Gooseberry Falls State Park in Minnesota has it all - waterfalls, a river gorge, the beautiful shoreline along Lake Superior, and my favorite - a lighthouse!

Split Rock Lighthouse was built in 1910, after the Mataafa Storm of 1905 which caused 29 ships to be lost or damaged on Lake Superior. It operated from 1910 to 1969, and along the way, was upgraded from a kerosene lamp to an electric lamp, along with a fog horn. The lighthouse grounds are nestled in the Gooseberry Falls State Park, along with a well maintained keeper's house. The top of the lighthouse offers beautiful views of Lake Superior.

After touring the lighthouse and the keeper's house, we walked on into the park, towards Gooseberry Falls. The falls are tri-level - Upper Falls, Middle Falls and Lower Falls. We started from the Middle Falls, which are a great place for a photo - and as you can see, a dip :) From there, we followed the trail down to the Lower Falls - you can continue from here onto other trails in the park. 

Gooseberry Falls was the end of a long day of driving for us - from Lake Itasca to Lake Superior - but it was a beautiful stop, and definitely worth spending time over, even at the end of the day after a long road trip :)