Gunflint Lodge Reviews

Family loved ziplining there. Thank you Grady and Maggie.

One of the canoe outfitters was a geology student and gave us great tips on hiking the Gunflint Iron Formation to the Magnetic Rock. Don't miss this!

Visited the gunflint lodge for lunch. The walleye chowder was absolutely delicious! The dining room also had a very nice view of the lake.

Great view of the lake. Beautiful with the snow covered ground. Food was fantastic. A great place to spend thanksgiving.

World Class. I've traveled the country I've seen many different countries. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Gun Flint Lodge. I'll go back time and time again.

I have never seen a more beautiful view, friendly people, and just one with nature.

Sometimes at the end of a beautiful drive you find a rainbow, that describes Gunflint Lodge. This place is a little slice of heaven. The restaurant has views of Gunflint Lake that take your breath away. The menu offers a wide variety of tasty meals from starters to sandwiches to full meals. They offer a bar with complementary coffees and hot chocolate (they even have tiny marshmallows! ). Look out over the Lake and you will see Canada on the opposite shore. My first time was in winter, this will be a place we visit in every season. Don't miss this place, its that special.

The bistro has a nice woodsy ambiance with a beautiful veiw of Gunflint Lake. The service was great even in non-peak hours.

My wife and I stayed here for 5 days in February 2016.
Our cabin was extremely warm, clean and peaceful. We also done some snow shoeing. Amazing trails! If you want a very secluded vacation with 5star service, this is your place.
Ps. The food is out of this world!!

We be coming up around July 7-14 . Going horse back riding and activities. Eating supper there and more stuff. Excited to see the old people faces and new faces

Our family stayed at a neighboring resort for Labor Day weekend, as we have done consecutive years in the past, but we rented a 9 passenger Pontoon for 2 consecutive days with Gun Flint Lodge as they were offering a larger Pontoon. When we arrived to pick up the boat on day 1, everything went 'South'.

(... even before pick up, basic questions could not be answered about the boat when i called to reserve i.e. motor size, length, features, etc. so i gave Gunflint Lodge the benefit of the doubt...)

After seeing the boat we noticed it was considerably dirty right off the bat (Sand / rock ingrained in the carpet, stains on the seats). All of the seats were completely soaked through with rain water, the small cheap plastic pedestal table was not secured to the deck, (literally bouncing around loose!), the rail doors were failing with broken welds, the CD deck was not working at all, and none of the switches were operational (Live Well, Acc, etc) so we couldn't listen to music on the boat or plug in external audio. When we asked the person assisting us with getting underway about these items, every answer was "I don't know"... and no thought to ask someone who did know.

We departed back to our campsite and immediately noticed the severely under-powered 25hp motor. I understand a pontoon is not a speed boat, or even a fishing boat, but this was egregious! Fully loaded we were lucky to be traveling at 5 mph! (...no motor restrictions on this lake either...)

It doesn't stop there...

When asked if we could keep the boat docked at the resort we were staying at for the night the answer was " No we need it back at 5:00" - No further explanation from the gentleman. So i asked "Can we atleast keep it till dusk?" the answer received was "5:30 at the latest , were using it tonight". Perplexed, i went and spoke with the manager and was informed they were using it for a "Dinner Cruise" that evening at 5:30??

After explaining to the manager our intentions for the two consecutive day rentals on how we wanted to keep the boat docked and available for use when we wanted it (late night / early morning fishing / a quick trip out), the fact that no one informed us at booking we had to return the boat each day or even at a certain time was extremely disappointing! No where did it mention this in any email correspondence or receipt, nor was i informed of this over the phone at booking. With our boat plans for the day essentially ruined due to the time constraint, all that they could do was give us a half day credit to the rental. A nice gesture, but not enough.

The second day of our rental when arriving to pick up the boat, we spent 15 minutes trying to track someone down who could assist us. I asked several employees to which no one could help. Only instead to direct me to the front desk. When speaking to one of the employees at the front desk to ask for help with the boat i explained the boat was not at the dock and we needed help getting it. I was given 'attitude and an eye roll', but was eventually helped by a different employee. The boat was still in the same condition as the day before (feel sorry for the people on this 'Dinner Cruise').

In conclusion:

It was a bad experience which could have been a great one had the resort cared even the slightest about the quality of its services and external customers.

They know they are 1 out of 2 places in the area / on the lake that rent boats and they take advantage of that fact. I probably would be a repeat customer of their rental had the boat been at least decent. Additionally, I wouldn't have cared so much about the minor customer service hiccups either.

