Trying to line up an option for a short notice no permit semi wilderness kayak trip for either this spring yet or next fall. We were up in Grand Rapids for the Easter weekend so my daughter joined me for an early morning departure to run up Minnesota highway 6 from Deer River to Big Falls to check out the possibility of using the Big Fork River as the option to meet the criteria listed above.
An eagle near Gunderson Lake north of Talmoon.
My daughter getting out to check the Tall Pines access point on the Big Fork River South of Big Falls, MN.
Looking upstream from the put in point towards the highway 6 bridge.
Looking further upstream from the east side of the bridge.
Looking downstream from the access point. Looks perfect! This view really got me excited to do this trip at some point.
We continued north into Big Falls, MN to check out Grand Falls. That is the highway 71 bridge in the background. Above the falls is where my takeout point would be. Taken from the beautiful Big Falls City Park and Campground.
My daughter posing for a shot to give some perspective to the size of the falls.
One fun shot!
The north side of the river at the access below the falls looking back at the park.
Video of Grand Falls. Watch it in 1080 HD for the full effect! Noisy!!
Dodging deer as we head south to Koochiching CR5 to go look at the Little American Falls also.
There is a nice county park at the Little American Falls north of Effie, MN. Signs like this make we wonder what happened to prompt the county to install it. Hmmm, it's the wilderness. Poison ivy grows everywhere up here. Get over it.
My daughter descending the stairs to the river. Very nicely maintained until you get to the end where the last section of stairs is blocked off. Past the barrier and along the bank over to the falls. It's an easy walk for the most past. A little challenging to an 8 year old but very do-able.
A wide angle shot of the falls. There is a remote water access only campsite on the right. Looks good to me.
Video of the Little American Falls and the steep ascent back up to the camping area. I should have shot this from a lower angle to give the viewer a true sense of how steep this really is.
The final hike out and back to the car.
So, my idea is to put in at the Tall Pines access and either make a 2 day paddle into Big Fork using the remote campsites (looking at about 19 river miles per day)or camp at the city campground and do it in segments. One nice thing is there is a shuttle service in Big Fork if needed. I see they also offer package trips if someone is looking for that type of outing. Check out Rivers North Outfitters at http://www.riversnorthmn.com/!! Right now I am leaning towards late September or the first weekend in October!
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