Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center 

About

Discover history and nature in its natural habitat.

Located in a beautifully restored stone lodge building near the end of the historic Gunflint Trail, a visit to Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center is the perfect day trip during your stay in Grand Marais or greater Cook County.

The museum presents the Gunflint Trail's cultural and natural history in a friendly, accessible manner that will appeal to all ages. Learn what life was like when the Gunflint Trail was only plowed twice a winter and how early Gunflint Trail pioneers handled education for their children. Videos and hands-on interactive display present the history of Native Americans, the fur trade, mining, logging, and tourism in this remote corner of northeastern Minnesota.

The Nature Center is a great way to connect with nature with hands-on activities for all ages. Come explore the plants, animals, insects that share their habitat on the Gunflint Trail. Adventures on the Gunflint Trail require only observation and curiosity. You can also join the Gunflint Trail Explorers Club.

During their visit, kids (and children at heart!) can enjoy a scavenger hunt challenge inside the museum. Kid activities and naturalist programs are offered throughout the summer. Check our website for the full schedule.

Watercraft Exhibit Building
While hundreds of years ago, the primary mode of travel was on foot or with assistance from a domestic animal, it was soon discovered that being able to navigate a thousand-plus lakes expanded opportunities. Following Native Amercan neighbors' examples, Euro-Americans explored wilderness waters with canoes and paddle strokes.

A NEW exhibit to share the importance of water travel is another chapter in the narrative about Gunflint Trail life and times.

Be sure to budget enough time to explore the network of nature trails crisscrossing Chik-Wauk’s 50-acre grounds located on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. You might spy a moose during your visit and during late July and August, the grounds offer excellent blueberry picking. Pack a picnic lunch to enjoy at one of the museum's many picnic benches and stay all day!