Mount Josephine Rest Area

Series: Grand Portage (Part 2 of 3)

Just three miles southwest of Grand Portage State Park and the border with Canada is an unassuming turnoff on the Lake Superior side of Minnesota Highway 61. (Two turnoffs, actually—there are two entrances.) You can’t tell from the highway, but those nondescript entrances lead to one of the most spectacular and easily accessible views on the North Shore.

Forests then green islands in very blue water — *View of the Susie Islands from the Mount Josephine Rest Area, with the faint outline of Isle Royale in the distance.*

This tiny park area goes by various names—the Mount Josephine Wayside Rest Stop or Rest Area, the Wayswaugoing (or Wayswaugoning) Bay Overlook, the Susie Islands (or Susie Island) Overlook—and they’re all accurate. The variety of names gives you an idea of the visual banquet laid out before you at this stop.

From an observation deck, you have the intensely blue waters of Wayswaugoing Bay at your feet. Just beyond that, the Susie Islands dot the water, and then there’s the long stretch of Lake Superior, seemingly as far as the eye can see. On clear days, Isle Royale National Park (officially part of Michigan) is in view. To the left, you can see the edge of Ontario, Canada. To the right, the forested bulk of Mount Josephine.

Bay with blue water and forested shoreline — *Wayswaugoing Bay below the Mount Josephine rest stop*

Forest along blue lake — *View of Wayswaugoing Bay from the Mount Josephine rest stop*

The Susie Islands are 13 rocky islands just past the bay toward Canada—the largest is Susie Island (or Big Susie Island—there’s also a Little Susie here). In the early 1900s, Susie Island was mined for copper, logged, and used for commercial fishing. The Nature Conservancy bought the island in the 1970s and 80s, to protect the rare plant species that grow here. In 2017, ownership transferred to the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, who already owned the other Susie Islands and who will keep the Susies as protected sites.

Close-up of forested islands in blue lake — *The Susie Islands*

View over forests, islands, and lake — *The Susie Islands from the Mount Josephine rest area*

On the right from the viewing platform, Mount Josephine looms more than 700 feet above Lake Superior, until the peak abruptly drops off toward the lake. It is the highest point along Lake Superior on the North Shore, one of the many volcanic mountains exposed by unrelenting glacial erosion thousands of years ago. The summit of Mount Josephine offers an even more spectacular view of the lake and the shoreline, but the climb is steep and difficult.

Woman wearing backpack leans on observation deck — *Mount Josephine from the rest are*a

Close of of forested peak of large hill — *Mount Josephine, a steep hike to the peak*

View from high exposed rock area of blue water and green islands — *View of the Susie Islands from the top of Mount Josephine*

Distant viewing platform and information kiosk surrounded by trees on a cliff — *View of the rest area from the top of Mount Josephine*

The climb up Mount Josephine itself might be a challenge, but enjoying the Mount Josephine rest stop is anything BUT difficult. It could hardly be easier, once you know it’s there.

The parking lot has abundant regular parking spaces and two extended ones for RVs and trailers. With the two entrances, it’s easy for longer rigs to pull in and out. Accessibility was key to a 2012 redesign that added a sturdy wooden viewing platform and a modern vault toilet to the rest area. Handicap parking, sidewalk cutouts, and picnic tables that allow for wheelchair seating make the rest stop accessible for just about everyone. There are also benches and bear-proof garbage containers. Consider bringing a picnic or scheduling a snack break here, to extend your visit.