The Hurricane River comes out of the woods, spreads across a bar of sand and cobble, and slides into Lake Superior at the foot of a low bluff on the east end of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The beach at the river mouth is the swimming spot for the Hurricane River Campground above it: stairs lead down from the lower loop to a long stretch of sand and smooth stones, the river makes a warm, shallow wading pool for kids before it hits the lake, and the big water beyond is as cold and clear as Superior gets. Late-summer surface temperatures at the beach reach the upper 60s on a good week; most of the season it is a quick-in, quick-out swim.

The campground has two loops, 11 sites on the lower loop near the water and 10 on the upper loop plus a group site, all reservable through recreation.gov at $25 a night from mid-May to mid-October, with a 36-foot vehicle limit. There are vault toilets and water spigots but no hookups or showers. Pictured Rocks charges a park entrance fee of $25 per vehicle, good for seven days, and the park is cashless. Leashed pets are allowed at this beach and campground.

The Lakeshore Trail, which here doubles as the North Country Trail, runs along the shore from the campground 1.5 miles east to the Au Sable Light Station, an 87-foot brick tower built in 1874 on Au Sable Point. The walk is flat and mostly under the trees, and at low water you pass the ribs and keel timbers of at least two wooden steamers wrecked on the point's sandstone reef in the 1800s, sticking out of the sand a few yards from the trail. The Park Service offers lighthouse tours in summer. West of the river the trail continues toward Twelvemile Beach and, farther on, the Pictured Rocks cliffs themselves.

Access is off Alger County Road H-58, the paved road that runs the length of the park, about 12 miles west of Grand Marais and 30 miles east of Munising. Grand Marais is the closer town for groceries, gas and a meal. Sable Falls and the Log Slide overlook are on the way in from Grand Marais and worth the stops.

Superior can turn from flat to breaking surf in an hour, and rip currents form at river mouths like this one when the wind is onshore. There are no lifeguards. Check the marine forecast and keep kids to the river and the shallows on windy days.