Grand Portage Minnesota

located on Highway 61 north at the Minnesota, Canadian border

Grand Portage PDF Map

On this chilly day we chose to view Grand Portage and if there was enough time we would head on over to Kakabeca, Ontario, Canada. 

The history of this area is remarkable; going back to the Ojibwa and Chippewa Indians and their trails along the river to the fur trader. When the indians' wanted to get into the town of Grand Portage they would canoe down the Pigeon River. There was one problem with that though; what to do about the the large falls plummeting down 120 ft. They would canoe till they came to the rapids area, get out of their canoes and carry them down the trail to where they could safely canoe down to Grand Portage; the town

The monument of the area is down in the city of Grand Portage closer to the shipping lanes of Lake Superior. We went to Grand Portage State Park giving us a look at where two countries unite (USA, Canada). We had come to this park late last summer but thought the falls would be inspirational when frozen. So we did come back to see what we could find.

Since we have learned how to do careful planning this time the planning was a life saver. Neither of us likes the Minnesota extreme cold but this time were are going to face that cold and overcome that dislike more and more. We packed extra socks and snow pants. We brought extra gloves and don't forget that hat with the face mask, that is most important. We also brought along the necessary foods and blankets for the just in case stuff. We even remember to pack the snow shovel in the back of the truck.

We had driven up to Beaver Bay the night before and stayed in a nice motel called the Beaver Bay Inn. The room was big enough for the two of us and warm. There was a tv, coffee maker and hair dryer in each room. We stayed in the older section which was inexpensive. The only bummer was that you could hear all the snowmobiles coming and going at all hours of the night. With the excitement of the up coming hike sleep wasn't to important at that time.

With the sun shining in our window we were up and out of our room in no time flat. Packed the truck back up and off we went to our chilly destination. The thermometer said that the temp was warming up it now showed it was only 10 below zero. As I drove on to our destination, we saw that the temp had drop the further north we went. We were now only several miles from Grand Portage. How exciting our first winter hike. No snowshoes or ski's. We got to the Grand Portage State Park and I started to put the multi-layers of clothes on. You know the wool sweater, ski pants, two pairs of socks with my pack boots. One pair of gloves then mittens. Finally came the face mask. Hey I was not going to freeze to death up there.

We trekked the half mile but the hike felt like 6 miles. Walking through the unpacked snow was a hard one to do.  The stairs to the outlook decks had not had any one on them at all or if they did they were iced over so making walking hard to do. As I was walking I thought to myself that I must be absolutely nuts to be hiking in this temp of 15 below with wind chills of 20 below zero. As I thinking this I realized that it really wasn't that cold there. The trees did a lot to protect us from the wind so it really was quite warm. When I post the pictures you will see how warm I really got.

When we made it to over look area we were in for a wonderful winter time site. It reminded me of the song of Winter Wonderland. The sight before us was truly magnificent.  The falls were frozen solid but glistened in the morning sunlight. The water below was open and flowing over to the next smaller fall. The smaller fall was frozen solid or at least to the naked eye.  We didn't go to the other falls on the Pigeon River. That is further west from where we were and looks like its some distance away. We decided to leave that hike for the summer months so we could really enjoy open water views. With that adventure finished it was now time to move to our next planned area. Kakabeka,  Ontario, Canada.

Kakabeka Falls, Ontario, Canada

Kakabeka Falls Ontario Canada

Remember that when you travel to Canada you will need a minimum of your picture I.D. which can include your Minnesota Drivers License or Minnesota State ID.  Also you will have to drive through customs whether your going to or coming from. Its at this point you will be asked many questions. Fire the answers back to the ranger as fast as you can without giving them a stupefied look of shock; or a look like "what are you asking me that question for that's just stupid" look. I only say that cause I did that the first time going to Kakabeka Falls and was detained for oh about an hour. Found out that my driving record was nice and clean though so the delay was not a total loss. Did lose a nice sunset over the water falls though. Now I can drive through customs and not have any problems with the minor exception of how I say the name of the falls but that's another story. However I did tell the customs agent that we were going to Kikibick Falls and he was so polite all he did was smile.

On the way back to Minnesota you will once again have to go through customs. You will want to claim anything that you might have purchased in Canada here, as you will need to pay a small fee to bring it into the USA.

For those that have never been to Canada and you have to stop and purchase gas remember you buy that in liters not gallons. The advertised prices are not American money forms. In the st0res or restaurants the dollar amounts are in pounds not American dollars.

Once into Canada the sites just come one right after another. All kinds of picturesque views of mountains and foothills. The customs agent told us what roads to follow to get to our destination. We stayed on Highway 61 until you get into Thunder Bay Ontario. At that point you take Hwy 11 and Hwy 17. At this point those to Highways are combined and divide after Kakabeka Falls. Here is a small map of that area.

All of the little pine trees on the map are park areas. We have not yet gone to any of the parks in Ontario besides Kakabeka Falls.

We got to the falls area just as darkness fell. We got to the first overlook and decided this was going to be deadly to stay out very long. Let me tell you that 55 below zero wind chills do not allow one much time to enjoy the sites placed before you.

Kakabeka Falls is a grand area to explore. Ontario has taken great time and pride in this park and it shows. You can tell that the park is well cared for and used daily. I have to say that even being as cold as it was I was in awe. The falls are much larger than I had expected. Even being frozen the formations were beautiful. I was out in the cold only 5 minutes before I had to return to my truck but I did know what we would be back here soon. We needed to get a better view of another frozen winter wonderland (playground).

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