Local Intel

     I have a new title given to me by National Georgraphic Magazine.  When they voted Grand Marais one of the top 12 places to live in the United States in this month’s magazine they called the Boundary Waters Blog "Local Intel."  

     Here’s what else they had to say…

Next Great Adventure Towns: Central

The next great adventure towns aren’t just the best base camps for outdoor pursuits, they’re smart investments.

Text by Sarah Tuff and Greg Melville

Photograph by Richard Hamilton Smith

1. Grand Marais, Minnesota

The Explorers’ Club

>>Photo Gallery: Top 12 Cities Weekend Scouting Reports >>
Set on Lake Superior’s rocky northern shoreline, this Minnesota outpost has some of the best of everything—in every season. The Gunflint Trail, a paved byway that runs straight out of town, accesses 143 miles of cross-country skiing classics in winter and a slew of singletrack in summer. Hook up with a team of huskies to sled the frozen Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness or paddle through the 1.1-million-acre expanse when the weather warms. You can also build your own canoe, kayak, and skis at the North House Folk School, Grand Marais’s unofficial community center. Residents come together to push for renewable energy resources or protect their colorful waterfront from big-box stores. "We don’t want a run of strip malls," says local Arctic explorer Lonnie Dupre, who trains his sled dogs among the thick groves of aspen, birch, and sugar maple trees. The number of roads Dupre crosses from his house on the way to the North Pole? One: the Trans-Canada Highway. We can’t all be polar explorers, but luckily jobs in tourism are plentiful.
Population: 1,414
Median home price: $199,378