rock along the way. It's one of the few rivers on Minnesota's North Shore with no sandbar at its mouth, which is how it got its name — early voyageurs who charted the region's rivers by their sandbars, or lack of a "bar," reportedly gave this one a teetotaling nickname. The river and its surrounding old-growth cedar and pine stands sit within the Superior National Forest, which spans nearly three million acres across northeastern Minnesota. Cook County's stretch of the river includes sections popular with anglers seeking steelhead and brook trout during their seasonal runs.

Old growth trees sign from the Minnesota Dept of Natural Resources — "Old growth white and red pine over 185 years old. Minnesota department of natural resources".

Moon rising over Superior National Forest — Burned trees inside the Greenwood fire zone a year after the wildfire.

Rusted folding chair on a wooden plank walkway at Jouppi Lake in Minnesota's Superior National Forest. — Jouppi Lake sits within the Superior National Forest in Cook County, Minnesota, near the small community of Isabella. The lake is one of many small backcountry waters scattered through this stretch of the Superior National Forest, accessible by forest roads and used mainly for fishing and quiet paddling. A weathered folding chair and a short plank walkway mark an informal access point along its shoreline.

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