What To Do

Walking Around Town

Artist Point & the Lighthouse

One of our favorite walks is right down the beach and out to Artist Point. Follow the East Bay shoreline and head up to the parking area near the picnic tables. Walk past the Coast Guard station to the worn footpath heading through the bushes. On the other side you will be at the base of the east breakwall and can walk out to the lighthouse, then return and follow the path along the shore and through the woods to the eastern tip.

Gitchi Gami Trail

Okay, it’s officially a bike trail and one day when it connects seven miles west to Cascade River State Park it is going to be our favorite bike ride. But until then it’s a great 3.75 mile round trip hike from our front door to the end of the pavement. In addition to lots of shops and restaurants, stops along the way include the harbor, the Mini Golf course and the US Forest Service, a good water and bathroom stop.

Hiking Around Town

Sweetheart’s Bluff Nature Area

From an easy accessible ¼-mile lake loop trail to the hilly mile-plus trail, the Sweetheart’s Bluff area begins at the western edge of the campground [past the softball fields] and meanders along the lake, then climbs the rocky wooded hillside adjacent to the winter time sledding hill. It puts you in the woods right in town.

Pincushion Mountain

PincushionTrails.org To get in the woods really close to town, take the four-mile drive up the Gunflint Trail to Pincushion Mountain. After admiring the expansive lake views and bird’s eye look at Grand Marais, turn around and head into the woods. A number of marked cross-country trails network the hilltop.