Cauldron Trail

The Temperance River gets its name from the fact that it has no bar at its mouth — an unusual circumstance that results from the river entering Lake Superior through an extremely narrow, deep slot gorge rather than depositing sediment in a delta. The Cauldron Trail explores this extraordinary gorge and the hidden lake formed upstream where the river broadens before squeezing into its final cascade. The trail follows both banks of the Temperance River on a loop that crosses the narrow gorge on two footbridges, each positioned above a different section of the cauldron — a series of potholes and fluted channels carved by the river through the basalt over thousands of years. The potholes here are particularly spectacular: some exceed six feet in diameter and ten feet in depth, their smooth cylindrical walls worn perfectly round by swirling gravel acting as natural drill bits in flood conditions. The Cauldron itself is the deepest part of the gorge, a section where the river disappears into shadow between walls only three feet apart and drops 30 feet in a series of plunging cascades. The hidden lake formed above the gorge provides a stunning contrast, its still surface reflecting the surrounding birch and spruce in calm conditions before abruptly narrowing into the violent chasm below. The loop trail includes the Superior Hiking Trail for its upper portion, providing ridge views over the river corridor.