I will not be renting from them in the future!

The cabins we were in we're basic but sufficient. Heaps of stuff to do and easy to do it. Good food in the restaurant

It is off the beaten path, tucked away in a beautiful location. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. We loved using the canoea, kayaks, and playing at the beach.

Great interior and atmosphere. Probably one of the nicer rustic interiors, despite this the food was quite expensive and mediocre. The cheesecake portion for example was an $8 sliver and most of the food was underseasoned

This place was awesome. They absolutely have every winter activity you could ever want to participate in. Pet friendly, excellent cabins. We had a sauna and a hot tub in cabin #7. Well defined hiking trails, snow mobile rentals, connecting trails. Snow shoe and cross country skiing trails. They even have dog sledding. That was a 1st for me. And I wont soon forget it. It was a lot of fun! Let's not forget the fantastic food. We sampled breakfast lunch and dinner during our stay. Tip, top dining! Staff were friendly and very helpful. We will make this an annual event for us!

This was my 4th stay at Gunflint but my first time here in the fall. It is one of my favorite places to visit in the North and I think it can be enjoyed in every season. For this trip we stayed in Classic Cabin 22, which is a one bedroom cabin with a king bed. It was perfect for my husband and me. I will always return to Gunflint... Maybe next time a winter trip?

I'm so in love with this place. The staff are amazing. The scenery will leave you speachless. The amenities are great. Just go. You won't regret it. The cabins are adorable!

Excellent outfitters and they make good food packs too for BWCA. Would recommend outfitters to anybody, they will take care of you. Go here every year. Free showers to clean up after your trip and telephone. Nice well kept wenonah canoes. Good staff.

Food quality was great. Indoor and outdoor seating with a nice view of Gunflint lake.

Started visiting Gunflint lodge 33 yrs ago when a group of us in high school camped across the lake in Canada. It was so much fun. After graduating from college, started visiting every 1-2 years with my wife and dogs. Never disappoints. We bring a puzzle and DVDs and plenty of wine. The dogs love the hikes, and there are so many options. Our favorite time of the year is Fall and Winter. The colors are phenomenal in the Fall. We have a great photo in February of the deer eating corn outside the window and our dogs just 4-6 inches away on the inside just staring at the deer. The food in the restaurant is reason enough to stay. We look forward to the food as much as the fun with our dogs. Our only disappointment has been that the last couple of years the new owners have not had as many Dog Lovers Weekends. They used to have at least 3 special weekends a year that dogs were not charged extra. But with 3-4 dogs, that is $100 extra per night. Miss visiting Gunflint, but until they revisit this policy, my visits will be limited.

Great outfitter. Great prices. Have come over the years to really like Gunflint....

I work here it's a nice place that has winter activities cross country skiing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing. The spring, summer and fall you can rent boats to fish the lake or just ride, you can go on horse back rides on trails, do canoeing and fishing guided trips, zip lining, and alot of hiking trail to be enjoyed also. The food we serve ranges from Burgers to steaks with duck specials, chicken specials, pasta creations and a vast amount of walleye fish items. We serve Breakfast also with your typical breakfast items eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, homemade jams, hash browns, special hash browns with meat toppings and a whole lot more. So all in all its a great place to come visit for the day or weekend. We also do weddings and catering for those also. We have multiple style of cabins ranging from Jacuzzi tubs and hot tubs with saunas in some to basic cold water cabins.

This was amazing dinner! Delicious and perfect in every way! It was our first time ever going here and my family wanted to take a picture, and the manager allowed us to take the picture behind the front desk. Awesome!!

Great place for a vacation. My 2nd visit there, and love it. Staff are very welcoming, and the resort is top notch. Plenty of activities to participate in, or do nothing at all but enjoy the beauty

Don't want to sound mean but the food did not taste great despite it being expensive.

Will definitely go back because of how beautiful the experience was though. Wow. Just wow.

This is the third time in four years that we have started our BWCA adventure using Gunflint Northwoods Outfitters. They do a fantastic job at very reasonable price. We also stay at the lodge overnight on our way in and after our last day. Ownership changed hands from the founding family in the last couple years. That has been a seamless, perfectly good change. No kinks or problems. Great experience and treatment throughout the years. If you want to camp and not buy all the gear, go here! Or, if you want a great North woods experience without trekking, camping and portaging, stay at the resort. The wealth of knowledge for everyone from beginners to experts is fantastic! We are already planning our trip for summer 2020!

