ATTRACTIONS: Vince Shute Wildlife Sancuary | Orr Bog Walk | Voyageurs National Park | Vermilion Gorge | Vermilion Falls | Birding & Wildlife

The rugged, original Vermilion Falls trail is still maintained for hiking. From the Picnic Area parking lot, go left on the portage a short distance and continue down river on the hiking trail to see some lovely views of the Vermilion River. The old trail is steep in places and crosses some ledge rock on its way to Forest Road 491. From the small parking area on Forest Road 491, cross the road and continue on to “the chute,” a constriction in the river that produces a class III – V rapids. Part of the trail also serves as the portage around the rapids.
On your return to the falls, spend a moment on the bridge looking upriver at the small wild rice bed in the bay to your left. In mid-July rice shoots begin to emerge from the water, and seed heads begin to develop in the first part of August. Extensive wild rice beds (wild rice is really an aquatic grass, not a rice) flourish along the Vermilion River and the rice is harvested by humans and wildlife alike from late August through October.