Sawtooth Mountains Fall Color Tour
The Sawtooth Mountains Fall Color Tour in the Tofte Ranger District is made of four linked routes: Beaver Dam, Moose, Maple Leaf and Mountain View Drives Each is signed at intersections to help you follow the route. All work their way through sugar maples, moose maples, tamaracks, and birches for plenty of color usually over several weeks in the fall.
About the Fall Color Tour Map and road names
Roads in the Forest are designated in several ways. The name of the road is usually found on street signs at intersections, and is used on some brown navigational signs in the Forest. The road number is used on the majority of brown navigational signs in the Forest, and is often found on a plastic lath type marker post alongside the road within a few yards of intersections. The seasonal Fall Color Tour Route name is found along Fall Color Tour Routes on brown keystone shaped signs which are only up during the fall. These Route names are not the same as the road name.
A single road may have along its length different road numbers as it crosses county lines (for example, the Cramer Road is County 7 in Lake County and County 8 in Cook County) and/or different names with the same road number (again, the Cramer Road is County 7 for part of its length, then it becomes the Perent Lake Road but is still designated as County 7). The Tour Route map has road name and numbers on it, and designates the Fall Color Tour route name by the color of the road on the map.
Points of Interest
Temperance River Vista River
View of its valley, and Carlton Peak which rises 900 ft above Lake Superior.
Heartbreak Ridge
When horses were used for logging, this steep ridge broke many a logger's heart because during the winter he could not haul up or down the rise.
Temperance River Campground
Camping, picnicking, toilets, and a well
Poplar River And White Pine Campgrounds
Camping, picnicking, toilets
Oberg and LeVeaux Hiking Trails
Some of the best fall vistas are from these trails. There are steep cliffs, so keep children close. Round trip: Oberg, 2 1/4 miles; LeVeaux 3 1/2 miles. Parking for both is 2 miles up the Onion River Road
Britton Peak Trail
This short 5 minute trail provides a great view from the top.
Scenic Drives
There are three designated Scenic Byways to explore in the area:
- North Shore Scenic Byway - follows the birch filled shore of Lake Superior for 154 miles between Duluth and the Canadian border.
- Gunflint Trail - It runs approximately 57 miles along the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais to Trail's End Campground and the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center.
- Superior National Forest Scenic Byway - A 54-mile road from Silver Bay to Aurora
The Temperance River Campground is a small campground easily reached from the Sawbill Trail (Cook County 2). It provides pine-shaded campsites nestled in a bend of th
Poplar River Rustic Campground is unusual in that it is located on the edge of a river rather than a lake.
White Pine Lake Rustic Campground is an easily reached rustic campground on a beautiful medium sized lake.
Notice-As of November 2023, the Jackpot and High Climber trails at Britton Peak are closed until spring. Thank you for your cooperation.
Running for a total of 154 miles between Duluth and the Canadian border, Highway 61 is a spectacular stretch of road skirting Lake Superior.
The Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway is one of three nationally designated scenic byways in the Superior National Forest.
The Superior National Forest Scenic Byway, designated as Forest Highway 11, runs from the taconite town of Silver Bay to the logging town of Aurora.