Swimming in Superior

If you're lucky, you can take a dip along Minnesota's North Shore — no wetsuit required.

© Beth Gauper

Usually, overheated summer tourists look longingly at Lake Superior, wishing they could swim in it for more than a minute without going numb.

But once in a while, winds from the northeast push a layer of warm water toward Duluth. Or, less frequently, a stretch of heat mellows the frigid waters of the big lake, turning it into the world's largest swimming pool.

So if you get the chance, seize the moment and go swimming in Superior. Here's a guide to the best spots.

First, a few words about safety.

Bring thick-soled water shoes to protect your feet from sharp-edged rocks. Avoid walking on submerged shoreline rocks, which can be extremely slippery.

Don't swim out too far, and make sure a buddy is nearby.

Watch for fast currents in rivers, especially after a heavy rain.

Check depths before you jump from cliffs or over waterfalls, and never dive.

Okay? Now go for it!

North Shore rivers

Since the shoreline is so rocky, the mouths of rivers are your best bets.

Along Scenic 61, the slow route from Duluth to Two Harbors, you can stop to swim at the mouth of the French River or, on calm days, off Stony Point, where surfers ride the waves after storms.

In Two Harbors, Burlington Bay adjoins the municipal campground and has some real sand, a rarity on the North Shore.

Beyond Two Harbors, everyone's favorite place to wade is Gooseberry Falls State Park. When water flow is low, you can swim in pools at the bottoms of falls.

Cobblestone beaches line the river's mouth on Lake Superior. Just above, the point is a great picnic spot.

© Beth Gauper

It's another 6½ miles to Split Rock State Park. You'll have to pay a fee to get in, but there's a lovely cove below the lighthouse.

From here, it's five miles to the mouth of the Beaver River, just east of Beaver Bay. This also is a popular agate-hunting spot.

Then it's 7½ miles to Tettegouche State Park, where there are pools along the High Falls Trail on the Baptism River.

There's also a nice swimming hole near the cabin the park rents at the top of Illgen Falls, reached from Minnesota 1. Young people jump over the falls, but it's much safer to walk upstream to the swimming hole there.

It's another 20 miles to Temperance River State Park. Just north of the highway, a lot of people slide down the river and into a pool.

There is always danger from rocks, but this river is especially unsafe when water is high and the current is fast — several people have slipped on rocks along the hiking trail, been carried away and drowned.

It's another 23½ miles to Good Harbor Bay /Cutface Creek Wayside just west of Grand Marais. You can swim off this cobblestone beach and also look for rare Thomsonite.

For more, see Beaches of the North Shore.

Inland lakes

Near Silver Bay and Tettegouche State Park, Lax Lake Resort has a beach on Lax Lake.

© Beth Gauper

If you're lucky enough to get one of Tettegouche's Mic Mac cabins on Mic Mac Lake, you'll have a lovely place to swim. Cabin B is right on the lake. (You don't need to rent a cabin to swim, but it's a 1¾-mile walk.)

Around Tofte, the U.S. Forest Service lists 10 campsites or campgrounds that include swimming areas.Sawbill Lake is one of them, and also an entry point to Boundary Waters lakes.

Near Grand Marais, the four Devil Track Cabins are on a beach on the north shore of Devil Track Lake.

For more, see our North Shore stories.

Lake Superior in Duluth-Superior

You can swim anywhere along the 10-mile sandbar that creates the Twin Ports' harbor.

The Minnesota side is known as Park Point, and the entire beach is public, though access is limited by private properties.

The closest beach to Canal Park is on the other side of the Aerial Lift Bridge. But the main swimming area is three miles farther at Park Point Recreation Area, which includes a beach house, playgrounds, soccer fields, volleyball courts and picnic areas.

Check for rip currents and water conditions (look for a warning sign and red flag).

Just beyond that, the Park Point Trail starts from Sky Harbor Airport. It's two miles through pine forest and sand dunes to the Superior harbor entry, where there's a curving beach full of driftwood along the breakwater.

On the other side of the entry, reached through Superior, the narrower Wisconsin Point is lined with sand. Pullouts along the road give access to secluded beaches.

For more about Park Point and Wisconsin Point, see Dunes of Duluth.

In Canal Park, you might see young people jumping off the ruins of a building in the water just off the Lakewalk. That's Uncle Harvey's Mausoleum, built in 1919 to store sand and gravel for an outer breakwater the city never approved.

There's also a wide pebble beach nearby. Farther down the Lakewalk, there are a couple of shallow coves near Fitger's. You also can swim off Leif Erikson Park and at 42nd Avenue Park, the favorite for families with children.

Another local favorite is Brighton Beach in Kitchi Gammi Park, on the east edge of town at 63rd Avenue. It has a half-mile of cobblestone beaches and flat, smooth rhyolite ledges that are perfect for lounging in the sun.

Be careful when you go into the water, however; the rocks along the shore are very slippery, and you're likely to fall.

Rivers in Duluth

Duluth is full of rivers that feed Lake Superior. By July, their water feels much warmer than the lake's, yet deliciously cool.

Waterfalls create swimming holes, many of them easily reached by city streets or the Superior Hiking Trail.

For more, see Swimming holes of Duluth.

Locals recommend other favorites on Perfect Duluth Day.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency lists beaches included in its Beach Monitoring Program, which checks for bacteria levels and issues advisories.