Gitchi-Gami State Trail – Grand Marais to Cutface Creek Rest Area Segment

The Gitchi-Gami State Trail is paved trail project that is in progress. When finished, the trail will be 89 miles long and will run from Two Harbors to Grand Marais along Minnesota’s scenic North Shore of Lake Superior. As of 2021 over a third of the trail has been completed. This trail is for non-motorized traffic only.

The Grand Marais to Cutface Creek Rest Area segment is 5 miles long and was completed in the summer of 2021. There is no designated parking area in the town of Grand Marais for the trail, but there is on-street parking available in town as well as at the nearby Coast Guard Station public parking area.  At the Cutface Creek Rest Area there is parking for about a dozen vehicles.

Starting from Grand Marais, the trail runs right next to Minnesota Highway 61 for about two miles. Except for the very start of the trail, there are not any views of Lake Superior for these first two miles. The trail then moves away from the highway to the highlight of this segment; a bridge over the Fall River which provides a great view of the Fall River Waterfall and Lake Superior. After the bridge the trail again runs next to the highway for about a mile. For the last two miles of this segment, the trail is usually away from the highway and Lake Superior can be seen most of the time. The trail runs through a mix of hardwoods and conifers here. At the Cutface Creek Rest Area there are restrooms and picnic tables. There is also access to the shore of Lake Superior at the rest area. As of 2021, there is no trail beyond the Cutface Creek Rest Area.

The official website for the Gitchi-Gami State Trail can be found here.