Palisade Head

The rock of Palisade Head was born in one of the great geologic events in the continent's history. About 1.1 billion years ago, the heart of North America began to split apart along what geologists call the Midcontinent Rift. Before the rifting stopped, enormous volumes of lava welled up and spread across the region in flow after flow. The lava here cooled into rhyolite, a hard, fine-grained volcanic rock that resists erosion.

Long after the volcanism ended, the glaciers of the ice ages ground across this country, and Lake Superior itself was scooped out along the old rift. The ice and the lake's waves stripped away softer material and left the hard rhyolite standing as cliffs and headlands. Palisade Head is one such remnant, a sheer face of that ancient lava rising straight from the water, its stone recording a time when the middle of the continent was nearly torn in two.

From the top of Palisade Head the view is immense. Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, spreads out below and runs to the horizon like an inland sea, so vast that the far shore vanishes into the distance. On a clear day the eye can reach across the water to distant shorelines and, some say, the faint outline of the Apostle Islands off Wisconsin, far to the southeast.

The overlook takes in the rugged North Shore coastline as well, the dark cliffs and forested points running away in both directions, and the waves working ceaselessly against the rock far below. The lake's moods are part of the show: calm and glassy one day, whipped into whitecaps and fog the next. It is the kind of view that makes the scale of Lake Superior finally sink in, and it rewards a visit in any weather.

The same sheer, solid rock that makes Palisade Head a great overlook makes it one of the premier rock-climbing sites in the Upper Midwest. Climbers rappel from the top and work their way up the vertical rhyolite face on long routes above the lake, and from the overlook visitors can often watch them as small figures on the great wall. It is a serious technical crag, not a place for casual scrambling, but a fascinating one to observe.

Palisade Head lies within Tettegouche State Park, part of the string of parks that protect the most spectacular stretches of the North Shore. Nearby are waterfalls, more cliffs, and the Superior Hiking Trail, which threads the ridgeline along the coast. The whole shore, from Duluth up to the Canadian border, is a landscape of rock, forest, and the ever-present lake, and Palisade Head is one of its signature stops.

The cliffs and North Shore forest are home to peregrine falcons, which nest on rock faces like this one and hunt along the shore, along with bald eagles, ravens, and warblers in the woods. Moose, black bear, and wolves range through the wider forest of the Arrowhead, and the lake below holds lake trout and other cold-water fish. This is the homeland of the Ojibwe, or Anishinaabe, whose Grand Portage and Fond du Lac bands live along this shore and whose history is deeply tied to Lake Superior, which they call Gichigami.

Summer brings warm days, the busiest season, and long light over the lake, though a cold wind can rise off the water any time. Fall lights the shore forest with color and is a favorite time to visit, crisp and clear. Winter is stark and beautiful, the cliffs rimmed with ice and the lake steaming in the cold, and access can be icy and dangerous at the edge. Spring brings returning falcons and the slow warming of the great cold lake below.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

Palisade Head, on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota near Tettegouche State Park, is a dramatic sheer cliff of ancient volcanic rock rising hundreds of feet straight up from the waters of Lake Superior. A short road leads to the top, where visitors are rewarded with breathtaking panoramic views along the rugged shoreline and across the vast lake, sometimes as far as distant islands. The towering cliff is also a renowned rock-climbing destination. Its stunning views make it one of the most spectacular overlooks on the North Shore. With its towering cliff and sweeping Lake Superior views, Palisade Head offers a breathtaking destination in Minnesota.

You can drive to the top of the cliff and take in the breathtaking panoramic views along the North Shore and across Lake Superior, photograph the rugged coastline and vast lake, watch rock climbers scale the sheer cliff face, and simply soak in one of the most spectacular overlooks in the region. The views are the whole reward, and they are extraordinary. Rock climbing here is for the experienced and equipped only. With its stunning clifftop vistas over Lake Superior, Palisade Head offers a memorable stop on Minnesota's North Shore.

Palisade Head features sheer, dangerous cliffs with steep drop-offs of hundreds of feet, so use extreme caution near the edges, stay well back, keep children and pets close and under control at all times, and never approach the edge for a photo, as falls here are fatal. The clifftop has limited or no barriers in places, making caution essential. The access road is narrow and winding. Staying well back from the deadly cliff edges and closely supervising children are absolutely essential for a safe visit to Palisade Head in Minnesota.

Late spring through fall offers the most pleasant weather and the clearest views from the clifftop, with fall especially spectacular when the North Shore forests blaze with color below the overlook, a favorite time. Clear days offer the best long-distance views across the lake. The narrow access road and clifftop are best in good weather, and the road may be closed or hazardous in winter. For the best combination of pleasant weather and stunning views, aim for late spring through fall, especially clear days, at Palisade Head on Minnesota's North Shore.

Palisade Head is on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, right beside Tettegouche State Park, within reach of Split Rock Lighthouse, Gooseberry Falls State Park, the Temperance River Gorge, and the Superior Hiking Trail. That makes Palisade Head a breathtaking stop to combine with Tettegouche State Park, Split Rock Lighthouse, and the other attractions of Minnesota's North Shore on a visit to the state.