Continental Divide

Savanna Portage State Park encompasses nearly 16,000 acres of rolling hills, hardwood forests, and glacial lakes. It was established in 1961 and the park preserves the historic Savanna Portage—a challenging 6-mile portage trail once used by Native Americans and early European explorers to connect the Mississippi River to Lake Superior.  Savannah Portage was a vital land link between the St. Louis River and the Mississippi River watersheds and it was used for centuries by the native Americans before the white man arrived in mass in the 1760’s to trade furs. The portage joined the heavily traveled canoe route from Lake Superior to the Upper Mississippi via a savannah, which means open grassland with an expanse of marsh grass.  The portage was eventually displaced by the railroad and was no longer a vital transportation system in this area.  

Savannah Portage State Park is named for this six mile portage and it has a system of trails and backcountry campsites within its boundaries. The park offers over 27 miles of hiking trails, including the historic Savanna Portage Trail and the Continental Divide Trail, where waters flow either to the Mississippi River or Lake Superior.  The park also has 61 campsites and one camper cabin available year-round. The cabin is accessible and sleeps five, though it lacks running water and electricity.  This hike follows the Continental Divide in the park and the trail has outstanding views of Wolf Lake from a platform on the ridge. It is along this route that the continental divide separates the drainages of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and this information is well documented on the hike.