Minnesota Seasons - Iona's Beach SNA



			Lake County
			Northeast Minnesota

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Size

10 acres

Maps

Detail map (MN DNR)

Printable Maps with GPS coordinates

Parking

N47 10.001, W91 25.488

Hiking Trails

A short trail leads from the parking area to the site and then to the gravel beach. The paved Gitchi-Gami State Trail skirts the western edge of this site.

Hunting

No hunting

Ecological Classification

Province

Laurentian Mixed Forest

Section

Northern Superior Uplands

Subsection(s)

North Shore Highlands

Land Type Association(s)

Split Rock Till Plain

Native Plant Communities¹

Alder - (Maple - Loosestrife) Swamp

Aspen - Birch Forest: Hardwood Subtype

Gravel/Cobble Beach (Lake Superior)

Lake Superior Rocky Shore

Ownership

Links

Minnesota DNR

Comments

Visits

5/25/2011


Visitor Photos

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

Parking


Wood Routed Sign


Gravel/Cobble Beach (Lake Superior)


Lake Superior Rocky Shore

Camera


Slideshows

	Iona's Beach SNA minnesota_snas

	About Iona's Beach SNA lies on a narrow strip of Lake Superior's North Shore between Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock Lighthouse State Parks. This site is named after Iona Lind, former owner of Twin Points Resort (which previously occupied the current parking area).

slideshow


Visitor Videos

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Other Videos

	Twin Points Resort / Iona's Beach - Lutsen, MN - August 1986 Brian Klier

	About Uploaded on Jan 21, 2012 What today is Iona's Beach SNA on Lake Superior, was, for at least 3 decades, Iona Lind's Twin Points Resort. As I have been unable to find anything but old postcards and a sign at Iona's Beach referencing "what used to be", I uploaded this video. The video is from August of 1986. Twin Points Resort consisted of a main office, motel, and several lakeshore cabins owned by "Grandma" Iona Lind, and run by both her and her son Alden Lind. The cabins were quaint, rustic, but always clean, and offered some spectacular views from one of the best Lake Superior beaches. Later in the video, you will see a cabin in very poor condition right on the beach. Every time we stayed here at the resort, we were just waiting for this structure to collapse. The irony is that Twin Points Resort is now demolished and gone, yet this cabin, right on the beach, still remains today.

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Visitor Observations

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Cairman 7/8/2012	I just love this place. Haven't visited recently, but one day a couple years ago I hung my hammock between trees to at the end of the trail from the parking lot (west of the actual beach). I spent the day alternating between wandering the beach and lounging in the hammock. There was a line of low clouds dividing the water from the equally blue sky. Am just recommending it for a lunch stop for friends who will be in the area.


MinnesotaSeasons.com Observations


Birds	One bird species with conservation status in Minnesota and one tracked species have been seen here:
	Endangered	Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)

	Tracked	Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

	Minnesota DNR Bird checklist

Plants	Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Plant List

	Plants frequently found in: Alder - (Maple - Loosestrife) Swamp FPn73a Aspen - Birch Forest: Hardwood Subtype FDn43b2 Gravel/Cobble Beach (Lake Superior) LKu32e Lake Superior Rocky Shore LKu43

	Common Name Scientific Name Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense) Canadian gooseberry (Ribes oxyacanthoides ssp. oxyacanthoides) common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale) common strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) early meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum) field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) hairy Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum pubescens) nodding trillium (Trillium cernuum) paper birch (Betula papyrifera var. papyrifera) quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea ssp. sericea) red pine (Pinus resinosa) smooth yellow violet (Viola pubescens var. scabriuscula) speckled alder (Alnus incana ssp. rugosa) swamp red currant (Ribes triste) three-leaved false Solomon’s seal (Smilacina trifolia) white spruce (Picea glauca) wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia var. quinquefolia) woodland horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum) yellow marsh marigold (Caltha palustris var. palustris) Alnus incana ssp. rugosa (speckled alder) Anemone quinquefolia var. quinquefolia (wood anemone) Betula papyrifera var. papyrifera (paper birch) Caltha palustris var. palustris (yellow marsh marigold) Cornus sericea ssp. sericea (red osier dogwood) Equisetum arvense (field horsetail) Equisetum sylvaticum (woodland horsetail) Fragaria virginiana (common strawberry) Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower) Picea glauca (white spruce) Pinus resinosa (red pine) Polygonatum pubescens (hairy Solomon’s seal) Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen) Ribes oxyacanthoides ssp. oxyacanthoides (Canadian gooseberry) Ribes triste (swamp red currant) Smilacina trifolia (three-leaved false Solomon’s seal) Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale (common dandelion) Thalictrum dioicum (early meadow rue) Trillium cernuum (nodding trillium) Viola pubescens var. scabriuscula (smooth yellow violet)