Superior National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
91 acres0.5 mi of trail
C.J. Ramstad/North Shore State Trail/Superior Hiking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Cascade River Wayside · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Grand Marais
6% of Grand Marais’ land is conserved: 117 acres
3.2 miles of mapped trail cross Grand Marais, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Superior National Forest (0.5 mi). 4 acres are parks and preserves, 2.3 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
117 acres · of 2.9 sq mi of land
Trails
3.2 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
4 ac
2.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
82%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.4 mi
0.3 mi lanes · 2.1 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Grand Marais?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Grand Marais have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Grand Marais is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Grand Marais’ overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land2.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home82% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 63%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Superior National Forest, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Boulder Park
Managed by City of Grand Marais
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Superior National Forest91 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
DirectionsHarbor Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGunflint Horse Arena & Dog Park2 acres
DirectionsBoulder Park1 acres · City of Grand Marais
DirectionsSweetheart's Bluff Sledding Hill1 acres
Who protects it
117 conserved acres
6% of Grand Marais’ land. Who manages Grand Marais’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service91 ac
State natural resources26 ac
National Forest · 91 acState Resource Management Area · 26 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superior National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 91 | Open |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 26 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Grand Marais
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Grand Marais
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Grand Marais
4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Grand Marais
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Grand Marais
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Grand Marais
Sawtooth Bluff
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Horses · 0.9 miUnpaved · 2.9 mi
C.J. Ramstad/North Shore State Trail0.7 mi
Superior Hiking Trail0.5 mi
C.J. Ramstad/North Shore State Trail/Superior Hiking Trail0.2 mi
Biking & sports
2.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Tennis
3Baseball
1Equestrian
1Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Grand Marais
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 16.0 | 15.6 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| High (°F) | 20 | 24 | 34 | 46 | 59 | 68 | 73 | 71 | 64 | 50 | 35 | 24 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 73 °F). 3.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Grand Marais →
Questions about parks and trails in Grand Marais
Where can I hike in Grand Marais?
The longest trail networks: Superior National Forest, 0.5 miles; Harbor Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Grand Marais is conserved land?
6% of its land, against a typical 5% for a Minnesota town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Grand Marais’ trails?
Superior National Forest and Gunflint Horse Arena & Dog Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Grand Marais?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes and 2.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Grand Marais?
97,252 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Grand Marais or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 113 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Grand Marais have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Grand Marais neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →