North Shore Hwy 61

Best Fall Colors

We all love beautiful fall colors, but where are the best places to see them? The Grand Marais Visitor Center has a great brochure with four different driving tours. Mandy Theiner, coordinator at the visitor center, said her favorite place to see fall colors is the 600 Road in Tofte. Take the Sawbill Trail and make a left at the 600 Road sign. You can also get on the 600 Road on the Temperance River Road. For the perfect view from above, you can take a trip on an airplane and fly over the whole area with Sky Dan (Anderson Aero) or you can take the gondola at Lutsen Mountains.

Best Place to See a Moose

The Visitor Center in Grand Marais has an info sheet on where to see moose, too. The Gunflint Trail is good place to start. There’s a moose viewing site and platform on the Trail and a cow and her calf are reportedly hanging around a pond near the Chik-Wauk Museum.

Theiner says she’s also had good luck driving the Devil’s Track River Road to County Road 27 and then taking the Grade and cutting down the Caribou Trail.

“There are lots of swampy areas going down the Grade,” she said. “I’ve seen moose all times of the day.”

Gunflint Lodge offers a special 3 to 4-day moose viewing package in October, too. And Sky Dan (Anderson Aero) offers moose-finding tours.

Best Place to Find Wild Rice

About 20 lakes in the county are known to produce wild rice. Best known are the Swamp River Reservoir, the Pigeon River system, Northern Light Lake, Marsh Lake and Mark Lake, according to Dave Ingebrigtsen, DNR assistant wildlife manager. The 1854 Treaty Authority has a Web site with wild rice updates from various lakes at www.1854treatyauthority.com.

The harvest season is Aug. 15 through Sept. 30. Permits are required and can be purchased where hunting and fishing licenses are sold. Seasonal permits for residents 18 and older are $25. A one-day permit is $15. Nonresidents can get a permit for $30 a day. Bob Kirsch, DNR area manager, said the rice crop is from fair to good this year. Also, Swamp Lake, Maude Lake and Cuffs Lake are on the Grand Portage Reservation and are not open to ricing by nonmembers. Another note: It is illegal to harvest unripe wild rice.

The best thing about an autumn picnic? No bugs!

Best Place to Picnic

If you’re on Highway 61, the Tofte Park is a beautiful place to stop and have a picnic, as are the waysides at Cascade and Cutface. In Grand Marais, the Rec Park has a pavilion with a grill as does the Cook County Community Center. Both include access to a playground.

Eagle Mountain is a perfect picnic spot if you want to hike and picnic. It’s a 7-mile, round-trip hike and includes great views of fall colors. Greyling Grant, Forest Service recreation manager for Tofte and Grand Marais, said the Forest Service maintains picnic spots along the Gunflint Trail.

The hunting season for ruffed grouse opens Sept. 18. Photo by Erik W. Anderson

Best Place to Hunt Grouse

Mandy Theiner says any Forest Service Road that’s a little overgrown is a good place to find grouse, suggesting trails along the Trout Lake Road. The DNR has walking trails in the county for grouse hunters. Get a brochure and maps at the Grand Marais office. Trails are located near Caribou Lake and Willis Lake, and the Dale Honer Hunter Walking Trail is on the Ball Club Road.

Take a fall color tour in a canoe.

Best Fall Canoe Paddle

Paddling out to see fall colors is the premiere way to experience autumn in the northwoods. Outfitters can set you up with a canoe, maps and more. Call first, so they know you’re coming.

Mike Prom at Voyageurs Canoe Outfitters said late September is fantastic--no bugs, cool temps and good fishing. Seagull Lake is gorgeous and you can paddle through Alpine, Red Rock and Saganaga. Bill Hansen at Sawbill Canoe Outfitters, said the three-lake Kelso Loop with short, easy portages offers great opportunities to see moose. Each of the lakes are completely different ecosystems and lie along the Continental Divide between the Atlantic and Arctic watersheds. The Stairway Portage is really wonderful, said Nancy Seaton at Hungry Jack Outfitters, and it offers access to the Border Route Hiking Trail, the perfect place for long views of lakes and trees stretching to the horizon.