A Perfect Weekend on the Gunflint Trail

You could drive the Gunflint Trail, turn around, and make it back to Grand Marais before dinner. You'd see the lakes, the pines, and maybe a moose if you got lucky. You could say you'd been there. But you'd miss quite a bit.

The Gunflint Trail isn't really a place to rush through. It's better when you've got a couple of nights, a place near the water, and no big reason to check the time. This is how we'd spend a weekend up there. Nothing packed too tight. Just a cabin, a few good meals, some time outside, and plenty of room for plans to change.

"You can always tell who's been here before. They're never in a rush."

The Gunflint Trail starts in Grand Marais and winds 57 miles inland toward Saganaga Lake and the Canadian border. The road is paved, but before long it starts feeling a long way from town. Lakes come into view between the trees and disappear again. Gravel roads lead toward cabins and lodges you've probably never heard of. Somebody points toward a wet patch beside the road and says it looks like a good spot for a moose. Everybody looks, even though half the time it's a stump.

After a while, the radio gets turned down. Cell service comes and goes. Nobody really minds.

Friday Afternoon: Head Up the Trail

We like getting to Grand Marais with a little daylight left. Driving the whole Trail in the dark is fine when you have to, but it's better when you can see the forest change as the road climbs away from Lake Superior. Fill the gas tank before leaving town. Grab groceries, ice, coffee, and whatever got left sitting by the door at home. There are places to eat and pick up supplies along the Trail, but things are spread out. It's nice to arrive knowing breakfast is already taken care of.

Eggs, bacon, bread, butter, pancake mix, and one or two jars are plenty. Nothing that takes much thought in the morning. Once you're headed inland, let the drive take as long as it takes. Pull over when there's room. Let somebody else pass if they're in more of a hurry. Keep an eye on the low, wet places near the road around dusk. You might see a moose, or you might spend ten minutes looking at another stump. Both have happened to us.

Friday Evening: Getting Settled

The first hour at a cabin is usually a little messy. Bags end up by the door. Somebody picks the room with the best window. Somebody else starts opening cupboards looking for coffee filters. The kids ask about swimming before anyone knows where the towels are. Put the food away first and set the coffee near the machine. The rest can sit for a while.

Dinner doesn't need much planning. Sandwiches, soup, burgers, or a plate of crackers and cheese will do just fine. We like putting out a little Blackberry Jalapeno Jam with cheese and letting everybody pick at it while the rest of dinner comes together. Eat outside if the bugs haven't found you yet. Move inside when they do.

Afterward, head down to the water. No need to launch a canoe or get a fire going right away. Just stand there for a bit. Somebody will skip a rock. Somebody will say they heard a loon. Before long, there'll be a wet towel hanging over the railing even though no one remembers bringing one outside. That's usually enough for the first night.

Saturday Morning: Breakfast First

The first person awake makes the coffee. Nobody needs to write that rule down. Cabin kitchens are rarely laid out the way you'd choose. The good pan is always in the bottom cupboard. One burner runs hotter than the others. The spatula bends a little when you flip a pancake, but you make it work.

Put on another pot of coffee. Start some bacon. Make pancakes, eggs, or whatever everybody agreed sounded good the night before. Warm a little Wild Blueberry Whole Fruit Syrup in a small saucepan while the pancakes finish. Set the bottle on the table and let folks pass it around. Somebody will say, "I'll get it," and refill everyone's coffee before sitting back down.

Talk about the day after breakfast. There's no reason to settle anything before then.

Saturday Morning: Pick One Thing

It's easy to make a long list before a Gunflint Trail weekend. A hike. A paddle. Fishing. A scenic overlook. Lunch somewhere down the road. Another trail somebody read about the night before. Then you get there and realize one thing is probably enough.

Go for a Paddle

If the cabin or lodge has canoes or kayaks, head out before the wind picks up. Bring water and a dry sweatshirt, even when the morning feels warm. Stay near shore if you aren't used to paddling. Follow the edge of the lake and drift for a while when everybody gets tired of working. There's usually one person who keeps paddling after everyone else has stopped. Let them wear themselves out.

If you're entering the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, make sure you've got the right permit before heading in. The rules depend on whether you're visiting for the day, staying overnight, or using a motor.

Walk Up Honeymoon Bluff

Honeymoon Bluff is a good choice when you want a view without giving up the whole day. The trail is short, but the climb gets steeper than you might expect. Take your time, wear shoes with some grip, and keep younger kids close near the top.

