A former fishing camp on northeastern Minnesota’s Gunflint Trail has reopened as a museum telling the story of the natives, voyageurs, miners, loggers, and recreationists who played a role in the region’s rich history.
John Myers of the Duluth News-Tribune has the story HERE.
The re-opening of the former Chik-Wauk Lodge as the new Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center on July 4 culminated a five-year, $1 million effort to bring the story of the Gunflint Trail to life. The museum presents the Gunflint Trail’s cultural and natural history from its prehistoric beginnings to the present day via interpretive and interactive displays.
The Gunflint Trail, a sixty-mile-long dead-end road from Grand Marais to the Canadian border, grew from a trail used by Native Americans to a tote road built to supply mines in the area that never panned out. In the 1920s, the route was developed to access lakes along the Canadian Border for recreation. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the Gunflint Trail was paved.
A network of nature trails on Chik-Wauk’s 50-acre grounds will let visitors enjoy the natural beauty of the area as well.
Minnesota’s most remote historical museum will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October 17.
