Superior National Forest Update: July 15

- Fri, 07/15/2016 - 7:00am

Hello. I’m Mike Krussow, seasonal naturalist, with the Superior National Forest Update - information on conditions affecting travel and recreation on the Tofte and Gunflint Districts of the Forest. For the week of July 15th, here’s what’s going on in the Forest.

We’re halfway through July already and summer is in full swing here on the North Shore! In the forest we notice many wildflowers emerging, waters warming up, and our trails are nothing short of beautiful. We encourage you to get out and enjoy the season, but be aware that the forest can be a very busy place. When preparing for a day in the forest plan ahead and account for possible traffic on the way. Additionally, we ask that you respect others while driving, and also on trails or portages where foot traffic can be heavy this time of year.

Additional info you may need to be aware of is ongoing logging traffic in a few areas. On the Gunflint District, harvest is occurring off of Greenwood Road, Shoe Lake Road, and Fire Box Road. Log hauling will be taking place on these Roads, so please use caution when driving and recreating in these areas. Tofte will continue having traffic on Wanless Road, Lake County 7, Cook County 3, 4 Mile Grade, The Grade, and Sawbill Landing Road.

This past week, we led a short wildflower hike where we identified more than 50 types of wildflowers in less than half a mile! Every week we are finding new flowers and berries on our hikes, which keeps things interesting. This time of year is great for wildflowers and with so many different habitats on the forest, it’s easy to continue finding new flowers or berries daily. Burn Scars and forest trails further to the West often have different flowers from trails closer to Lake Superior, so get out and explore!

Naturalist Programs will continue being offered in coming weeks Tuesday through Saturday and we would love to see everyone out at the campfire! With something for everyone, program topics range from wolves, moose and other wildlife, astronomy, or tours of Hedstrom Lumber Mill. Further information on these programs can be found in our brochures at any of our sign boards throughout the week, or at visitcookcounty.com.

We’d like to remind people to check out our Facebook page and Twitter feed. Both have great pictures and information about the forest, and has interesting links and facts all the time, whether you are a visitor to the area or a permanent resident. Have a great weekend in the woods, and until next week, this has been Mike Krussow with the Superior National Forest Update.

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