Something for Everyone at the 2022 Gunflint Trail Canoe Races!

Sixteen (16) Canoe Races for multiple ages and abilities and plenty of space to cheer on your favorites from Trail resorts and outfitters. All are welcome to register onsite. Canoes and paddles provided. Bring your own life jacket.

New in 2022 - The Trail Cup! A little competition is a good thing at the Canoe Races. Teams sponsored by Outfitters and Resorts along the Trail will compete for the honor of displaying The Trail Cup Paddle for one year and, of course, “bragging rights.” 

A Food Tent with delicious, well-priced Northwoods supper staples, prepared by the culinary team at Gunflint Lodge, will be available starting at 4:30 pm.

The newly designed commemorative, fund-raising 2022 Canoe Races T-shirts, in six styles and quality choices may be purchased online May 27 to June 27 to arrive before the Races.  Purchase at https://www.customink.com/fundraising/gtfd-2022 where additional donations to the GTFD will be accepted.  A very limited number of shirts will be available onsite.

Raffle tickets available and winners will be announced for a solid blue Kestrel-120 by Current Designs kayak and “The Portager” by Paddle North paddle board. The Kayak will be on display at PoplarHaus prior to the Races. Raffle tickets are available at numerous resorts and from volunteers before the Races. Winners to be announced just after the last fun-to-watch Gunnel Pumping Canoe Race.

Additional raffle tickets will be available for a cozy, homey queen-size “Hygge on the Gunflint Trail” quilt made by the Gunflint Trail Quilters. Complete with matching shams it exudes warmth through woodsy scenes and iconic Buffalo plaid. The winning ticket will be drawn on August 1, 2022, and the quilt will be on display at Trail Center the last three weekends in July.

New This Year!  The first-ever Gunflint Trail After-Races Dance! The celebration of The Gunflint Trail continues at Poplar Haus. Join racers, friends and neighbors for a great way to end the evening on the glorious Gunflint Trail. 

GTVFD Chief Jim Morrison Offers Thanks

“The generous contributions of The Gunflint Trail community support our services, notes GTFVD Chief Jim Morrison. “Our volunteer fire department has a contingent of 18 EMT’s and EMR’s, delivering emergency services all along the Gunflint Trail by personal vehicles and our ambulance. Because of COVID, our EMT’s wear masks, gloves and eye protection on all calls.  We ask patients to wear masks. GTVFD is thankful so many of you have been vaccinated and boosted. With our very low infection rate on the Gunflint Trail, we have not transported any COVID patients.”

Thanks also to an active Friends of The Gunflint Trail, a committee of volunteers from up and down the Trail who worked diligently to bring the Races back this year. The Canoe Races have successfully served the Gunflint Trail for more than 40 years.

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 About Visit Cook County 

Visit Cook County encompasses the northeastern Minnesota communities of Lutsen, Tofte, Schroeder, Grand Marais, the Gunflint Trail and Grand Portage, commonly referred to as “the Arrowhead” and the “North Shore of Lake Superior”.  Grand Marais, Minn., has earned several national accolades -- most recently it was named USA Today’s Best Midwestern Small Town, Outside Magazine’s The 16 Best Places to Live in the U.S. 2016, and Budget Travel’s 2015 Coolest Small Town in America. Rekindle your sense of adventure by exploring the Superior National Forest or paddling through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Discover what makes the communities of Cook County, Minn. “Naturally Unforgettable.” Connect on social media using #donorthmn, Twitter @CookCoVisitors, Facebook, or Instagram @donorthmn. Learn more at www.visitcookcounty.com.