The cabin is 47 miles from the nearest town, Grand Marais - a 1.5 hour drive.  We recommend you plan to arrive before nightfall and stop in Grand Marais on your way to the cabin for supplies and a bite to eat.  If you forget a few things (like coffee or insect spray) there are general stores nearby that stock basic provisions. 

Provisions

Grocery and Beverages
Your first stop in Grand Marais could be the Dockside Fish Market, located lakeside on Highway 61 as you drive through town.  This family run business specializes in brown sugar brine smoked fish and local fresh fish such as herring, lake trout, whitefish and walleye.  You can also find flown-in fresh salmon, halibut, tuna, shellfish and more.  Open April - December.

The Cook County Whole Foods Co-Op is just one block below the stoplight as you continue on Highway 61. Since 1976 this Co-Op has been providing the community with affordable, healthy and sustainable products and services.  Ask about their local items if you are looking for a gift — perhaps something from Superior Herbals, Hands of Harvest Soap or Wild Country Maple Syrup.  Along with the seasonable produce, check out the Co-Op’s cheese and meat departments.  Don’t forget the fair trade coffee and tea!

The Grand Marais Municipal Liquor Store is near the Co-Op.  If you’d like to try Northern Minnesota’s local craft beer, the Voyager Brewing Company offers growlers to go. 

If you need a few basic supplies while at the cabin, Heston’s Lodge maintains a small store with an eclectic selection of groceries. Gunflint Pines, two miles away on County Road 50, stocks a larger variety. 

Restaurants

Duluth
If you’d like to stop for lunch on your way to the cabin, we recommend New Scenic Cafe for the area’s most inspired cooking.  The cafe features an eclectic array of colorful, artfully composed and subtly delicious fare.  The serene surroundings, expert service and picturesque lakeside location — roughly 20 minutes up the shore from downtown Duluth — only add to the experience. 

Grand Marais
Lunch at the Gunflint Tavern in Grand Marais is always relaxed and you will find a nice craft beer and wine selection.  The menu is mostly organic pub fare with a variety of ethnic dishes thrown in.  They’ve got a rooftop deck — the Raven’s Nest - with an unobstructed harbor view.  The tavern is located in the historic Grand Marais State Bank Building with the Johnson Heritage Trading Post right next door. You can imagine this was the block where trappers, miners and explorers stopped before heading north on the Gunflint Trail.

Other lunch options in Grand Marais to consider the Crooked Spoon Cafe for a seasonal menu featuring local food, beer and a wine bar.  The Angry Trout Cafe, open May through October, is a small indoor/outdoor restaurant in an old commercial fishing shanty right on Grand Marais Harbor.  The menu features Lake Superior fish, local produce and hand-harvested wild rice.  You can’t go wrong with a wood-fired pizza from Sydney’s Custard.  Consider stopping at World’s Best Donuts to see that they live up to their moniker. 

Gunflint Trail
If you choose not to cook dinner at the cabin, we recommend the Trail Center Lodge on the shores of Poplar Lake — about 18 miles from the cabin, back down the Gunflint Trail on County Road 12.  Originally built as a logging camp, Trail Center Lodge is now a full service restaurant, gas station, gift store, small grocery shop and information center.  The Gunflint Lodge, serving Northwoods fare on Gunflint Lake, is just 2.5 miles from the cabin on County Road 20. 

Local Activities

Arts and Culture
Thirteen miles from the cabin, on Saganaga Lake near the end of the Gunflint Trail, the Chik- Wauk Museum and Nature Center presents the area’s natural and cultural history.  Open daily from Memorial Day weekend through the third weekend of October. Hiking trails are accessible year-round and after hours.

Hiking
The cabin is adjacent to the Border Route Trail, a footpath that is now part of the North Country Trail system.  A number of loops and spur trails off of the Border Route make for great day hikes.  Just south of the Heston’s Lodge general store is the path to the Heston’s Lodge spur.  In less than a half mile you will intersect the Gunflint Lake South Rim section of the Border Route Trail.  Hiking west a half mile will take you to the intersection of the Brice Breon Trail that dips south to follow the shore of Loon Lake before connecting again to the Border Route Trail just past the Loon Lake Landing.  Take note of the old growth cedar, look out for moose and listen for the loons.  The round trip hike for the Brice Breon Trail loop is approximately five miles.  Alternatively, from the intersection of the Heston’s Lodge spur and the Border Route Trail, you can take a 3-4 mile hike east to the Gunflint Lake Spur or the Crab Lake Trail.  If you go as far as the Crab Lake Trail loop and head back to the cabin, the round trip hike is approximately 10 miles.

Further up the Gunflint Trail - about six miles from the cabin, so get in your car — is the east trailhead of the Kekekabic Trail, a 46-mile trek that that terminates near the westernmost portion of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  While the entire trail is a multi-day adventure for the experienced hiker, this trailhead is also the entrance to the Centennial Trail, a 3.3 mile loop that has become a new local favorite to hike.  The Magnetic Rock Trail begins just 500 feet up the road from the Kekekabic trail head.  Bring your compass, hike a mile and a half to an enormous rock, and test the magnetism! 

Canoeing and Kayaking
There are two one-passenger 10' kayaks, one two-passenger kayak, a canoe and life jackets for you to use.  The cabin is located on the south shore of Gunflint Lake, about halfway down the length of the lake.  There are great options for day paddling in either direction.  To the northwest is Magnetic Lake and to the east is Little Gunflint Lake.  Please be aware that visiting Canada on the north shore of Gunflint Lake requires a Remote Area Border Crossing Permit that must be obtained six to eight weeks in advance.

If you paddle east three miles on the south shore of Gunflint Lake you will come to a rocky beach — just south of an island and near a small creek inlet.  A short walk into the woods brings you to the base of Bridal Falls.  There is a connecting trail to reach the top of the falls, which meets up with the Border Route Trail.

If you paddle to the west, you can go to Magnetic Lake, and on to Little Rock Falls.  This is an entry point into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and is approximately seven miles away.  The portage to the falls is a short hike, mostly over rock, with some ups and downs to negotiate.  Please be aware that the BWCA is a very rugged terrain with rocky shorelines.  Hauling kayaks to the water and portaging can be a difficult part of engaging with the land and forest.

Fishing
Gunflint Lake has a long fishing history and is home to walleye, lake trout, northern, and smallmouth bass.  We recommend fishing guide Cory Christianson (218.338.0314) with Christianson’s Guide Service who can provide a motorized boat to take you to Saganaga Lake.  Be sure to obtain your fishing license and check that it is open season before fishing. 

Horseback Riding
Horseback riding in the Superior National Forest is available at Gunflint Lodge Riding Stables, May through October only.  Gunflint Lodge is two and a half miles west of the cabin on County Road 20. 

Snowshoeing
There are six sets of snowshoes for you to use at the cabin. T rails accessible directly from the cabin include the Gunflint Lake South Rim, Bryce Breon Trail and the Border Route Trail.  Many of the trails that we hike in the summer we snowshoe in the winter.

Cross Country Skiing
The cabin is part of the Upper Gunflint Trail System with groomed ski trails.  You can access the trail system directly from the cabin.  The Upper Gunflint Trail Ski Pass is required and can be purchased at local lodges.  If you’ve brought your own skis, stop over to Heston's Lodge for your pass, current trail conditions, location of the warming huts and help planning your route.  Ski and equipment rentals are offered at Gunflint Pines — just a few miles west of the cabin.  They can also recommend trails accessible directly from their property.