Beach · Lake Superior · Minnesota
Butterwort Cliffs Beach
A public beach on Lake Superior in Cook County, Minnesota, 1.3 miles of shore. It is on the federal list of BEACH Act beaches but was not on the state’s sampling schedule in the latest report.
The beach
On the record
- Water
- Lake Superior
- Location
- Cook County, Minnesota
- Length
- 1.3 miles
- Owner
- Public
- Access
- Public Access
- Water sampling
- Not monitored in 2025
- Monitoring tier
- Tier 4 (Tier 1 is highest)
- Water quality standard
- E. coli, single sample: 235 CFU per 100 mL
- EPA beach ID
- MN689449
- Coordinates
- 47.7160° N, 90.4865° W to 47.7206° N, 90.4632° W
As the state reported it to EPA for the 2025 season. Sampling schedules change year to year. How beach monitoring works →
Down the shore
Nearest Superior beaches
- Cascade State Park Campground Beach2.1 mi · MN
- Cutface Creek Wayside Rest Beach2.3 mi · sampled · MN
- Cascade State Park West Beach2.6 mi · MN
- Grand Marais Campground Beach7.0 mi · sampled · MN
- Grand Marais Downtown Beach7.1 mi · sampled · MN
- Croftville Beach11 mi · MN
Straight-line distance.
By boat
Launches nearby
- Cascade River1.8 mi · hand / carry-in launch
- Cut Face Creek Wayside Rest2.4 mi · hand / carry-in launch
- Grand Marais West7.0 mi · trailer ramp
- Grand Marais Safe Harbor7.4 mi · trailer ramp
On the horizon
Lighthouses nearby
- Grand Marais Light7.2 mi
Ashore
State parks nearby
- Cascade River State Park1.7 mi
Off the beach
What to fish on Lake Superior
Source
Facts on this page are from the EPA BEACON profile for beach MN689449, the record Minnesota files under the federal BEACH Act, retrieved 2026-10-10. The county is placed from the beach’s own coordinates. A blank field means the record is silent. Parking, fees, lifeguards and dog rules are set by whoever runs the beach; check with them before you go.
Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain). Not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.