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Submission
Take State Highway 61 from Duluth to State Highway 1 to Finland. Or take State Highway 1 from Ely to Finland. At Finland, take Lake County Road 7 eight miles to the park entrance.
We enjoyed walking around the lake on Benson Lake Trail along the wooden boardwalk. Stopped at Campsite #21. Campsite 21 was very spacious and private. Would like to try fishing for trout and splake. Many hiking trails to explore. Middle Trail to Cascade Waterfall along the Manitou River will be on our list for next time.
Great hidden gem off the busy North Shore. We hiked the Middle Trail to the Cascades (part of SHT), then took Humpback to complete loop to parking lot. Beautiful views and fewer people than most state parks near Hwy 61. This is more rugged than many hiking club hikes, and was quite steep and slippery (we hiked in light rain conditions) in some places. Well worth it if you are an avid hiker and wear proper footwear. Be cautious in steep places where stairs have fallen away and rebar sticks out. There is no visitor center or staff, just pit toilets and beautiful trails.
Very nice backpacking and hiking to be had in this state park, all sites here are backpacking campsites. I was at site 14 and it was very nice and had a fire ring and you could for 3 tents here and access down to the river was very easy there was also a toilet near camp. I believe just about every campsite has their own toilet for use. The manitou river trail is a nice trail lots of up amd down hill, it is quite over grown and lots of fallen trees so be prepared to climb over some logs. Other than that its got some nice scenery.
