Photo by Travis Novitsky
Gunflint Trail in winter
For hundreds of years, since the advent of the flintlock rifle, people have been coming to the shores of Gunflint Lake looking for a spark. Back in the 19th century, it was Native Americans and voyageurs searching for a two-billion-year-old jet-black spark-producing rock called chert. In modern times, it’s married couples from the city who have been cooped up in a pandemic lockdown for months on end and are seeking a cozy cabin with a fireplace.
The Gunflint Trail, as Cook County Highway 12 has been nicknamed since the 1920s, is a ribbon of remote blacktop that starts outside of Grand Marais, the funky little hippie town on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The road meanders for 57 miles on a northwesterly route up through the birch, pine, and aspen trees of the boreal forest, skirting the edge of Gunflint Lake, and comes to a cul-de-sac at Sea Gull Lake. If you drive the trail at the break of dawn, you might see a fox, a pine marten, or even a moose.
As the gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the Gunflint is especially well traveled in the summer months. But things don’t slow down much in the winter. Most of the trailside lodges and resorts are still open, long accustomed to switching over to accommodating a hardier clientele with a predilection for activities on cross-country skis, snowshoes, and snowmobiles.
Since 2017, the hipster option has been Bryan Gerrard and Stacey Palmer’s Poplar Haus, found just off the trail at mile 30. Even on off-season weekends, the property’s six retro-style cabins (think: walls covered with wood paneling and Adam Turman portraits of Paul Bunyan) are often booked, but with newly installed Wi-Fi, its Pineview cabin overlooking Poplar Lake (the one with a wood-burning fireplace) is perfect for a little midweek remote work/play. Poplar Haus lodge offers a full kitchen serving lunch and dinner and the only liquor and wine shop on the entire trail. The getaway also has a sauna down by the boat landing—a relaxing sweat can be arranged by request.
Fifteen miles farther north, the trail to the Magnetic Rock makes for a great morning snowshoe or hike. On the way up the ridgeline, you’ll notice the foliage is still growing back from 2007’s Ham Lake Fire, but the baby-faced little pines allow unfettered views of snow-covered lakes in the distance. After about an hour of winding your way up the hillside, you’ll come across a 60-foot metallic slab of rock that feels like it was dropped in the middle of the woods by aliens (instead of the much more probable glacier). Supposedly, the rock will make a compass spin like Linda Blair in The Exorcist, but the GPS on your phone will be just fine. After your hike, grab some walleye chowder for lunch at the most historic property on the trail: The Gunflint Lodge has been operating since 1925. The pioneering Kerfoot family sold the lodge in 2016 to John and Mindy Fredrikson, who have beautifully kept up the stately old property and recently spruced up the menu.
When you get back to your cabin, go see if Bryan or Stacey has fired up the sauna yet. While you wait, you can put some vinyl on the Pineview’s record player and maybe take a nap. The sparks can fly later.
If You’re Going
Mayhew Inn
Getting all the way to the Gunflint in the middle of winter can be a long, dark drive. So check out a charming new boutique hotel, the Mayhew Inn, with rooms overlooking the natural harbor in Grand Marais and full kitchens too, because the whole town closes at 8 pm.
Gear Up
Staying in Grand Marais for a night will allow you to stock up on supplies the following morning: Pendleton woolens at Joynes Ben Franklin, snowshoes and ski pants at Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply, and vintage magazines and antiques at Joy and Co. And with COVID, kitchens can suddenly close, so it’s always good to bring a load of groceries—the best groceries for miles can be found at the Cook County Whole Foods Co-Op.
Crooked Spoon
Tragically, one of the best restaurants in Grand Marais, The Crooked Spoon Café, burned down in a fire last spring. But it has a food truck now, and the French dip is the best I’ve ever had.
Supplies
If you need anything else on the Gunflint Trail—candy, Pop-Tarts, trail mix, cigarettes, a carton of milk—you can find it at either Trail Center Lodge or the general store at the Gunflint Pines Resort and Campground.
