ou have got to check out Iona’s Beach Scientific and Natural Area on Minnesota’s North Shore. It is easily one of the coolest stops along Highway 61, tucked right between Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock Lighthouse.
The second you walk down the short trail from the Twin Points parking lot, you realize this isn’t your typical sandy beach. The shoreline is made up entirely of smooth, pink rhyolite shingles. Those are the flat stones that look like pieces of broken pottery. They get their gorgeous salmon-pink color from local volcanic bedrock that eroded over thousands of years.
But the absolute best part about this place is that the beach actually sings. Because the stones are so smooth and flat, when the waves from Lake Superior crash into the shore and recede, the rocks lift and clatter against each other. It creates this beautiful, metallic tinkling sound, almost like thousands of delicate wind chimes or breaking glass. It is incredibly peaceful just to sit on the rocks and listen to the lake make music.
If you want to stretch your legs, you can hike the section of the Gitchi-Gami State Trail that passes right through the site. The trail takes you up onto a high cliff overlooking the water, giving you an awesome panoramic view of Lake Superior and the surrounding pine forests.
Just keep in mind that because it’s a protected Scientific and Natural Area (SNA), there are strict rules to keep it pristine. You can’t bring your dog, and you absolutely cannot pocket any of those beautiful pink rocks to take home as souvenirs.
You just have to leave them behind so the beach can keep singing for the next traveler.