This Is Minnesota's Quirkiest Little Town

Sandwiched between those rocky cliffs of the Sawtooth Mountains and the openness of Lake Superior, you have Grand Marais, Minnesota. This small town has only about 1,300 year-round residents, and they completely refuse to be ordinary. An odd and charming mix of North Woods grit, artistic quirkiness, Scandinavian culture, and frontier self-reliance, Grand Marais is an experience. From a self-proclaimed best harbor-side donut-frying shack or a floating historic fish house museum in the bay to an annual folk art and pie festival, Grand Marais vibrates with a personality that's equal parts untamed and quirky. It's definitely Minnesota's quirkiest little town.

The Bizarre History of Grand Marais

The first strange thing about Grand Marais is that it means “Great Marsh," although there are no marshes to be found anywhere in the vicinity. It was a seasonal Ojibwe village before French explorers, fur trappers, and Scandinavian fishermen settled the rugged shoreline. In the late 1800s, it was a thriving fishing and shipping port, exporting white pine and herring to the other territories around the Great Lakes. But while other North Shore towns grew big on mining and logging, Grand Marais stayed small. In the 1930s, the town was home to the Cook County News-Herald, whose founder, C.C. Andrews, is famous for supposedly suggesting that "any news east of Duluth isn't worth knowing." That spirit of self-containment continues to define the town today.

Unconventional Icons of Grand Marais

World's Best Donuts

This small shack by the harbor has been cranking out house-made donuts since '69—it's only open from Memorial Day to around mid-October and shuts down shop when they sell out (which is usually around noon). Locals are completely obsessed with the skizzle, a spiral of fried dough coated in cinnamon sugar that is part funnel cake and part churro.

The North House Folk School

Founded in 1997, in response to the growing homogeneity of modern life, it now offers more than 400 classes annually, ranging from birchbark canoe construction to sausage making and Viking-age woodworking. It may be the only place where you can learn spoon carving, wool spinning, and sourdough rye baking in a single weekend.

The Historic Fish House and Nee Gee

To celebrate the town’s deep-rooted heritage and reliance on Lake Superior, visitors can take a stop at a recreated 1930s fish house. Inside, you’ll find authentic clothing, tools, and other exhibits showing the life of the fisherman almost a century ago. Docked here, you will often see the hand-built, 35-foot tug called Nee-Gee, a term from the Ojibwe meaning friend.

Art and the Aurora Borealis

Although it's a bit off the beaten path, Grand Marais has become a hip arts destination. The Grand Marais Art Colony, established in 1947, is Minnesota's oldest artist residency program, offering a range of workshops, including painting, kiln creations, and novel writing insights. In September, the Plein Air Grand Marais festival takes over the town, transforming it into one giant outdoor studio where artists paint every rock, wave, and stand of birch trees.

And on fall evenings when the skies are clear, locals drive north on the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway, a 57-mile road slicing through the Superior National Forest, to watch the northern lights. This spectacle has become one of the most iconic events in the nighttime sky of the northernmost states, making it a must-see for visitors from out of town.

Rooted in Character Landmarks

The Angry Trout Café

It's located in a creaky old fish house with handwritten menus and wooden floors, where they serve up herring and lake trout caught right in the lake, accompanied by wooden forks made just down the road. They compost, they're solar-powered, and they still pull off the tastiest fish sandwich on Lake Superior.

The Grand Marais Lighthouse

Projecting into the breakwater at Artists' Point, this tiny red-and-white lighthouse, built in 1885, is less functional than picturesque these days, but it's where artists, photographers, and dreamers go to find inspiration in Lake Superior's vastness.

Devil's Kettle

Thanks to the uniqueness of Judge C.R. Magney State Park, located just down the road, there is a natural oddity: a bizarre waterfall where half of the Brule River falls into a hole in the rock, and for many years, no one knew where it went. After testing by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, it was determined that the water eventually rejoins the river downstream.

Annual Events That Show Just How Different Grand Marais Is

• Fisherman's Picnic (August): Although the name might suggest that this is a break for coastal workers during the summer heat, the festival actually spans several days and has become a beloved tradition in Grand Marais. It includes log rolling competitions, herring-eating contests, and even the crowning of "Miss North Shore.
• Moose Madness (October): A family-friendly event that's all about the moose. Everything about this treasured event is a nod to this iconic northern creature, from the food that is themed to the occasion, to oddities like moose bingo, moose calling contests, and poetry readings about the majestic beast.

It is safe to say that Grand Marais might not offer the kind of life that everyone wants to live. It is devoid of many of the modern conveniences of urban living, like shopping supercenters and an abundance of chain restaurants. While it might lack some convenience, this gem of the North Shore of the North Star State has plenty of quirky charm to keep you warm when you face the average 110 inches of snow every year. Whether you want to learn about the old world Scandinavian ways of tool making or take a scenic drive to witness the natural wonder of the Aurora Borealis, your home base should be the weird and quirky community of Grand Marais.