Fall Color trip 2013
This is an annual event for me for most of my adult life....
Sunrise at Split Rock light house on Lake Superior
An iPhone photo from my campsite at Goose Berry Falls State Park
Sunrise over Lake Superior
Showing the wide range of colors near Lake Superior
The red maple leaves are very dramatic
A nice row of maple trees along the dirt road
The range of color within a few inches is incredible
This is a great canopy of color that I found a couple of years ago. It has become a regular stop on my tour of the north shore during the fall color season.
Steam/fog over Lake Superior at sunrise
My fall color photo trip on the north shore of Lake Superior was very short this year. I ended up shooting on Sunday 9/29. It rained on Friday and Saturday night. I pulled into Goose Berry Falls State Park Saturday evening about 20 minutes before sunset and about 2 hours after the rain had ended for the weekend.
Sunday morning I awoke at 5am to an outside temperate ranging from 34-38F depending on how close/far away you were from the lake. (It is warmer by the lake.) It is less than a 20 minute drive north to the overlook about 1 mile south of the light house. While I waited for the sky to start to lighten up I laid out my plan for the day.
I started shooting images around 5:45 after a short hike to rocky beach. There were several other photographers that were shooting in the same general area. After a great sunrise I worked my way north up highway 61. There a series of places in the SawTooth mountain range that I typically drive through looking for photos. If you want orange and red maples you need to drive inland away from the lake.
I was feeling like I was shooting a few days too early this year. Typically the last weekend in September and the first weekend in October is when the color peaks up north. In hind sight I made a good choice because 4 days later the winds & rains cranked up and most of the color will hit the ground.
I got some nice images and enjoyed the drive around the backwoods. I was happy enough that by Sunday afternoon I decided to drive home as I had enough quality images that I was satisfied. Goose Berry Falls State Park --> SawTooth Mountains --> Grand Marais --> Finland --> Two Harbors --> Kingston... 5am --> 8pm.