Hand / carry-in launch · Lake Superior · Minnesota

French River Launch

A public hand / carry-in launch on Lake Superior in St. Louis County, Minnesota, with 1 trailer spaces. Managed by DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Directions All Superior launches

The launch

What the agency lists

Launch type: Hand / carry-in launch — carry-in (unknown)
Water: Lake Superior
Trailer parking: 1 spaces
Car-only parking: 4 spaces
Toilets: 1
Fee: Not published in the source — ask the manager
Managed by: DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife
Location: St. Louis County, Minnesota
Coordinates: 46.8995° N, 91.8924° W

Directions: 6.5 miles south of Knife River on N Shore Dr

Before you launch

Lake Superior is big water

Pick the launch for the harbor you can get back into, not for the fish. Long stretches of Superior shore have no shelter, the water stays cold enough all season to make a capsize a survival problem, and fog and wind come up fast. File a float plan and watch the nearshore forecast for the whole day, not the morning.

Water temperature. The open lake sits in the high 30s to mid 40s most of the year. Cold-water immersion takes usable strength from your hands and arms in minutes — long before hypothermia is the issue.
Distance from help. On the north shore of the Keweenaw or east of Grand Marais you can be 30-plus miles from a Coast Guard station and out of cell coverage. A handheld VHF is not optional gear on this lake.
Sea state that builds faster than the forecast. A northeast blow across 200 miles of open water stacks steep, short-period waves in under two hours. The run home is always into it.

Read how to read a Great Lakes marine forecast and trailering and launching on big water. Pack the big-water safety kit.

From this launch

What to fish on Lake Superior

Our Superior fishing guides name spots at or near French River:

Chinook Salmon · Late June through August, with the best shot in July off the Minnesota North Shore

Chinook Salmon Fishing on Lake Superior

The Minnesota North Shore, Knife River to Two Harbors: Wild chinook from the Knife River and French River systems return to this stretch. Boats run the 100 to 300 foot contour a mile or two out and take kings among the cohos.

Coho Salmon · May through July, with a second shot at maturing fish near the river mouths in September

Lake Superior Coho Salmon Fishing: North Shore & Spring Trolling

Knife River and French River: The two best-known coho tributaries on the Minnesota shore. Fish return here and juveniles rear here, so the water off both mouths holds fish through the season.

Steelhead · April and May on the North Shore; September through November on the Michigan and Wisconsin streams

Steelhead Fishing on Lake Superior

The French River and Sucker River: Small North Shore streams within a half hour of Duluth. Spring fish, easy access, and short productive stretches below the highway.

Brown Trout · April through early June, with a fall window in October and November near river mouths

Brown Trout Fishing on Lake Superior

Brown trout are a niche fish on Lake Superior, concentrated in the few places warm enough to suit them: Chequamegon Bay, the Duluth and Superior harbor entries, and the water off a handful of tributaries. Where they do exist they are catchable from shore and from a small boat in shallow water.

Lake Trout · May and June shallow, July through September deep, plus a strong fall shoal bite in October

Lake Trout Fishing on Lake Superior

Lake Superior holds the last great wild lake trout population in the world and you can catch them here without a hatchery truck in the story anywhere. Fish the reefs and shoals — Stannard Rock, the Apostles, the Keweenaw — and you can take fish shallow in spring and 100 to 200 feet down in August.

Lake Whitefish · January through March on the ice; late October and November on the shallow spawning reefs

Lake Whitefish Fishing on Lake Superior

Lake whitefish are the best winter fish on Lake Superior and the reason Keweenaw Bay fills with shanties in February. They school over deep flats in 40 to 90 feet, they will chase a jigging spoon, and they are the finest eating fish in fresh water.

Muskellunge Northern Pike Smallmouth Bass Walleye Yellow Perch

Superior by season

SpringShallow water is the only warm water there is SummerThe thermocline sets up and the lake gets vertical FallLake trout come up on the reefs to spawn WinterIce where the bays let it form, and nowhere else

Next ramp over

Nearest Superior launches

McQuade Safe Harbor1.9 mi · trailer ramp · 4 ramps · MN
Knife River Marina and Harbor6.1 mi · trailer ramp · 2 ramps · MN
Knife River Beach6.2 mi · hand / carry-in launch · 1 ramp · MN
Brighton Beach6.6 mi · hand / carry-in launch · MN
Two Harbors, Agate Bay boat launch13 mi · trailer ramp · 3 ramps · MN
Burlington Bay14 mi · trailer ramp · 1 ramp · MN

Straight-line distance, not a boating route.

For the crew ashore

Beaches nearby

On shore nearby

Worth the stop

North Shore Scenic Drive — Highway 6113 mi · drive
Gooseberry Falls State Park26 mi · park

Source

Launch facts are from the Minnesota DNR, Public Water Access Sites, retrieved 2026-10-05. Ramps close for repairs, fees change and water levels move; confirm with DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife before you tow. Fishing rules are set by theMinnesota DNR.

Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain). Not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.

Lake Superior launches Minnesota launches Lake Superior field guide Minnesota shoreline