1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (64 page)

For canoers, the Boundary Waters are an irresistible draw. You can paddle and portage (carry the canoe overland to the next lake) for days, weeks, even months, camping on the shores of a different lake every night, pulling fresh walleye or northern pike from its crystal clear waters for dinner. (The region’s embarrassment of fish also includes smallmouth bass and lake trout.) The labyrinth of waterways was long used by the Ojibwa, then later by the French, Dutch, and British fur traders of the 17th century.

Paddlers and anglers make the Boundary Waters the most heavily used wilderness area in the nation. Nevertheless, a strict permit system and the vastness of the area quickly disperses the humanity that sometimes bottlenecks at the designated entry points; once you dissolve into the wilderness, you’ll more likely be among moose, loons—and the occasional wolf—than humans.

The wilds of northern Minnesota are the only places in the contiguous U.S. where the eastern timber wolf was not exterminated in the 1930s; today, more than 2,000 wolves still roam the woods here. Learn more at the International Wolf Center in Ely (pronounced EE-lee), filled with exhibits about wolf behavior and a variety of naturalist-run programs. Its highlight is the “ambassador pack” of four wolves (all born in captivity) that live in a 1.25-acre enclosure next to the center and can often be seen from large viewing windows.

Ely (population 4,000) is home base for outfitters ready to provide anything from basic gear rental to fully equipped week-long canoeing excursions into the backcountry. Come winter, Ely becomes dogsledding central. At Wintergreen Lodge, renowned polar explorer Paul Schurke offers lodge-to-lodge or camping dogsled trips across frozen Boundary Waters lakes and woods.

Paddlers prepare to launch their canoes into the Boundary Waters.

After several nights in the backcountry, treat yourself to a stay at the Burntside Lodge. Handsome log cabins, solidly built by expert local craftsmen, nestle in the woods at this early 20th-century lakefront resort. The Burntside is especially sought out for its excellent kitchen and wine list, an unexpected delight in this remote outpost.

W
HERE
: 100 miles northwest of Duluth. Tel 218–626-4300;
www.bwcaw.org
or
www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior
.
Ely visitor info:
Tel 800–777-7281 or 218–365-6123;
www.ely.org
.
HOW
: Williams & Hall Wilderness Guides & Outfitters, Ely. Tel 800–322-5837 or 218–365-5837;
www.williamsandhall.com
.
Cost:
from $110 per person per day for all-inclusive canoe/camping package.
When:
May–Sept.
I
NTERNATIONAL
W
OLF
C
ENTER
: Ely. Tel 218–365-4695;
www.wolf.org
.
W
INTERGREEN
L
ODGE
: Ely. Tel 800–584-9425 or 218–365-6022;
www.dogsledding.com
.
Cost:
from $875 per person, 4-night lodge-to-lodge dogsledding package, all-inclusive.
B
URNTSIDE
L
ODGE
: Ely. Tel 218–365-3894;
www.burntside.com
.
Cost:
cabins from $130 (off-peak), from $163 (peak).
When:
mid-May–Sept.
B
EST TIMES
: July–Aug for warmest weather; Sept for fall color and fewer bugs.

A Legendary Backwoods Route to the Boundary Waters

Grand Marais, Minnesota

The Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota is an outdoor person’s dream, preserving a 150-mile-wide swath of glacial lakes, roiling rivers, and backcountry trails spiraling over the rounded Sawtooth
Mountains. Better yet, it links two of Minnesota’s natural jewels: Lake Superior’s rocky North Shore to the east (see p. 547) and the renowned Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to the west (see p. 548). From mountain biking to birding to backpacking, there are few outdoor pursuits you
can’t
enjoy here. And in the long winter months, it becomes nothing less than a wonderland.

From the North Shore between Tofte and Grand Marais, four well-marked and well-maintained roads delve into the forest: the Sawbill, Caribou, Gunflint, and Arrowhead Trails, all old Indian footpaths offering easy access to endless lakes and trailheads. Best known is the Gunflint (aka County Road 12), which winds through the woods for 63 scenic miles from Grand Marais to the edge of the Boundary Waters at Saganaga Lake.

Among the many resorts that dot the well-traveled (and paved) Gunflint Trail for much of its length, the Gunflint Lodge was one of the first. Founded in the 1920s by local wilderness icon Justine Kerfoot and her mother, the lodge artfully balances rustic charm and great-woods luxury, and is still proudly run by the Kerfoot family. Twenty-three cabins hide among pines and birches overlooking Gunflint Lake along the Canadian border. Meals feature local fresh game and fish, along with locally harvested wild rice and maple syrup tapped in the area. The lodge’s guides can outfit you for fishing, paddling, and camping trips, or lead excursions deep into the Boundary Waters wilderness.

The Gunflint Trail winds deep into vast forests of pine, birch, and aspen.

