Split Rock Lighthouse

After stopping at Gooseberry State Park we drove up the shore for a brief visit to Split Rock Lighthouse. The color was just starting to turn.

 

 

Big Waves at Split Rock

As we finished hiking the Split Rock River Loop Trail we could see some big waves down by the lake. We drove down for a closer look and did find some big waves crashing into the shore.

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

Our goal for the day was Gooseberry Falls State Park but it was such a beautiful day we decided to continue on to Split Rock. I hopped to get some shots of the Lighthouse with lots of ice in the foreground but it looked like a beautiful summer day. More Photos from Split Rock can be found on my website.

There were just a few pockets of ice on the shore. This is how desperate I was to get some ice shots.

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

From Two Harbors we drove up to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. I had expected to see more ice because there were some nice ice storms in November but the ice was mostly gone.

More photos of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park can be found on my website.

Split Rock Lighthouse

Our last stop was Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. It was early in the season so we were able to walk to the Lighthouse without paying a fee. The flip side was the Lighthouse was not open and there were no tours available. We walked around the Lighthouse buildings then decided to walk down to the Boat Landing.

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

It was a dreary day at Split Rock Lighthouse. There was a little ice and the waves were starting to increase in size when we arrived at the park.

Split Rock Lighthouse

 

Lighting the Light

We drove up to Split Rock Lighthouse for the 40th anniversary celebration of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Every year the lighthouse holds a program and then at sunset turns on the light. We arrived about two hours before sunset and were lucky to get the last parking spot in the most distant parking lot.

We spent the first hour walking along the shore toward the Lighthouse. The late afternoon light was beautiful on the cliffs below the lighthouse. As the evening wore on more clouds came in making for a beautiful sunset.

We stood on the beach for the last hour waiting for the light to be turned on. There were quite a few other photographers around. Fortunately it was an unseasonably warm night for the event.

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

After a stop at Grand Marais for lunch we headed back to Duluth. On the way we noticed some interesting clouds as we neared Split Rock Lighthouse so we drove in to take a few photos. When we reached the beach we could see it was raining out in the lake. Just as we were leaving it started raining at the Lighthouse. This was the first park we stopped at on our North Shore journey and the last stop before we headed back to Duluth.

Winter at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

When we arrived we hiked out to the Beach to Photograph the Lighthouse .

After photographing the Lighthouse we walked along the beach looking at the ice formations.

After walking the beach we drove down the the Split Rock River Parking lot and hiked to Split Rock Falls. For some reason we remembered that it was a long hike but it turned out to be only a mile round trip.

Split Rock Lighthouse

Last week we drove up to Split Rock Lighthouse. Once we were past Brighton Beach we found very little ice on the lake. At Split Rock there was quite a bit of ice on Little Two Harbors. It was apparently firm because some people were walking from the mainland to Ellingson Island.