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BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS & GUNFLINT TRAIL

This weekend, take advantage of northern Minnesota’s natural beauty while traversing the Gunflint Trail and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Few vacations are as remote as this one, and even fewer match its beauty. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Gunflint Trail are the peanut butter to the outdoor enthusiast’s jelly. This heavily forested portion of land in northern Minnesota blankets more than one million acres of land, and is full of cliffs, islands, hundreds of lakes and streams, and some of the oldest exposed rock formations in the world. Michelangelo may have used brushes to delicately paint the depictions on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but there was nothing delicate about the way Mother Nature used glaciers to claw, dig and carve the land to create this masterpiece.

Fog along the Gunflint Trail

Image by Todd Buchanan/Greenspring Media

Starting in Grand Marais, the Gunflint Trail—named one of the world’s “50 Places of a Lifetime” by National Geographic—snakes its way for 57 paved miles through the untouched boreal forests of northern Minnesota, and provides key entry points to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area along the way. Once inside, more than 1,500 miles of canoe routes and over 2,000 campsites await adventurers brave enough to paddle, portage and pace their way through the isolated wilderness.

Exterior of the Gunflint Lodge

Image by Todd Buchanan/Greenspring Media

For those not wanting to battle the elements, or those who are simply looking for a relaxing vacation up north, your dreams of cozying up in a log cabin become a reality at Bearskin Lodge. The 90-year old lodge provides minimalist accommodations with a “no vacancy” sign hung for video games, television and phones, and Gunflint Lodge serves up the isolated cabin experience while offering all the comforts of home.

Driving along the Gunflint Trail, staying in one of the many lodges, or canoeing and trekking your way through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area are perfect ways to leave the technology-filled world behind and get back in touch with nature.

Overlooking the Boundary Waters

Image by Todd Buchanan/Greenspring Media

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