We've been to Cuter before and love the area. it is very beautiful and there are several National Parks and Monuments that are past overdue for us. We visited Jewel Cave, the Jewel Cave Lantern Tour, Wind Cave, Custer State Park and a tour of the Cluster Gulch RV Park which we have researched in the past and it is a great RV Park... one of my favorites!
We are visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota. On day 2 we hiked the Painted Canyon trail through the badlands and we also did the scenic drive. The landscape was dramatic, fairly lush for high desert and we saw a herd of bison milling about. On day 3 we drove 70 miles to the North Unit where there is even more wildlife. Prairie dogs, bison, wild turkeys, wild horses and more bison. The landscape is beautiful with The Little Missouri River flowing through it and a gorgeous view at Oxbow Overlook. I loved our time in this park... so did Toby!
Stop #3 on the Leaf Peeper Road Trip: Devils Lake, North Dakota. We stayed at the Grahams Island State Park campground which was a beautiful campground and located on Devils Lake which is a great place to go fishing if you are looking for that trophy Walleye. This was a quick stop along the way as we head to Voyagers National Park in Minnesota.
The 4th stop on the Leaf Peeper Road Trip was The Pines of Kabetogama in Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota. The campground was beautiful with some amazing view up on the cliffs. The only way to visit Voyageurs NP is by boat. It is made up of over 600 islands around Lake Kabetogama and Rainy Lake any of which you can go camping on if you can find a boat to drop you off and pick you up. It's a beautiful area with many original homesteads and other buildings to visit. .
The 5th stop on the Leaf Peeper Road Trip. This destination offered the easiest ferry access for visiting Isle Royale National Park. However, we waited too long before making our reservation and missed out. We still got to visit Grand Portage National Monument which introduced us to the rich history of the Ojibwe (aka. Chippewa) Indians with the French fir traders at the Northwest Company Trading Post. We also visited Grand Portage State Park and did some amazing hikes up the several waterfalls along the route. Even Toby liked it because he could go on all of the trails including a hike up to Mt. Rose.
August 27, 2025 takes us to the 6th stop on the Leaf Peeper Road Trip... Duluth, Minnesota. We are only here for one full day. The main purpose of us being here was to visit the Duluth Trading Company but they moved to Mount Horeb, Wisconsin just weeks before we arrived. Dang! We still had a great time visiting visiting Enger Park with the tower and the Japanese Peace Bell Garden. Of course no brewery is left untasted on our journey so we visited Fitger Brewing Company for lunch and took a stroll down the Waabizheshikana Trail (or however you say that). Even Toby had fun playing in the water.
August 29, 2025 - Our 7th stop on the Leaf Peeper Road Trip - Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Bayfield, Wisconsin. We stayed in Apostle Islands Area Campground which was very nice with some unique cabins for rent. We also did the Fruit Loop - an area of U-pick farms and orchards with apples, peaches, many berry types, vegetables and, my favorite, cider donuts! We went kayaking out to the sea caves on the western side of the Bayfield Peninsula and a late afternoon cruise around the Apostle Islands. Enjoy your visit!
Sept 1, 2025 - the 8th stop on our Leaf Peeper Road Trip is Bailey's Grove in Door County, Wisconsin. This is a beautiful part of the country with thick forests, lush farmland for crops and diary and plenty of farmer's markets. We had the opportunity to visit a shop of Master Cheese Makers which was a real treat! Bordering on Lake Michigan there are lots of lighthouses and islands to visit. Would love to go back sometime just for the ice cream and cheese.
September 4, 2025: The 9th stop on our Leaf Peeper Road Trip. Copper Harbor Michigan. Copper Harbor is on a northern most finger of land that juts out into Lake Superior on Michigan's UP. Unfortunately, it rained the entire time we were in Copper Harbor which kept us from exploring as much as we would have liked. But we did get to see some very beautiful country including Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary with all of it's mushrooms and an underground tour of the Delaware Copper Mine. Copper mining was a defining resource for the area.
September 7, 2025 - Stop #10 on the Leaf Peeper Road Trip is Pictured Rocks near Munising, Michigan UP. Pictured Rocks is a must see destination when you are in the Michigan UP. This is a National Lakeshore and the shear cliffs carry the horizontal layering of sedimentary rocks overlayered with the vertical colors of mineral deposits that wash the rock faces. In addition to kayaking the beautiful cliff line, we got to sample a uniquely UP food called pasties and sit around the campfire while the dog chases squirrels up the trees. This was one of the most unique stops on the Leaf Peeper Road Trips. Enjoy!
