Grand Marais Rec Park receives over $1 million grant for Phase One Master Plan implementation
Dec 08, 2025 08:08AM ● By Content Editor
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - December 6, 2025
The City of Grand Marais announced earlier this week that it has received a $1,066,560 grant from the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) to fund the first phase of the Grand Marais Recreation Area Master Plan.
According to a press release from the City of Grand Marais, the funding is part of a larger distribution of $11,326,845 awarded to 12 parks and trails across Greater Minnesota for Fiscal Year 2027. The grants are funded by the Parks and Trails Legacy Fund, established by the 2008 Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
"We are elated to have been selected for this grant from the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission," said Dave Tersteeg, parks manager for the City of Grand Marais, in the press release. He added that the funding "will allow us to construct a new entrance sign, as well as wayfinding and interpretive signage throughout the Rec Park. In addition to new signage, a new bathhouse with public restrooms strategically located near the Grand Marais harbor beach will also be built."
According to Tersteeg, the $1,066,560 award is contingent on legislative approval during the 2026 session, which begins in February. He noted, however, that the city has been "assured from the GMRPTC (with a great deal of confidence) that their recommendations will be accepted and we should proceed with preliminary permitting work."
The selection process was described as an "extensive application review process" by the GMRPTC. GMRPTC Chair Rick Anderson stated, "Every grant awardee is deserving, and we commend them for how thoroughly they described their needs in their grant applications."
The grant is a major component of a larger project. In June 2025, the City of Grand Marais held an open house to gather community feedback on concept maps for facility improvements, specifically the bathhouses and Rec Hall, guided by the city's Master Plan.
At that time, Parks Manager Tersteeg told Boreal Community Media that a significant portion of the funding for the "seven-figure project" was contingent upon a "successful application" to the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission for State Legacy funding.
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission provides recommendations to the MN Legislature for Legacy Fund grants. These grants fund infrastructure, acquisition, and rehabilitation projects for regionally significant parks and trails in the 80 counties outside the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.
