While its programs and facilities continue to evolve, the mission of Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center has remained constant: educating visitors about the history, culture, and ecology of the Gunflint Trail.
From naturalist presentations on local wildlife to exhibits on historical watercraft, from self-guided nature trails to museum displays about logging, mining, and tourism, Chik-Wauk offers a unique opportunity to learn about the past and engage with the present. Visitors can pick blueberries in late summer, fish off the U.S. Forest Service dock, and try to lift a Voyageur pack.
Located at the end of the Gunflint Trail, 57 miles from the city of Grand Marais, the 50-acre parcel was purchased by the U.S. Forest Service in 1978 as part of the establishment of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).
In 2005, the newly minted Gunflint Trail Historical Society (GTHS) forged a partnership with the Superior National Forest Gunflint Ranger District to transform the land and Chik-Wauk Lodge into a museum. The USFS granted a special use permit for this purpose, fulfilling a long-held dream of the lodge’s last owners, Ralph and Bea Griffis.
According to Campus Director Bonnie Schudy, the arrangement is both unique and mutually beneficial: “The Forest Service appreciates that we take care of the land.” Indeed, the USFS has allowed Chik-Wauk to expand operations by adding new buildings such as the Nature Center; these carefully planned additions, Schudy explained, have been a key component of its continued success.
Outside of this agreement, Chik-Wauk is privately funded, leveraging revenue from museum admission fees, grants, and, most critically, contributions from the community. Consequently, recent changes to federal funding have had minimal impact on the organization’s operations.
In 2024, Chik-Wauk welcomed nearly 9,000 visitors, the second highest number in its history. Its museum captures the human and natural history of the area, with displays on Native American culture, mining, logging, fur trading, and tourism.
This summer, Chik-Wauk will host an exhibit to recognize the 20th anniversary of GTHS and the 15th anniversary of the museum. GTHS was born out of conversations within Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway Committee about strategies to preserve and celebrate Chik-Wauk Lodge, which was built in 1934. Two years after its incorporation, GTHS lobbied successfully to have the lodge added to the National Register of Historic Places. The museum opened in 2010, the Nature Center in 2016, and the Watercraft Exhibit Building in 2019.
Chik-Wauk is also in the process of transforming the front room of the museum into a permanent exhibit that will more fully reflect Anishinaabe history and culture. This project has been in the works since 2022 and is slated to open in 2026. Consultants on the project, all of whom have Anishinaabe heritage, include Staci Drouillard, author of Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe, Sam Zimmerman, visual artist, and Rita Walaszek Arndt, program and outreach manager at the Minnesota Historical Society. Drouillard’s grandparents worked at Chik-Wauk as a cook and a guide in the 1940s and 1950s.
“We recognized more and more that we needed this,” said Schudy. “In order to make good on our land acknowledgement statement, we needed to help people get back to that era, understand that era, before the French voyageurs, before borders. There is so much to learn about Anishinaabe wild ricing, blueberry foraging, maple syruping.” The new exhibit will amplify the museum’s focus on the history of the Gunflint Trail by more fully acknowledging the past, present, and future of the Anishinaabe culture that is central to the region.
Chik-Wauk’s location—remote even by Cook County standards—makes for stunning star gazing. In partnership with University of Minnesota-Duluth’s Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium, Chik-Wauk houses an AllSky camera to take advantage of the BWCAW’s international dark sky status. The camera runs from 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after sunrise, taking a photo of the sky about once a minute and then creating a time-lapse video of each night’s sky, available via Chik-Wauk’s website and Facebook page. Also available via the website is the Nature Center’s loon nest camera.
Chik-Wauk maintains close relationships with lodges along the Gunflint Trail and produces videos of past and current businesses on the Gunflint Trail. On tap this year is an updated video about businesses along the trail, reflecting the changes in ownership of 18 businesses since 2010.
The museum is open 149 days a year—including holidays—from the Saturday before Memorial Day through MEA weekend. Chik-Wauk’s hiking trails remain open year-round.
Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Nature Center is open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the Watercraft Exhibit Building is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. From June 24 to August 19, admission is free every Tuesday for children under age 18. Leashed dogs are welcome on Chik-Wauk’s grounds.
Schudy encourages visitors to take their time, pack a lunch, and keep their eyes peeled. “You might see a moose; you might see a lynx. You just never know what’s in store.”
