split rock loop trail

We hiked to high places with beautiful views and coves with lots of opportunities for rock skipping. The lighthouse makes for good photo opps, too.

Went on the Superior Hiking path part of trail loop and with the fall colors is full display, the hike was outstanding!

From the parking lot or the lighthouse, walk south on the trail. There are several short side-trails to the water where you can view the lighthouse.

SPLIT ROCK trail is the lesser known hiking/exploring area, located across the road from JUMBO ROCKS. JUMBO ROCKS has a hundred campsite, and the most beautiful collection of boulders in Joshua Tree National Park, including the famed sphere located atop a cliff (visible from campsite 93). SPLIT ROCK trail is generally accessed from the end of a gravel road. SPLIT ROCK TRAIL is a big oval loop. If you travel counterclockwise, you first encounter a boulder resembling a pregnant woman, and then you encounter an old man with finger in nose (shown), and then you encounter a sphere that is wedged into a cliff (shown). The old man with finger in nose is actually the same boulder formation that resembles tweezers, but if you view the tweezers from an angle, the old man materializes. The tweezer/old man with finger in nose can best be viewed by walking about one minute off trail, in the northerly direction. If you walk two minutes in the northerly direction, you will encounter the sphere. If you travel the other way, that is, counterclockwise, then you will encounter the monolith (shown). The monolith occurs at the center of the SPLIT ROCK TRAIL loop. But the other stone formation are all located just to the north of the SPLIT ROCK TRAIL, where you go "off trail" after only a minute of counterclockwise walking. A couple of separate dry washes are encountered on this trail, and if the traveler goes off trail and follows a dry wash for a few minutes, the traveler will encounter a large cactus. The far end of the SPLIT ROCK TRAIL, that is, the southern loop, is poorly marked, and so, some poking around might be needed to connect with the entire loop. If you take the clockwise direction, and walk past the monolith, you will soon encounter huge boulders with rock climbers dangling from sturdy ropes. Anyway, SPLIT ROCK TRAIL is a rewarding destination for persons wishing to discover boulders with interesting shapes. But unlike the JUMBO ROCKS area, which has plenty of junipers, there seem to be few or no juniper trees on the SPLIT ROCK TRAIL.

My husband and I were visiting the Split Rock State Park so we decided to take a short hike--which turned into a pretty long one before we finally found our way back to our car!!! We were never lost from the trail system, but we obviously kept reading the maps wrong at the intersections. Anyway, the weather was great, the scenery was beautiful, and we had a great time laughing about how on earth we got so turned around!

This trail starts on the west side of Rt. 61. There is parking and an information kiosk at the trailhead. The trail features lots of moderate ups and downs over a 5-mile loop. The trail follows the Split Rock River and crosses it via a 1-person suspension bridge (great fun) to form the loop. There actually is a "Split Rock" - two rock pillars standing next to each other which were once, no doubt, a single formation. For those in reasonable shape and looking for beautiful nature plus exercise, explore this trail!

We stopped at the Split Rock Lighthouse after a weekend of hiking in the North Shore. What a great view! We didn't go into the museum or lighthouse, but went down to the shore. Great stop for families & kids, too.

The impressive tour of one of the last lighthouses, including getting to visit the living quarters of the staff, climbing up to the top of the lighthouse and inspecting the prisms and gears was unique and fascinating.

This was the ideal hike! Five miles-not too many ups and downs and one view after the other. You are right next to a river and waterfalls for at least half of the hike. There are also several beautiful views of Lake Superior. This was at the end of July and there were almost no bugs. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves hiking!

Arrêt sympa à faire le long de la "North shore". Le phare est bien entretenu et offre une petite balade jusqu’au bord du lac offrant une bellle vue du phare depuis le bas du rocher. Parc bien aménagé.