Extremly helpful and friendly staff. They are also well knowledge in almost everything you need to know about for up there

Excellent cabins, winter activities, and service. The breakfast is great. My only complaint is that everything on site closes early. The outfitter closes at 3pm, so get going early for snowshoeing. The lodge (including restaurant and bar) closes at 9.

This place is perfect. The service was fantastic. The guided activities were fun and insightful. The views were to die for, as was the hiking. I can't wait to go back. It was truly paradise.

Zip lining on the gun flint trail was epic! These are no sissy zip lines. They are long, fast, and beautiful. Jack and Jody were awesome. Highly recommend you do it. They should snap some photos and sell them at the end.

Mandy is great and our group will be returning to the Gunflint lodge next year

The gunflint lodge has the best food ever. We always visit for the Walleye Chowder and everything else. I cannot say that we have had a bad experience or a bad meal! The views are perfect and the staff contributes to a great experience.

Gunflint is a magical getaway into the north woods. My wife and I have come again and again to escape into the fresh air and water. The forest provides for flora and fauna of all kinds. Timberwolves howl, bald eagles soar, and lake loons play their music. Just out of sight you may spot a giant moose or careful lynx coming for a sip of the sweet lake water. Wild blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and thimbleberries grow abundant and ache to be picked and complete their cycle of life. And for us at the lodge, it s a life of choose your own adventure: hiking, horseback, zip line, boating or canoe. Where you will go is only limited by your imagination, but the path to get their is ready and willing. Visit the high cliffs for a view that never ends. Follow the gunflint trail for a few miles in either direction at dawn and your animal encounters may vary. Boat out to Bridal Falls for a secret wispy waterfall. Canoe the Boundary Waters (BWCA) during a day trip. There s no wrong way to live in the north woods. Just wild and free. Calm and relaxing. Fresh and curious. We ll see you there.

Married my best friend here! Yummy food, we were treated like royalty! Man what an experience! Dog sledding, snowmobiling, hot tub, drinks, delicious breakfast, appetizers served to our cabin every night along with wine! We got married on the hard waters with Canada in the background! You can't tell me that not the best experience ever! Ohh and my husband got to see 2 nose! I love it there! Cant wait to take a trip back! Would love to explore the Summer activities! Honestly I could just move there! So peaceful! Every morning we got to watch this little chipmunk come up to our window and sit there eating bird seeds! Loved every minute!

We stayed in a canoer cabin, it was just right. Plenty of room for all of our stuff. Comfortable bunks and friendly neighbors. We spent time hiking, canoeing, and kayaking. It was very relaxing and we will be back.

Very peaceful, it is beautiful no matter where you look. Love it there!

Terrific Outfitter, with loads of knowledge of the surrounding BWCA area. Great staff and easy to work with and use. Recommend for Outfitting or staying in the area.

Bears broke into the cabin and the dope smokin hippie at the outfitters lied to us about having the windows repaired and is obviously not very bear savvy Remained "Bearanoid" the rest of our stay

My girlfriend and I did there zip line canopy tour. It took about two and a half hours and was exciting and fun.

It's worth the trip just to dine here. We stayed in the bunkhouse so I don't have much to say about that. The staff is friendly and helpful. There are many activities available as well as the fishing and boating.

I've never stayed here, but my family and I love to stop by for something to eat almost every time we come up the Gunflint Trail. They are open year-round and we've always had great food and service in a gorgeous setting. The gift shop is fun to check out. Their location is great and close to many hikes, lakes or just a lovely drive up the trail.

Before I start my review, I just wanted to say that I have not stay here. The reason I decide not continue on with my reservation was because:

Whomever was in charge of talking to their customer regarding their promotion with Groupon is awfully rude and lack customer services. She must of not had her coffee yet because right of the bat and throughout our conversation she was very discourteous. After I felt like this wasn't a friendly place to bring my family, I told her nicely, cancel my RSVP, instead of apologize, she just hung up on me. I wish I would of caught her name, but whomever was working 6/1/2016 @10:20a.m. I will pray for you tonight but please have someone with more training and friendlier to speak to your customers. I refunded what I brought from Groupon.

My fiance' and myself are getting married on the 30th of June and called last night to speak to someone about the honeymoon package. April helped us, and could not have been more pleasant and informative. If the couple of days after our wedding at Gunflint Lodge are half as good as April's customer service, we'll be extremely happy! Excited!

