Minnesota State Park

10 photos · 2015–2025

10 photographs tagged Minnesota State Park, 2015–2025.

Jay Cooke State Park suspension bridge crosses the St. Louis River in northeastern Minnesota. — The suspension bridge at Jay Cooke State Park crosses the St. Louis River in northeastern Minnesota. It spans the park’s rocky gorge and connects trail routes on either side of the river. The bridge is part of the park’s river access area near Carlton.

St. Louis River gorge and rapids at Jay Cooke State Park in Minnesota. — The St. Louis River flows through the rocky gorge at Jay Cooke State Park in northeastern Minnesota. This stretch of the river is known for rapids and exposed bedrock shaped by the river’s passage through a narrow channel. Established in 1915, Jay Cooke State Park preserves part of the lower St. Louis River corridor near Duluth.

Banning State Park trail in Sandstone, Minnesota, winding through dense green forest. — Banning State Park in Sandstone, Minnesota, includes hiking trails through forested areas along the Kettle River. The park is known for its sandstone cliffs, rapids, and remnants of the former Banning settlement.

Abandoned power house with yellow graffiti and boarded windows at Banning State Park, Sandstone, Minnesota. — The Power House ruins at Banning State Park mark the remains of a sandstone quarrying operation that ran from 1892 until 1912. Workers here cut and shipped Banning sandstone by rail before the industry declined and the town of Banning was abandoned. The state acquired the land in 1963, and today the roofless concrete walls stand along the Kettle River within the park's designated quarry loop trail. A weathered sign still marking "Power House" identifies the structure's original function of supplying electricity to the quarry works.

Split Rock Lighthouse Sign in Northern Minnesota — A sign for the Split Rock Lighthouse on the North Shore in Minnesota.

Split Rock Lighthouse stands on a cliff above Lake Superior near Two Harbors, Minnesota. — Split Rock Lighthouse stands atop a 130-foot cliff within Split Rock Lighthouse State Park near Two Harbors, Minnesota. The U.S. Lighthouse Service built it in 1910 after a series of shipwrecks, including the 1905 loss of the Mataafa, revealed the danger this stretch of the North Shore posed to Great Lakes shipping. Its beam once reached 22 miles across Lake Superior, guiding freighters carrying iron ore from the Mesabi Range. The Coast Guard decommissioned the light in 1969, the same year it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Minnesota Historical Society now manages the site as a museum and historic landmark.

Split Rock Lighthouse perches atop a rocky cliff above Lake Superior near Two Harbors, Minnesota. — Split Rock Lighthouse sits atop a 130-foot cliff overlooking Lake Superior near Two Harbors, Minnesota. The Minnesota Historical Society, which operates the site as Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, built the station in 1910 after a severe 1905 storm wrecked dozens of ships along the North Shore. The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad supplied the remote outpost by boat, since no roads reached it until the 1920s. The U.S. Coast Guard deactivated the light in 1969, and the tower is now preserved as a historic site rather than an active aid to navigation.

Rocky shoreline with boreal forest meets Lake Superior at Shovel Point in Tettegouche State Park, Minnesota. — Tettegouche State Park runs along more than six miles of Lake Superior shoreline near the mouth of the Baptism River in Minnesota's North Shore region. Its cliffs, formed from ancient volcanic rock, rank among the highest points on the state's Lake Superior coast. Established in 1979, the park covers roughly 9,600 acres of boreal forest, inland lakes, and shoreline. Shovel Point, a rhyolite headland reached by a mile-long trail, is one of the park's best-known overlooks, along with nearby Palisade Head.

Rocky shoreline with ancient volcanic rocks at Tettegouche State Park on Lake Superior's North Shore, Minnesota. — Tettegouche State Park runs along nearly six miles of Lake Superior's North Shore in Minnesota. The dark rock along this stretch formed from volcanic activity roughly 1.1 billion years ago, part of the Midcontinent Rift that shaped much of the region's bedrock. Established in 1979, the park covers more than 9,000 acres and includes the Baptism River, which empties into Lake Superior nearby. It's also home to High Falls, the tallest waterfall located entirely within Minnesota's borders.

Rocky shoreline with ancient volcanic rocks at Tettegouche State Park on Lake Superior's North Shore. — Tettegouche State Park runs along nearly six miles of Lake Superior's North Shore in Minnesota, covering more than 9,000 acres of boreal forest, inland lakes, and volcanic rock cliffs. The rocky shoreline is made up of rhyolite and basalt formations dating back over a billion years to the Midcontinent Rift, when lava flows shaped much of the region's bedrock. Lake Superior holds roughly 3 quadrillion gallons of water, making it the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. The park was established in 1979 on land once used for logging operations and a private fishing retreat.

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