Gunflint Trail National Scenic Byway

Story of the Byway

The Gunflint Trail is a corridor of contiguous land surrounded on both sides by the Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Visible from each side of the two-lane highway are forests, sweeping vistas across miles of glacier-sculpted terrain, calm lakes, and rushing waters. Sightings of moose, deer, fox, bear, wolf, or bald eagle are common. The roadway is free of modern intrusions such as billboards and fast food establishments.

Unlike other parts of Minnesota that have been developed with densely populated tourism-oriented businesses, the national scenic byway passes through a landscape of protected forests, federally designated wilderness, pristine border-country lakes, wildflowers and berries, habitat for a variety of mammals, and a significant number of bird species, and small “mom-and-pop” businesses. Homes and businesses blend discreetly into the forest, and none advertise their presence with much more than a mailbox or a small sign on their building. Along the Gunflint Trail National Scenic Byway, one can find lodging varying from bed and breakfast inns to cabins to campgrounds, some in historic buildings. While some local businesses have changed hands over the years, many are in the care of second and third generations’ family owners, and all preserve the tradition of small entrepreneurs.

The Gunflint Trail is located within the Superior National Forest; the Gunflint Ranger District is headquartered in Grand Marais, MN. The forest was established in 1909 by the proclamation of President Theodore Roosevelt. One-third of the Forest is designated the BWCAW. The forest’s 3.9 million acres contain over 2,000 lakes, including many lakes that provide good fishing for walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, and lake trout.

The Gunflint Trail is surrounded on either side by the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). The 1,098,000-acre designated wilderness occupies the lower portion of the geological Canadian Shield and is part of the Superior National Forest. Motorized travel is prohibited in nearly all areas of the wilderness.

The Gunflint Trail represents one of the most geologically and botanically unique areas in Minnesota. Volcanic activity and glaciers created the basis of the many lakes, river bottoms, and rocky cliffs. A variety of environments support a distinctive combination of forests, including northern conifer, northern hardwood, tamarack, and spruce bogs.

The Gunflint Trail began as a footpath in the 1800s or earlier and was first used by Ojibwe, surveyors, and trappers. The footpath was developed into a dirt road and eventually became the 2-lane black-topped county road it is today.

The Gunflint Trail (County Road 12) begins in Grand Marais, in Cook County, Minnesota. Grand Marais is a community of about 1,400 people nestled on Lake Superior’s coast against the dramatic backdrop of the Sawtooth Mountains. It is surrounded by millions of acres of lush forests graced with rocky cliffs, serene inland lakes, streams, and thundering waterfalls that empty into Lake Superior. Grand Marais is accessed via Minnesota Highway 61.

As one travels north along the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais they will ascend nearly 1,200 feet in a matter of miles. This ascent provides beautiful overlooks of Lake Superior and the City of the Grand Marais. From Grand Marais to its end, the Gunflint Trail winds 57 miles through an undeveloped forest of pine, aspen, birch, and maple stands and alongside lakes and streams. The Gunflint Trail terminates at Gull Lake and the Trails End Campground, just five miles from the Canadian border. Over the past 100 years, the Gunflint Trail has evolved into a modern two-lane highway.

Gunflint is a lovely drive, full of scenery, but more importantly, it has a strong “sense of place”; it is a place in the heart of those who live and visit the area. The air is clean and pure. The forest comes close to the roadway. Literally, hundreds of crystal-clear lakes are accessed through the Gunflint Trail.

To many, this area is a prime American wilderness destination.