Anchoring the western end of the 57-mile-long Gunflint Trail, the Trail’s End Campground is not your average campground. Located at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), this is a perfect gateway to explore the BWCAW, all while camping in fairly private campsites, many of which overlook the water and have amazing views—with the conveniences that come with car camping. There are no large RVs with generators running all day, no TVs invading this wilderness, no large parties congregating at campsites, no cell service. Trail’s End is truly a slice of camping heaven.
First off, this campground is REMOTE. At 57 miles from Grand Marais and 5.5 hours from our house in St. Paul, visiting this place requires a long weekend. We left home Friday morning and returned on Monday evening. When you are driving that far, it’s very much worth a 3-night stay.
We always enjoy driving up the Gunflint Trail, which is a designated Scenic Byway through the Superior National Forest. The scenic trail started out as a footpath used in the fur trade between the French and the Ojibwe and later developed to aid the logging and short-lived mining industry. Today the trail serves residents of the area, provides access to the BWCAW, its lodges, and outfitters. I maintain this road is one of the best places in Minnesota to spot moose. We were lucky to see 4 moose this past winter and have seen numerous foxes along this road. Our daughter has spent the last year “on the trail” starting at Seagull Lake Outfitters, then the Gunflint Lodge for the fall and winter, and is now at Camp Menogyn, so we’ve taken many opportunities to head up to the Gunflint for long weekends and enjoy the beauty of the northern Minnesota forests during all seasons. We first discovered Trail’s End Campground in the winter when we were snowshoeing through the campground and knew we'd have to come back in the summer to enjoy the great campsites.
The crystal-clear lakes, the granite rock outcroppings, abundant wildlife, and the beauty of the boreal forests replete with mossy carpeted floors are some of what makes this slice of the wilderness so special. Towering white pines, spruce, fir, jack pine with the signature paper birch, and aspen trees are adapted to frigid winters. Although these forests have adapted to forest fires that naturally occur, the great increase in wildfires in the last decade was on our mind, as the fires burning in Canada are currently affecting air quality in Minnesota. We were lucky to avoid air quality issues except for the morning we were leaving, when the sky was a bit hazy and the air smelled of fire. The burning ban that was in effect meant no camp bonfires and no smores, but this was a very minor inconvenience---especially considering the impact of the devastating Ham Lake fire in 2007 that destroyed so much of this area.
Trail’s End Campground is managed by US Forest Service and operated by Way of the Wilderness Canoe Outfitters. Some campsite sites are first-come-first-serve, but some can be booked ahead of time - which is what we did. There are a total of 32 campsites. We recommend sites within the loop from 14-28, as having the best sites and views of the water. Sites 1 and 2 are also good---but you will have quite a bit of car traffic. The 3-13 loop has many great views from sites 4-10 but you will be very close to each other.
On all accounts, our campsite at Trail’s End was amazing! It would score high ratings for:
Privacy from other campers (we actually booked 2 adjacent sites, which was perfect)
Views from the campsite (bonus for sunset views)
Good tent pads and trees that work for the hammock
Access to fresh water and toilet/outhouse
Quiet (except for babbling brooks or waterfall noise which is welcomed!)
Having access to a vehicle a short distance from the campsite is ideal without having the car right within the campsite.
Seriously, what's not to love about this stream and waterfall adjacent to your campsite?
Our campsite was perched atop granite rock outcroppings and overlooked a stream connecting Seagull and Gull lakes. It had a great view of the sunset as well as a bear we were lucky to see on our first night. The cinnamon-colored black bear looked on the younger side but was big enough to be thrilling to us. We watched from the overlook, feeling like we had a front seat or VIP ticket to nature. It was all good until the bear sniffed the air in our direction (smelling the hamburgers we had recently grilled?) and headed our way. I yelled but he didn’t even flinch and kept heading up the embankment. We quickly scrambled to grab the leftover burger, greasy pan, and condiments to put them inside our vehicle and realized later the bear was actually more enticed by the garbage dumpster just down the road rather than our leftover burger.
The bear returned to the dumpster several times that night (the dumpster had a sign telling people not to use it for garbage but you know people…). I also encountered the bear on a trip to the outhouse, when the bear was hanging out in front of that building. After someone put a large boulder to secure the dumpster the next day, we did not see Mr. Bear again. Keeping food, toiletries, and trash within the car is a must at this campground.
For those nervous about being around and camping around bears, it's thrilling and a privilege to encounter a bear. They are following their noses and really could care less about people if it weren't for all that good smelling food we have around us! I've never felt inclined to carry bear spray. In fact, I know way more people who have been harmed by bear spray than by an actual bear. However, one of the reasons we didn't take our dog on this trip was because we knew there might be bears in the area, so we are not without caution.
The campground has several access points to the BWCAW with entry points 54, 55, and K. In addition, our campsite was bound by portages on either side. These were quite tricky portages with tricky footing and tree roots - but having such close access to a canoe put-in spot was nice. Canoes are also available for rental at the main office, where you can get ice and in non-covid times has a small store and café.
We spent one day paddling through Gull Lake, the Sea Gull River into Lake Saganaga (Sag) where the Canadian border lies. Day permits for the BWCAW are free, but you must fill out the form, leave one copy at an entry point, and have the other with you. With the lack of rain and drought conditions, there were some low water points that required jumping out to pull the canoes through the shallow waters. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at a campsite on Sag before turning back.
On Sunday, the winds were a bit gusty, so in lieu of paddling, we visited the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center on Sag Lake. Just under 2 miles from Trail’s End is the entrance to this former fishing lodge, which has been transformed into a museum, interpretive cabin, nature center, and watercraft exhibit building, with a few nice nature trails. The museum resides in the former lodge building and has numerous interpretive exhibits, several short films about the history of the Gunflint Trail, voyageurs, the art of canoe building, and the history of logging and mining.
Chik-Wauk is a derivation of an Ojibwe word meaning pine tree. North of Grand Marais is Grand Portage - home to the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe). Each year they hold a large pow-wow as well as a rendezvous - and re-enactments commemorating the historical rendezvous of the voyageurs and fur trade.
We decided to take the 3-mile round trip hike up to Blueberry Hill to a fantastic 360-degree vista overlooking lakes, the Granite River, and the endless boreal forests. Blueberries were lacking this year due to the drought this year, but the view was well worth the climb.
Trail’s End is an incredibly special place that we look forward to returning to in the future.
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