# Road trips in Minnesota > 5 road trips and 14 hand-picked places in Minnesota, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. Source: https://camping-spirit.com/roadtrips/minnesota/ 5 road trips and 14 hand-picked places in Minnesota, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. ## Road trips through Minnesota - [Minnesota North Woods: iron mines to Voyageurs](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b9-north-woods/): From Duluth to the Iron Range mines, the canoe-country town of Ely and the water-bound Voyageurs National Park on the Canadian border. - [Minnesota’s North Shore: waterfalls and cliffs to Grand Portage](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b19-north-shore-parks/): MN-61 along Lake Superior from Duluth to the Canadian border, with a string of state parks, sea cliffs and the state’s highest waterfall. - [Up the Mississippi to its source at Lake Itasca](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b19-mississippi-headwaters/): From Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis through Lindbergh’s Little Falls and the lake country of Brainerd to the Mississippi headwaters and Bemidji. - [Lake Superior’s north and south shores](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/lake-superior/): Split Rock lighthouse, Grand Marais, the Apostle Islands and the cliffs of Pictured Rocks. - [Great River Road: the upper Mississippi](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/great-river-road/): River bluffs, lock and dams, Mark Twain’s Hannibal and the Gateway Arch. ## Places worth the detour in Minnesota - [Split Rock Lighthouse](https://camping-spirit.com/places/split-rock/): A lighthouse on a 130-foot cliff above Lake Superior, built after a storm wrecked 29 ships. - [Voyageurs National Park, Rainy Lake](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b9-voyageurs-rainy-lake/): A park that is mostly water, with rocky islands and bays along the Canadian border. The Rainy Lake visitor center runs boat tours in summer; kayak rentals are nearby. - [Gooseberry Falls State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-gooseberry-falls/): The Gooseberry River drops over upper, middle and lower falls just before Lake Superior. Short paved paths from the visitor center on MN-61 reach all three; spring snowmelt brings the biggest flow. - [Mississippi Headwaters, Itasca State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-itasca-headwaters/): At Lake Itasca you can walk across the Mississippi River on stepping stones where it leaves the lake. The park, Minnesota’s oldest, also has old-growth red pines and a scenic Wilderness Drive; a vehicle permit is required. - [Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox](https://camping-spirit.com/places/paul-bunyan/): Lakeside statues from 1937 of the giant lumberjack and his ox. They are some of the most photographed in the Midwest. - [Hull-Rust-Mahoning Mine View](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b9-hull-rust-mine/): An overlook on the rim of one of the world’s largest open-pit iron mines, more than three miles long. Trucks and shovels still work in the pit below. - [Soudan Underground Mine State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b9-soudan-mine/): Minnesota’s oldest iron mine, where a cage lowers visitors about half a mile underground. Tours run mainly in summer; bring a jacket, since it is cold below. - [International Wolf Center](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b9-international-wolf-center/): An education center with a resident wolf pack behind large viewing windows. A good introduction to the North Woods before heading into canoe country. - [Palisade Head](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-palisade-head/): A 100 m rhyolite cliff rising straight out of Lake Superior, with views to the Apostle Islands on clear days. The access road is narrow and steep with a small lot: not suitable for RVs or trailers. - [Tettegouche State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-tettegouche/): Lake Superior shoreline with the Shovel Point cliffs and the Baptism River’s High Falls, the tallest waterfall entirely in Minnesota. The rest area visitor center on MN-61 has parking for large vehicles. - [Temperance River State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-temperance-river/): The river cuts a narrow, deep gorge of potholes and cauldrons just above MN-61. Easy trails climb along the rim from roadside parking; the Superior Hiking Trail continues to Carlton Peak. - [Grand Portage State Park (High Falls)](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-grand-portage-sp/): An easy trail with boardwalk sections, about 800 m each way, leads to the 37 m High Falls on the Pigeon River, the border with Ontario and the highest waterfall in Minnesota. The visitor center is at the end of MN-61 before the border crossing. - [Minnehaha Falls](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-minnehaha-falls/): A 16 m waterfall in a city park near the Mississippi, made famous by Longfellow’s The Song of Hiawatha. Paid parking lots fill on summer weekends; stairs lead down to the creek below the falls. - [Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-lindbergh-site/): The boyhood farmhouse of the aviator on the banks of the Mississippi, with the family’s original furniture and a museum on his 1927 transatlantic flight. Open in summer; next to Charles A. Lindbergh State Park. ## FAQs **What are the best road trips in Minnesota?** Popular routes include Minnesota North Woods: iron mines to Voyageurs, Minnesota’s North Shore: waterfalls and cliffs to Grand Portage, Up the Mississippi to its source at Lake Itasca and Lake Superior’s north and south shores. CampingSpirit has 5 trip guides that pass through Minnesota, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map. **Which places in Minnesota are worth a detour?** Our editors recommend Split Rock Lighthouse, Voyageurs National Park, Rainy Lake, Gooseberry Falls State Park and Mississippi Headwaters, Itasca State Park.