Twenty-seven miles up the Gunflint Trail, the Bearskin Lodge provides yet another sublime wilderness outpost, a scattering of cabins tucked among the dense birches and pines on quiet Bearskin Lake. Paddle and portage from here and you can spend all summer without retracing your route. One of the nation’s great footpaths, the 235-mile Superior Hiking Trail traverses Superior National Forest. It largely parallels Lake Superior, rising from lake level more than 1,000 feet to a high ridgeline. Shoulder a backpack for a classic multi-day adventure, sign on for a lodge-to-lodge hiking vacation, or simply set out for a stellar day of walking. One great segment: From the Gunflint Trail, hike west to Pincushion Mountain and along the rim of Minnesota’s deepest canyon, where the Devil Track River slaloms through a gorge far below.

W
HERE
: Gunflint Trail begins in Grand Marais, 115 miles northeast of Duluth.
S
UPERIOR
N
ATIONAL
F
OREST
: Tel 218–626-4300;
www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior
. Ranger stations on Hwy. 61 in Tofte and Grand Marais.
G
UNFLINT
L
ODGE
: Tel 800–328-3325 or 218–388-2294;
www.gunflint.com
.
Cost:
from $99.
B
EARSKIN
L
ODGE
: Tel 800–338-4170 or 218–388-2292;
www.bearskin.com
.
Cost:
from $108 (off-peak), from $203 (peak).
S
UPERIOR
H
IKING
T
RAIL
: Two Harbors. Tel 218–834-2700;
www.shta.org
.
H
OW
: for lodge-to-lodge hiking arrangements, Boundary Country Trekking, Grand Marais: Tel 800–322-8327 or 218–388-4487;
www.boundarycountry.com
.
Cost:
from $295 per person for 3 nights.
B
EST TIMES
: early June for Gunflint Trail Boreal Birding Days; Sept for fewer bugs.

The Wild Water Highway of the Fur Traders

International Falls, Minnesota

Stretching more than 50 miles along the Canadian border west of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (see p. 548), Voyageurs National Park remains almost as wild as it was three centuries ago, when French
Canadian fur traders transported beaver pelts and other goods along this labyrinth of glacier-carved, island-studded lakes. Four enormous lakes—Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, and Sand Point—account for almost half the park’s 218,000 acres, linked together by dozens of smaller lakes and waterways that would still look familiar to those grizzly old trappers. It is a completely water-based park, the only national park without a single road.

Roughly in the middle lies the 26-mile-long Kabetogama Peninsula, the park’s largest landmass, home to beaver, black bear, moose, and the shy timber wolf. Hike the peninsula’s 9-mile Cruiser Lake trail and you might be lucky enough to spot the rare paw print while immersing yourself in dense boreal forest.

Unlike the Boundary Waters, Voyageurs is open to motorized recreation, which means you’ll hear the occasional hum of motorboats in summer and of snowmobiles when the lakes freeze over. To fully enjoy the park’s natural richness, take advantage of the ranger-guided boat excursions, organized by the National Park Service. Offerings include wildlife cruises, canoe trips, and visits to the Kettle Falls Hotel, a 1910 historic landmark surrounded by wilderness and accessible only by boat or floatplane.

Thanks to a major renovation in 1988, the 20-room hotel and long screened porch now look much as they did when Kettle Falls was the rowdy center for gambling, bootlegging, and “fancy ladies.” Spend a night or two, or boat over for lunch (wild rice soup is a specialty): Boat shuttle service is available. Be sure to visit the bar, where the heaving wooden floor and working nickelodeon remain untouched by time.

Voyageurs has long been renowned for its fishing; these are considered some of the finest waters in the nation for walleye (Minnesota’s state fish), smallmouth bass, and northern pike. Several resorts on the park’s
perimeter, like Sandy Point Lodge on Lake Kabetogama, offer boats with or without guide service. Houseboating is also exceptionally popular. Choose among several local charter companies and set out for any of the various houseboat campsites (complete with mooring buoys and a fire ring) found on many of the park’s 900 islands.

Voyageurs National Park is a mosaic of water and land.

Sea kayaks are a wonderful way to explore the park’s smaller, protected waterways. Slip through narrow channels, accompanied only by the quiet dip of a paddle, the calling of a distant loon, and perhaps a bald eagle eyeing you from the treetops.

W
HERE
: 300 miles north of Minneapolis. Tel 218–283-9821;
www.nps.gov/voya
.
K
ETTLE
F
ALLS
H
OTEL
: Tel 218–240-1724 (summer), 218–875-2070 (off-season);
www.kettlefallshotel.com
.
When:
May–mid-Oct.
Cost:
from $50.
S
ANDY
P
OINT
L
ODGE
: Ray. Tel 800–777-8595 or 218–875-2615;
www.sandypointlodge.com
.
Cost:
from $75 (off-peak), $90 (peak).
H
OUSEBOATS
: Voyagaire Houseboats, Crane Lake. Tel 800–882-6287 or 218–993-2266;
www.voyagaire.com
.
K
AYAKING
: Voyageurs Adventures, Lake Kabetogama. Tel 877–465-2925 or 218–875-2037;
www.voyageursadventures.com
.
Cost:
guided 3-day trips from $365 per person, all-inclusive.
B
EST TIMES
: mid-May–Sept for prime walleye fishing; early June for peak bird migration; Sept–Oct for foliage.