Hungry Jack Lake opens up below the bluff with forest stretching out in every direction. Everybody takes a picture when they get there. After that, sit down for a while. There's no need to leave just because the picture's done.

Saturday Afternoon: See What Happens

This is where we usually stop planning. Grab lunch somewhere along the Trail or head back to the cabin and make something simple. Sit on the dock. Read a few pages. Fall asleep in a chair with the window open. Somebody may decide to fish while somebody else spends the same hour untangling fishing line.

If rain moves in, let it. Rain on the roof gives everybody a reason to stay inside for a while. Pull out a deck of cards. Find the puzzle with three missing pieces. Make toast even though lunch wasn't that long ago. There'll be damp shoes near the door and wet towels hanging everywhere except the place they might actually dry. Somebody will ask when the rain's supposed to stop, but nobody will have enough service to check. It'll stop when it stops.

Saturday Evening: Cards and a Fire

By Saturday night, the cabin starts feeling familiar. Everybody has a coffee mug they've quietly decided belongs to them. You know which floorboard squeaks. The screen door has slammed enough times that nobody notices anymore.

Make an easy dinner. Grill something outside, warm up leftovers, or use whatever's still in the cooler. There's no prize for making a complicated meal on vacation. Clear the table afterward and deal the cards. Play something everybody knows, or something one person insists everybody knows. A rules argument will happen sooner or later.

When the light starts fading, head outside. Start a fire if conditions allow. Bring sweatshirts, even if it was warm all afternoon. Stay out until the mosquitoes get bad enough that somebody finally says, "All right, I'm going in." Then everybody goes in.

Sunday Morning: Do It Again

There isn't any reason breakfast has to be different on Sunday. If the pancakes were good, make more pancakes. Use the rest of the bread. Finish the eggs. Reheat the coffee from yesterday if you have to. Scrape the dried pancake batter off the side of the bowl because apparently nobody noticed it when the dishes were washed.

Set out the butter and a jar of Superior Strawberry Jam. Let everybody make toast while the skillet warms up. Sunday breakfast usually takes longer. Nobody wants to start packing or be the first one to say it's time to go. Someone pours half a cup of coffee instead of a full one, like that might stretch the morning a little. Before long, somebody says, "We should do this every year." You bet.

One More Stop Before Grand Marais

Pick one last thing before heading back down the Trail. One is enough.

Stop at Chik-Wauk

Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center sits near the end of the Gunflint Trail beside Saganaga Lake. It's a good place to learn about the people who've lived, worked, paddled, guided trips, and kept things running along the Trail over the years. The museum is open seasonally, so check the schedule before driving all the way up. There are walking trails around the property too, which makes it an easy final stop before heading back toward town.

Take the Canoe Out Again

If the water's calm and nobody packed the life jackets yet, go out one more time. Stay close to the cabin. Paddle around the nearest point. Try not to think about checkout until you're back on shore.

Or Stay Where You Are

This is usually a pretty good choice. Sit by the lake. Finish your coffee. Let the kids throw rocks from shore. Read another chapter. Watch somebody make three trips to the car because they refuse to carry two bags at once. The weekend doesn't need a grand ending. Sometimes you just pack up and go.

What to Pack for a Gunflint Trail Weekend

• Layers for cool mornings and warmer afternoons
• A rain jacket that actually keeps out rain
• Sturdy shoes for trails and slippery rocks
• Bug spray and sunscreen
• Flashlights or headlamps
• A paper map or downloaded directions
• Cards, books, and a puzzle nobody minds leaving unfinished
• More coffee than seems reasonable
• Breakfast food for both mornings
• One or two jars for the table

Something will get forgotten. It always does. As long as it isn't the coffee, you'll manage.

Heading Back Down the Trail

The drive back to Grand Marais always feels quicker. You start recognizing the bends in the road. Somebody points out the place where they thought they saw a moose. Someone else says it was definitely a stump. The cabin road disappears behind the trees, and for a few miles nobody says much.

The things you remember later probably won't be the things you planned. It'll be the loon calling while the dishes were getting washed. Somebody falling asleep with a book open on their lap. The screen door slamming again. Coffee warmed up for the third time and finished anyway. Then somebody says they already miss it.

Yeah, we know.

Leave a little room in the weekend. The Trail usually knows what to do with it.