Snowy Range Pass

Snowy Range Pass

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Grand Marais

Grand Marais was our planned farthest north town on our trip.  With a population of under 1500, it has become known as an artists community and a destination for tourists who enjoy boating, hiking and enjoying the beauty of the land and water.  It is also referred to as the gateway to the Boundary waters canoe wilderness area just inland from town.  The town  marks a real change in the composition of the shoreline.  As you head north on route 61 from here , the road is closer to the lake and you will see the shoreline become less rugged and at least somewhat less threatening to ships and boats.

We stayed at the city operated campground, that was nearly full but we did manage to get one of the last sites available of the 300.  It was not very level and we were surrounded by mostly seasonal folks with all their toys everywhere.  We stayed there the first night and were lucky to get  a better spot for our second night.





The campground has its own beach and small marina.  It has a great view of town, which is in easy walking distance of the campground.  One of the closest restaurants to  the campground specialized in fresh fish caught on the lake.  Anneke had to try the Lake Superior herring.  It is certainly different than the small herring in Holland which is served raw.  This was a much bigger fish and served fried.  It was very good. 







We then walked the entire town in just an hour or so. We checked out the breakwater on the town side and found several new arrivals being closely watched by mom.  Enjoyed some close up views of some of the boats moored in the harbor. A few of the stores worked hard at enticing you inside, but not finding anything we needed, we headed back to the campground.











The rest of the evening was spent trying the popular stone skipping.  The beach is made up of various sizes of what are known as Lake Superior agates-otherwise known as stones. Perhaps the best part of the day was watching the setting sun over the harbor. 















7 comments:

Gypsy said...

Grand Marais was my furthest point north along Lake Superior several years ago. I was amazed at how the shoreline changed so drasticaly. For much of the way up the coast I stopped at every pull off and had it mostly to myself. I love Superior!

Bob and Jo said...

We really like Grand Marais. The herring there isn't true herring but really really good and available only in that area as far as I know.

Rick and Kathy Rousseau said...

Glad to see you are enjoying what this great land has to offer us.
Loved the pictures of the fog along the shore line. It would make the perfect setting for a mystery movie.
Be Safe and Enjoy!

It's about time.

Sherry said...

We really loved our time in Grand Marais and along the shore. Really enjoyed your pictures of it all and the little goslings. How many skips per stone did you get? David's great at it. I could never manage more than one or two at best. We had intended to spend a week kayaking in the Boundary Waters but it was so flooded that year they were cautioning anyone who was not familiar with the area not to since the maps were impossible to follow with everything flooded. Hope to get back there one day.

Erin said...

Never did get the hang of skipping stones. I really like the last few photos of the lighthouse at dusk with the mist.

Paul and Marti Dahl said...

Okay, why do they have a fish head sticking out of the Beaver House. Looks like somebody needs to go back to kindergarten and relearn about animals... :c)

Laura said...

We'd like to circumnavigate the entire lake, or perhaps all the great lakes in one grand adventure. Now you have the long trip back home, will you retrace your steps or venture along the lakes till you get to our house in Ontario?