County State-Aid Highway 12 (Cook County, Minnesota)

Originally a footpath for travelers from inland lakes to Lake Superior, the trail was eventually widened into a roadway, and designated as County Road 12 (CR 12). It now serves as a route to lodges, outfitters, hiking trails and the lakes and rivers of the BWCA. A small number of people, numbering in the hundreds, have full-time residences or businesses along the road, though thousands have cabins or other part-time residential properties.

The route begins at Highway 61 in Grand Marais. It travels generally northward until Northern Light Lake, where it turns northwestward, following the Brule River. It crosses the Brule and continues north-northwest along Swamper Creek, gradually arcing westward and running along the northern shore of Poplar Lake. The road continues west past several lakes including Birch, Mayhew, and Loon before reaching the access roads to Gunflint Lake. The route turns north near Round Lake and travels several miles to Sea Gull Lake, where it turns west again to its terminus at Saganaga Lake.

The footpath was improved into a dirt road by Cook County in the 1890s to support the Paulson Mine.[2] In the 1920s, local business owners paid for some improvements to the road; by 1957, it was paved from Grand Marais to Hungry Jack Lake.[3] The last gravel section, south of Sea Gull Lake,[4] was paved in 1979.[2]

The road was designated a National Scenic Byway in 2009.[2]

Glaciers created the area's geographical features, forming basins running east to west with the region's bedrock, and when they retreated, lakes formed. The Ojibwa and French explorers found chert, which produces sparks, at Gunflint Lake and gave the trail its name. In contemporary times, both fire and wind put stress on the area.[6]

The Ojibwa built a village that is now Grand Marais, which became a trading post and a center for logging and commercial fishing. The town today is home to artists and artisans, and tourists who visit for the Gunflint Trail's canoe routes, hiking, fishing and 120 miles (193 km) of trails for cross-country skiing.[6]

In the summer, the Gunflint Trail community is a hub of activity for campers, canoeists, hikers and fishermen. Several famous establishments can be found along the trail, including the historic Gunflint Lodge, the Trail's End Cafe, and Trail Center restaurant. There are also many outfitters for canoe trips into the BWCA, campsites, homes and several camps, including Adventurous Christians, Gunflint Wilderness Camp, and Wilderness Canoe Base.

Grouse, white-tailed deer, black bear, moose, fox, snowshoe hares, wolves, lynx and pine marten inhabit the surrounding forest which comprises spruces, fir, pines, birch and aspen.[6] Lake trout, walleye, northern pike, and bass inhabit the many lakes along the Gunflint Trail.