Dreaming of Blueberries

I found a patch of blueberries that looked like the grapes in a bowl of plastic fruit. I picked one from the bush thinking it looked like some scientifically engineered berry from a different planet and when I bit into it the wonderful flavor exploded in my mouth.  How could it be? A blueberry that big and delicious growing on the Gunflint Trail?

Was I dreaming about blueberry picking on the Gunflint Trail and if so then when would I wake up? I wasn’t asleep and I wasn’t dreaming, the blueberries on the Gunflint Trail are that amazing this year.

Guests paddling in the Boundary Waters are finding similar blueberries while they are out canoe camping. They are eating the ripe berries by the handful, in pancakes and adding them to as many dishes as they can.

I’ve never seen blueberries like this on the Gunflint Trail. This year there are plenty for everyone to pick. Just ask the woman I saw yesterday with coolers full in the back of her vehicle.

Where can you find these blueberries? Anywhere you stop along the Gunflint Trail past the Kekekabic Hiking Trail is almost certain to have berries galore.  Even if the area has been picked every day there are still more to be picked. If you are worried about getting lost then hike along a well-traveled trail such as the Magnetic Rock Trail, Kekekabic Trail, Seagull Lake Nature Trail or the most obvious, Blueberry Hill Trail at Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center.

What to do with all of the blueberries? Make a pie, pancakes, blueberry cobbler, blueberry fruit pizza or all of the above since you’ll have so many. People need to get out there and pick blueberries on the Gunflint Trail.

Are you dreaming? Aren’t I the same person who discourages folks from picking blueberries in my territory? This year I’m welcoming you to pick because there are so many and they are ripe and ready but next year you might just have to apply and pay for a permit to pick in one of the blueberry zones of the Gunflint Trail.

Happy Picking!