September 10-11, 2025 - Stop #11 and #12 on the Leaf Peeper Road Trip - Traverse City, Michigan and Indiana Dunes National Park. We drove across the Big Mac bridge into Traverse City to visit a classmate from La Habra High School class of 1972, Mary Jordan. After spending the night in Traverse City we took off early the next morning to drive to Indiana Dune NP in the northwest corner of Indiana (near Chicago). We were there for the 24th anniversary of 9/11 and they had all of their flags on display. Toby got to swim in Lake Michigan which adds to the long list of rivers, lakes and oceans that he has swam in around America. He loves the water!
Sept 12, 2025: The 13th stop on our Leaf Peeper Road Trip was Columbus, OH to see an Ohio State Buckeyes football game. I was born in Columbus and had some sights I wanted to show Adrienne and we arranged to have lunch before the game with Dwight and Allison Blankenship who are friends of our from out TeamLogicIT days. We stayed at the Ohio Expo Center where they hold the state fair every year. Between the train tracks behind the camper, the planes flying overhead and the drift racing at the fairgrounds, there was plenty of noise!
Sept 14, 2025 - Stop #14 on the Leaf Peeper Road Trip was Cuyahoga Valley National Park. So this park took me by complete surprise. Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a scenic refuge featuring forests, Brandywine Waterfalls, the Cuyahoga River, the tow path trail for the Ohio & Erie Canal and a working train to take you through the park. It offers hiking, biking, wildlife viewing and historic sights in surprisingly tranquil Midwest landscapes. It also is home to the Szalay Farm & Market which is one of the best farmer's markets that we visited on this trip. Toby loved it because there were lots of chipmunks to chase around.
Sept 17, 2025 - The 15th stop on our Leaf Peeper Road Trip was Niagra Falls, NY. I was here over 60 years ago but the falls hold just as much enchantment now as they did when I was a small child. The beauty, power and majesty of falls is breathtaking and should be on everyone's bucket list if you have not seen them. One of the highlights of the falls was getting up close on the Maid of the Mist tour boats that give you a 360 degree view of the falls.
September 19, 2025 and stop #16 on the Leaf Peeper Road Trip - Lake Placid, NY. What a beautiful place to visit... especially in the fall. This was our first real glimpse of what gorgeous fall colors can look like. We visited the Olympic Center and saw the hockey rink where the boys from the 1980 men's hockey team beat the Russians for a gold medal for the first time. We even harvested Chicken of the Woods fungus from a tree in our campsite and used it for dinner for 2 nights. The mountains, the scenery, the lakes and the rivers made for a perfect backdrop on this leg of our trip.
September 25, 2025 and stop #18 on the Leaf Peeper Road Trip: This is Stowe, VT to Bar Harbor, ME. We drove through the rain and a forest of trees draped in fall colors. They were so beautiful! We are staying at the Bar Harbor / Oceanside KOA Holiday and we had a site right on the shoreline with great views and sunsets.
We spent a quick afternoon in Bar Harbor downtown shopping. It is definitely a tourist community with souvenir shops, ice cream parlors, restaurants and local art shops. Then a sunset cruise on Frenchman Bay aboard the Acadian. The houses and shoreline were very picturesque and the sunset was beautiful. Toby even got to go on the cruise with us!
The highlight of our trip to Bar Harbor, Maine was time we spent in Acadia National Park. It is a large park and requires a lot of driving over 3 days to see most of the park. While we were there we did the Loop Drive, Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Big Meadow, Jordon Pond, Cadillac Mountain and the Sieur de Monts Nature Center. Unfortunately, we did not get to do the Beehive or Precipice hikes while we were there. We'll save that for next time!
One of the really cool things we did was hike across the exposed land bridge to Bar Island while the tide was out. Once the tide come back in, the land bridge is submerged and you have to wait 9 hours for the next low tide or call a water taxis to come pick you up. It was a beautiful day for a walk by the ocean but we were always checking the clock to see how much time we had left before the tide came back in. Luckily, we made it!
I'm no expert on lobster rolls but of all the ones I've had so far, this is by far the best! We each had a lobster roll with garlic aiole, chips, clam chowder, beer and we split a peace of blueberry pie with blueberry cheesecake ice cream! One of the things that makes the Bar Harbor Lobster Pound special is the setting and the atmosphere. Snuggled into the woods just off Bar Harbor Road, provides a unique setting for a wonderful meal.