Cross-Country Skiing

Welcome to the Gunflint Trail, where fabulous cross-country Skiing starts!

The Gunflint Trail boasts the largest cross-country ski area in Minnesota and even the Midwest, covering 100 square miles. These nationally-renowned nordic ski systems offer some of the best cross-country skiing with more than 176 kilometers of marked and groomed tracked trails, some lit for night skiing, and many groomed for skate-skiing. The Central and Upper Gunflint Ski Trail Systems offer double-tracked trails and single-tracked trails with skating lanes. Connecting the two trail systems is a 29 kilometer single-tracked Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness trail, the Banadad. Three Kassbohrer Piston Bully Snowcats provide the world-class grooming.

At the height of the Laurentian Highlands, three million acres of pine, birch, balsam and aspen of the Superior National Forest are white-capped with an average annual snowfall exceeding 100 inches. Snow cover is deep and dependable generally from late November through early April. This terrain provides a wide variety of challenge for beginners to expert skiers. You'll discover wildly scenic trails; some that traverse winter moose yards, others that follow stunning overlook ridges, and some that follow old trapper trails and railroad beds. The Sawtooth Mountain Range and the vast surrounding Boundary Waters backcountry make the Gunflint Trail one of the most natural and complete cross-country ski destinations in North America.

Rental equipment for all ages and lessons are available at several Resorts.

Golden Eagle Lodge Nordic Ski Center, a silent-sports-only resort, is located on the Central Gunflint Ski Trail System. A well-marked network of more than 70 kilometers of trails, groomed and tracked regularly with Kassbohrer Pisten Bully Snowcats, begin curving away into pristine beauty right from your cabin's doorsteps. The resort’s trail system has been specifically built for skiing and all trails are tracked for traditional skiing along with a large portion for skate skiing.

Enjoy the romance of night skiing on Wolf Point, a 1.5 kilometer loop near the lodge. The loop is illuminated two nights a week with kerosene lanterns – a beautiful sight – and the remaining five nights with strings of twinkling electric lights. The Aurora Borealis kicks in every now and then for a dazzling late-night light show.