Grand Marais and the Lake Superior North Shore/Cook County offer over 450 miles of snowmobile trails for you to explore. Every part of Cook County offers something special for a snowmobile outing, featuring the beauty and solitude of the wilderness. Keep an eye out for wildlife! Don’t miss the moose, fox, coyotes and wolves that inhabit the area.

Know the Rules of the Snowmobiling Road
Like a lot of things in life, simply applying common sense is always a good bet for keeping safe when playing with big toys like snowmobile in weather conditions that require preparation for comfort and safety. In the case of snowmobiles, you are traveling over wide areas where trespassing is to be avoided by staying on marked trails. Rule of the road must be followed (i.e., drinking and driving, proper registration and licensing, etc.). As long your snowmobile is registered in Minnesota, its use is free. Out of state folks will need to get a permit (Purchase Details)).

North Shore State Trail

The C.J. Ramstad/North Shore State Trail is a 146 mile natural surface trail from Duluth to Grand Marais. The trail runs through St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties in northeastern Minnesota, winding its way through the forests on the ridgeline overlooking Lake Superior. The North Shore State Trail provides access to some of the most rugged and beautiful scenery in Minnesota. In winter, the trail connects with hundreds of miles of snowmobile club trails and many communities in the area.

For most of its length, the trail provides a wilderness experience. The majority of the trail is in a remote, natural and undeveloped setting with few roads and many river crossings. Visitors may encounter native wildlife, such as moose, deer, bear, fox, raptors, grouse, waterfowl, songbirds and timber wolves. Views of rivers, lakes, valleys and scenic overlooks are a part of the trail experience. Visitors may observe activities including logging, farms, wildlife and fish management.

More Trail Information

Tags: North Shore Snowmobiling, Grand Marais Snowmobiling, North Shore Winter Activities, Grand Marais Winter Activities

Grand Marais & North Shore Winter Activities

With an average of 120 inches of snow per year, you would expect Grand Marais & North Shore Winter Activities to include just about everything you could want to do on this slippery white stuff! You’d be right, and you can enjoy it on the 400 km of groomed cross-country ski trails (the biggest such network in North America), 450 miles of snowmobile trails, and 1,000 acres of downhill skiing and snowboarding.

“Lutsen Mountains” is the largest ski area in the Midwest. It features four interconnected mountains of the Sawtooth Mountain range with 95 runs that spread across 1000 acres overlooking Lake Superior. These four peaks include Moose Mountain, Eagle Mountain, Ullr Mountain and Mystery Mountain.

The Sawtooth Mountains are located amongst the rugged terrain found along the North Shore of Lake Superior. Rising over 1000 feet from the shores of Lake Superior at angles that vary from 8 to 20 degrees, they drop off steeply on their northern slopes. They were named “sawtooth” due to their relatively uniform size, angles, and regularity of spacing as viewed from Lake Superior to the east, from which their crest line creates a profile that resembles the teeth of an enormous saw.

From the west, rising from the Temperance River, major peaks of the mountain range include Eagle Mountain at Lutsen (tallest), Carlton Peak above Temperance River State Park, Leveaux Mountain and a knob immediately across the Onion River, Moose Mountain, peaks along a ridge above Cascade River State Park, Murphy Mountain, and Sawtooth Bluff above Grand Marais.

View Grand Marais & North Shore Winter Activities Guide.