Tettegouche State Park
5702 Highway 61, Silver Bay, MN 55614
About Tettegouche State Park
Tettegouche State Park sits immediately northeast of Silver Bay and is one of the most dramatic parks on Minnesota's North Shore. It holds Palisade Head, a rhyolite cliff standing several hundred feet straight out of Lake Superior, High Falls on the Baptism River, a set of inland lakes, and a long stretch of Lake Superior shoreline.
The Superior Hiking Trail runs through the park, and this section includes some of the most spectacular walking on the entire route. Palisade Head is also one of the very few places in Minnesota where people rock climb above open water, which draws climbers from well outside the region.
For Silver Bay residents the park is effectively a back yard, four miles up the road, and it is the strongest single argument for living in a town whose housing is otherwise priced for its distance from anywhere.
The cliffs are genuinely dangerous and there are fatalities on record. A Minnesota state park vehicle permit is required.
Good to know: Palisade Head cliffs, High Falls on the Baptism River, inland lakes, Lake Superior shoreline, hiking, Superior Hiking Trail, rock climbing, camping, visitor center.
Neighborhoods it serves
A whole town built at once in 1954, with the best cliffs on the North Shore behind it.
Two HarborsThe North Shore's working town: ore docks, a lighthouse, and a real grocery store.
Knife River212 people, a working harbor, and the smokehouse that has been curing fish here since 1908.
Where these facts come from
- Minnesota DNR, Tettegouche State Park accessed 2026-08-13
Last reviewed 2026-08-13 by Guide editorial.