It started out a long drive to get away from it all, up the North Shore to George H. Crosby Manitou State Park. We were on a mission to see a waterfall.
Arrival at the park
Once you get to the park, you really are away from it all. There is no cell service and the 21 campsites are only available if you hike in, the closest being 1.5 miles to the furthest being 4.5. You are not greeted by a ranger, but a self-service station at which you register your reservation.
We checked in, loaded up our packs and headed out on the Middle Trail. We had chosen site number three which is about a 2.5-mile hike. The Superior Hiking Trail runs through the park as well, so make sure you have your map and know what trail you need to take to get where. We got to a trail intersection at one point, and almost turned right too early, which would have taken us to an overlook instead of our site. We took a small break and studied the map, we kept on the correct trail and got to our site, which is after the cascades, nestled right along the Manitou River.
Site number 3 is rather large and split into two sections. There is one part when you first walk in that has the campfire ring and a large space to pitch your tent, but not a view of the river; however if you go past that just a bit there is a second part of the site which has a wonderful view of the river and a large space to pitch your tent.
The waterfall
We set up camp and got back on the trail, we were on a mission to see the waterfall. Hiking to the cascades was muddy and steep, but worth it. The falls are truly a thing of wonder.
The hike back to camp was good and we spent the rest of our time enjoying the scenery. We love this park and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to escape the chaos of normal life and just enjoy the beauty of nature.