Popular Northern Minnesota Trail Bridge Reopens After Multi-Year Closure

After more than two years, a popular bridge crossing for a busy hiking trail in Northern Minnesota has finally reopened!

The Minnesota DNR recently announced that after being closed since 2022, the High Falls Bridge at Tettegouche State Park on the North Shore is officially back open.

The bridge and other areas near the Baptism River in Tettegouche State Park have suffered flood-related damage that forced closures on a couple of different instances in recent years.

In 2022, severe flooding of the Baptism River caused severe damage to the bridge that crossed the river to get to the High Falls in the park. This forced a closure of the bridge to the public.

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Another flood in 2024 made things worse, completely detaching the bridge on one side, further reinforcing the need to upgrade the river crossing.

In response, the Minnesota DNR constructed a new bridge (seen below) that is now 5 feet higher than the original bridge, providing more clearance when the river floods. In addition, the new bridge is constructed of fiberglass polymer, which the DNR says holds up better to the elements.

During the bridge construction process, other areas were closed, including the High Falls trailhead parking lot, the group camp in the area, and other hiking trails on the west side of the river that lead to the bridge.

Now that construction is complete, these areas that were closed during the summer construction project are now reopened, too!

Following the November 24 reopening of the bridge and other temporarily closed areas, the Minnesota DNR issued a note of thanks in their social media announcement, sharing gratitude for the public's patience during the project.