The Gunflint Trail is a road, not a footpath. It is Cook County Road 12, paved the whole way, and it runs about 57 miles from Highway 61 in Grand Marais to Trail's End Campground near Seagull and Saganaga lakes. It is a dead end. There is no loop, so you drive back the way you came. It is one of three nationally designated scenic byways in the Superior National Forest.
Most people use it to reach a canoe landing, a campground, a lodge or a trailhead. It is also worth driving for its own sake, early or late in the day when the animals are out.
What is where
Miles are measured from Highway 61 and are approximate.
| Mile | Turn or stop | What is there |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | County Road 53 (Pincushion Drive) | Pincushion Mountain trailhead, a quarter mile off the trail. Overlook, Superior Hiking Trail access, outhouse. |
| About 4 | County Road 8 | Paved road to Devil Track Lake Campground (about 8.4 miles) and on toward Two Island Lake Campground. |
| 10.7 | Forest Road 140 | Kimball Lake Campground, 2 miles in. Fishing pier and sandy beach on neighboring Mink Lake. |
| About 26 | Forest Road 146 | East Bearskin Lake Campground, 1 mile in. Boat ramp. Boundary Waters entry point 64. |
| About 27 | Clearwater Road | Flour Lake Campground (3 miles) and the Honeymoon Bluff Trail (3.25 miles), a steep half-mile loop to a lake overlook. |
| About 29 | Hungry Jack Road | Caribou Rock Trail. The first three-quarters of a mile reaches an overlook of West Bearskin Lake. |
| 36 | County Road 92 | Iron Lake Campground, 2 miles in. Seven sites. |
| 43.7 | South Gunflint Lake Road | Public concrete boat launch on Gunflint Lake, 0.4 miles in. The lake is half in Canada. |
| 46 | Trailhead on the right | Magnetic Rock Trail, a 3-mile hike through the 2007 burn to a 60-foot magnetic rock. |
| 46.4 | Round Lake Road | Cross River and Round Lake canoe landings for entry points 50, 51 and 52. |
| 57 | Moose Pond Drive (County Road 81) | Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center, a quarter mile in. |
| 57 | End of the road | Trail's End Campground, 32 sites. Access to Seagull, Gull and Saganaga lakes. |
Poplar Lake, in the mid-trail area, is the start for three Boundary Waters entry points. The full list is in Boundary Waters entry points.
Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center
The Gunflint Trail Historical Society, founded in 2005, runs Chik-Wauk at 28 Moose Pond Drive. One admission covers the museum in the old lodge, an interpretive cabin, a nature center, a watercraft exhibit building and a trail system with some accessible trails.
| As of 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Season | Open daily through October 18, 2026 |
| Museum hours | 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
| Nature center hours | 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. |
| Admission | $6 adults, $3 ages 5 to 18, free under 5 |
| Phone | 218-388-9915 |
Chik-Wauk gets no federal funding, so federal senior passes are not accepted. Confirm dates at gunflinthistory.org before driving 57 miles.
Fuel, food and supplies
Fill the tank in Grand Marais. A few lodges in the middle of the trail sell gasoline. The Gunflint Mail Run lists three, one of them on Hungry Jack Road. They are lodges, not highway stations, so do not plan on rolling in empty late at night. A round trip to the end is about 114 miles before any side roads.
Lodges and outfitters along the trail have meals, cabins, canoe rental and Boundary Waters permits. Forest Service campgrounds have vault toilets and drinking water from solar-powered faucets, and no electric hookups. Trail's End Campground still has a pay phone, which tells you something.
Cell coverage
Expect to lose your signal. There is no cell coverage at trailheads such as Caribou Rock and Honeymoon Bluff. An AT&T site on the Cook County tower near Gunflint Lake went live in 2021 and the tower was built to hold two more carriers, but do not count on a signal anywhere else. Download maps before you leave town, tell someone your plan, and carry what you need to wait for help.
Wildlife on the road
Obey the posted speed limits and watch for moose and bear crossing. Slow down at dawn, dusk and after dark, when a dark animal on a dark road is hard to see. Minnesota's moose live in this corner of the state. The DNR's 2026 survey estimated about 4,470, down from roughly 8,000 in 2009. The wildlife guide has the details.
If you stop to watch an animal, pull completely off the pavement and keep your distance. Black bears are regulars at Trail's End Campground, so store food the way the campground asks. The wildlife guide has more.
A short history
The name is older than the road. By about 1800 an Ojibwe footpath beginning at Biiwaanag Zaaga'igan (Gunflint Lake) was the forerunner of the road. The route led to a source of flint on the lake.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1875 | Trader Henry Mayhew hired an Ojibwe crew to cut a narrow wagon road 24 miles from Grand Marais to Rove Lake. |
| 1891 to 1893 | After iron ore was reported near Gunflint Lake, the county paid to extend the road. By 1893 it was ten feet wide and 44 miles long. The mine and its railroad were abandoned. The Centennial Trail, near Magnetic Rock, passes the Paulson Mine site. |
| 1920 | The first resort opened, on Greenwood Lake. |
| Late 1930s | The Civilian Conservation Corps built the last twenty miles to Seagull Lake and planted pines you still drive past. |
| 1953 to 1979 | The first 35 miles were paved by 1953 and the rest by 1979. |
| 1999 | A windstorm with 90 mph winds flattened trees across more than 500,000 acres of the Boundary Waters. |
| 2007 | The Ham Lake Fire burned more than 75,000 acres around the upper trail, with about $100 million in property damage. You still see the standing dead trees and the young forest coming up under them around mile 46. |
| 2009 | The road was named a National Scenic Byway. |
Fire is still part of life on the trail. Lightning-caused wildfires in July 2026 closed the whole Boundary Waters for weeks. Check Forest Service alerts before any trip.
Seasons and winter
Forest Service campgrounds along the trail open in early May (May 4 to 8 in 2026) and charge fees until mid-October (through October 18 in 2026). After that there is no water and no service, and the roads into Flour Lake and Iron Lake campgrounds are not plowed.
Winter belongs to skiers, mushers and snowmobilers.
- The Banadad Ski Trail runs 16.8 miles roughly parallel to the road, mostly inside the Boundary Waters. It is a single track set by skiers, not machines. You need a self-issued wilderness permit and a Great Minnesota Ski Pass.
- Pincushion Mountain, at mile 2, has a cross-country ski trail system.
- The road to Kimball Lake is shared with dog teams in winter, and the Gunflint Mail Run sled dog race is set for January 17, 2027.
- Devil Track Lake Campground allows free winter camping, first come, first served.
Winter driving means snow, ice, early dark and the same moose. Check the forecast for the mid-trail on the weather page, and carry warm clothes and a full tank. The phone in your pocket probably will not work.
