North Shore Fall Colors 2011! Fewer people, cooler temps and
things you don't see in the cities like bald eagles and wolves.
>>Report for September 30, 2011
Fall
Color Status:
Fall color is in full swing. Maples,
birch and aspen / poplars are very colorful. Generally colors are best for maple
and oak from mid September into early October. Colors for birch and poplar/aspen
are last two weeks of September into mid October. Tamarack
changes to lemon yellow at the end of September into early
October. We report fall colors into two areas; the
lower North
Shore and upper North Shore.
I35 road construction - try using Hwy 23 which connects Sandstone to Duluth. It
is a very scenic fall colors drive and will get you away from the
hustle of I35. Well worth the extra time...
FALL COLOR REPORT FOR LOWER NORTH SHORE
/ DULUTH AREA / HWY 61 MILE 0 TO MILE 70>>>Duluth through
Little Marais, which includes
Tettegouche State Park, St.
Louis and Lake Counties. Current Report September 30; use early
and mid fall color
routes. Very nice colors. Birch are bright yellow
from Silver Bay through upper North Shore along Lake Superior.
Maples are red and orange on early season routes. There are some road closures due to forest fire activity in Lake
and Cook Counties. Inland from Lake Superior; Finland, Isabella
and end of Sawbill Trail. Hwy 61 is not affected. See more info
about road closures. Awesome time of year to
hike North
Shore trails and explore the area.
FALL COLOR REPORT FOR UPPER NORTH SHORE HWY 61 MILE 70 TO USA / CANADA BORDER
>>>All of Cook County from Schroeder up through Grand Portage,
Gunflint Trail and the Canadian border area. Current
Report September 30; use early or mid fall color routes. Birch are
bright yellow along Lake Superior. Maples are bright red and
orange on the Caribou Trail, Oberg Mountain tour and
Honeymoon Bluff tour. There are some road closures due to forest
fire activity in Lake and Cook Counties. Inland from Lake
Superior; Finland, Isabella and end of Sawbill Trail. Hwy 61 is
not affected. See more info
about road closures. Awesome time of year to
hike North
Shore trails and explore the area.
Great opportunities exist for wolf, deer,
and red fox watching at night. Also bald eagles, ravens and turkey
vultures can be seen on road kill along Hwy 61 during the day. At mile 115 last week; 2 wolves and a red fox have been
consuming a deer. At mile 121 last week; at least
one wolf and a red fox have also been consuming a deer. During daylight; turkey vultures, ravens and bald
eagles are feasting together. Saturday night 11pm September 24th
in downtown Grand Marais two wolves trotted down Hwy 61 and
turned down into RV Park, and ran into pond area by municipal
pool.
|
Another wolf Monday in broad daylight eating a carcass at mile 118.5 Hwy 61 [see
image to left].
Wolf sightings are on a sharp increase due to over population
and lack of fear for humans. We sat and watched this wolf for
ten minutes, rolling and chewing on a dead animal. Colvill has been a hot spot the past three weeks. Between 9pm and
midnight last week we saw 4 wolves, 7 red fox and 38 deer on Hwy 61 between Grand
Marais and
Judge Magney State Park. Wolves are commonly seen on
and along Hwy 61 in Cook County in the; Lutsen area,
Cascade River State Park area, up and through
downtown Grand Marais, Colvill, Kadunce River Wayside area,
Judge Magney State Park and Hovland. |
2008 and 2009 - very late fall colors ended rather abruptly Oct 15th and 17th
as strong fall squalls rolled in. Watching these storms rip
leaves off trees and spin up Lake Superior into huge shore
pounding waves, is a spectacular scene.
>>Keep these things in mind;
Watch out for ticks... we've been finding very small deer ticks
on dogs and people. Hard to believe but, deer ticks are very
active during the warm fall days and often attach in the very private
body areas. Deer ticks are a recent invasive species that has
moved into North Shore areas, possibly from excessive deer
populations. (might be a good place to find an area to deer
hunt.)
Please be courteous to those that don't want to drive as
slow as you. Turn-out in a safe location and let faster traffic
pass. Not everyone is leaf looking. People live and work here
too. Thank you!
2011 Report Archives
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See fall color images
of Oberg Mountain from September 30th, 2010.
See fall color images
of Cascade River from September 30th, 2010.
SPECIAL EVENT>>Split
Rock Lighthouse State Park Beacon lighting and anniversary of
the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Nov 10th.
read more about this event...