Situated deep within the Superior National Forest, across a continental divide and past the fishing resorts and boat launches of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA), the historic Gunflint Lodge marks a century of hospitality. Reached via a gravel turnoff around mile 43 of the Gunflint Trail, the remote retreat sits on the southern shore of Gunflint Lake, directly across from Canada, which lies just one mile over the water. It’s one of the longest drives a city dweller can make and still be in Minnesota. First, four hours up the interstate and along the rugged North Shore, deep into the Arrowhead. You abruptly make a jagged, thousand-foot ascent, at Grand Marais. Straight pavement that tunnels through dense boreal forest and past slivers of glacial lakes, you hew west onto smooth. Looking wholly undiscovered but close enough to touch: Canada, one mile across the pristine lake. Our 2½-year-old daughter was so enchanted by the scene that we swear she uttered the words: “The whole world’s a sunset.”, sitting deep in one chair. My first visit to Gunflint was in the early thaw of 2021.
The resort was originally established in 1925 by Chicago natives Dora and Russell Blankenburg as a humble fishing and hunting outpost. At the time, it sat at the very end of an unpaved trail that originated as an 1800s Ojibwe footpath and mining road. The Blankenburgs sold the property after two years to Mae Spunner, who moved there permanently from Chicago in 1929 with her daughter Justine during the Great Depression. Justine, an aspiring medical student, fell in love with the North Woods and married lodge guest Bill Kerfoot in 1934. Where two Adirondack chairs sit on a wooden platform and the midsummer sun was just thinking about setting over two countries, there’s a short footpath to the lakeshore. You might find tables and chairs fashioned from logs and branches by Justine herself, in any given cabin. One feature that definitely didn’t exist in 1925: ziplining.
When a fire destroyed the main lodge in June 1953, Justine oversaw the construction of a replacement facility. That building remains the heart of the resort today, housing the front desk, a gift shop, and Justine’s Restaurant—a cozy pine-framed dining room with large windows and a patio overlooking the lake. Justine passed away in 2001 at the age of 94. The second generation, Bruce and Sue Kerfoot, expanded and modernized the resort before deciding to retire in the 2010s. Eventually, a second generation of Kerfoots took over, expanding and modernising the resort.
ownership was then transferred to John and Mindy Fredrikson, former Twin Cities professionals in telecommunications and aviation law who sought to preserve the destination’s legacy. Managing the 125-acre grounds, the Fredriksons view themselves as stewards rather than just owners, maintaining the modest character of the resort while making thoughtful updates and annexing nearby land and cabins. Who had respectively worked in telecom in the Twin Cities and as a lawyer for Delta Air Lines, enter John and Mindy Fredrikson. “We see ourselves as not just the new owners, but stewards of this great place,” the affable John Fredrikson told me as we toured the 125-acre grounds on an ATV. The spouses jumped at the opportunity to own such an iconic destination, completely new to hospitality. That means no drastic changes – the lodge and cabins still retain their modest character – but preservation of the Kerfoots’ legacy and some sensible modifications. Some acreage and neighbouring cabins have been annexed.
Today, Gunflint Lodge features 35 cabins—comprising 26 year-round structures and nine summer camper cabins—finished in green camouflage paneling. Many interior spaces still feature log and branch furniture hand-built by Justine Kerfoot, offering an authentic 1980s-style lakeside atmosphere complete with wood paneling and mismatched furnishings. My family of three descended an outdoor staircase to Cabin 19, a green-painted A-frame bunker built into the lakeside slope, after checking in at the lodge. Inside, the cabin doesn’t take me back to the 1920s so much as the low-frills Minnesota lake resorts of the 80s: wood-panelled everything, mismatched furniture, and everything my extended family would have needed for days of fishing and swimming and evenings of cooking and dining on the day’s catch, topped off with endless rounds of Uno. Today, a guest could greet each day with a different activity.
Visitors engage in year-round outdoor recreation, from fishing, hunting, and multi-day BWCA canoe trips to hiking and relaxing on the beach. Modern additions include the Towering Pines Canopy Tour zipline, added in 2012, while winter features snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, fat biking, and a 6-mile ice-skating trail network groomed on Gunflint Lake during the 2024–25 season that gained national attention. An extensive zipline course was introduced in 2012.
The property offers access to miles of backcountry trails, including a path leading to Lonely Lake, as well as steep terrain and vistas. Guests can also experience scenic boat outings, such as sunset dinner cruises through narrow channels into Magnetic Lake along the international border.