The quintessential northwoods experience. Cabins are comfortable. Food at the lodge is very tasty. Service is very helpful.

Gunflint lake itself is spectacular. Clear cold waters, beautiful views. Fishing.

What a great time! Horseback riding and zipline was super fun! We will be back!

By far the BEST experience ever! Great people, very welcoming staff, amazing food, tons to do and lots to see! Our cabin was beautiful and so homie! If We could rate a 100 stars we would! Our experience was better then expected! Mark was a awesome server/bartender! The sled dog lady was so cool! The ladies at the front check in desk were so very welcoming and made the trip so peaceful we didnt have to worry about anything! Wasn't easy leaving thats for sure! We would love to move up here so relaxing!

A wonderful place to rest play sports and enjoy the peace of the forest

Location was good for a get away from the city. The first evening we arrived we notice a terrible sewage smell in our cabin. It took three trips to the lodge reporting the smell before finally maintenance came and found a dead mouse under the couch on our last day. The smell made it very unpleasant to be in the cabin. Very disappointed with the lack of response from management.

Amazing! Come to relax! The views are amazing and peaceful. We went here for our honeymoon. They treated us well. Honeymoon bluf hike was amazing.

Friendly staff. Lots of fun activities. Beautiful location. What more do you need!

Everything was amazing and beautiful and above & beyond what we had dreamed and hoped for! You and your staff are our family now! Thank you SO much!!! We can not wait to visit you again soon!

Just spent the weekend here and easily a no brainier on wanting to come back. We stayed in one of the rustic cabins and we still going the accommodations very comfortable.

Incredible nature and create programs going on daily and a wide range of hiking trails that can fit almost and level hikers experience level from beginner to well versed.

We can on coming back and eventually will probably be here multiple times a year as the dog sled rides in the winter have definitely peaked out interest.

All this is topped off with quite possibly the friendliest and thoughtful staff I've ever seen.

It seems my initial review from last summer disappeared. I will drop my rating down another star for not keeping my first review. The staff was overworked and could not give good service at all. Just an odd vibe with the managers/owners. The smoked salmon special for $20 was a glorified mac and cheese and not described properly, certainly not worth $20.

It's a very nice looking place, excellent staff and amazing amenities

Stayed in canoers cabin, loved the experience! Breakfast lakeside. Wonderful!

We did the canopy tour here. It was a great experience! Just check your drive time, it says grand marais but its not grand marais on HWY 61, it's on the boarder of MN and Canada. We had great tour guides and the zip lines were amazing!! Definitely will return in the future.

Great place to retreat from the hustle of everyday life; a place to unwind and disconnect from the rest of the world. The definition of peace and quiet.

The place is magical. The cabins need some minor updates. Be aware though if you are staying with a meal plan included, the diner menues would alter daily without any changes printed in the menu. Unfortunately some sides would come much colder than excepted for the prices they charge. The fish dishes are great.

Honeymooned here a few weeks ago and had an absolute blast! The food was great, staff was classic "Minnesota Nice" and the cabin was unreal. I would never hesitate going back to the lodge. We hiked, boated, rode horseback, and zipped along their new canopy tour zip-line. Every night at dinner the owners stopped and chatted with each guest, offering advice for fishing, moose-sighting, or giving fun tidbits about the Gunflint Trail.

Well worth the drive from the cities, but beware there's no cell service and spotty WiFi in the lodge--but the seclusion from the real world is part of the charm of the place.

I've been here twice, with the first time being great --probably because it was not busy. On this visit, they were clearly understaffed for the crowd at the restaurant and it took well over 2 hours to get food. The poor, lone waitress was not equipped to handle the unforgiving task of waiting on a full house and managing the unfortunate situation.

We loved our experience on the zipline tour. Guides Austin and Jody were extremely professional, fun and safe. The ziplines were fantastic and the views magnificent!

Exceptional staff and accommodations, last weekend of March and we enjoyed 80 miles of snowmobile trails. Rare opportunity....

I love being in the beauty of the Northwood and all the lakes. BWCAW territory

We've been traveling to the cabin for decades but no one told me Gunflint Lodge, a few miles down the road, had great food at a decent price. We pack a minimum of groceries now for the cabin, and finish out many evenings with drinks, dinner, (and WiFi) at the lodge...dishes and store stops are getting to be a thing of the past!

Great atmosphere but frustrating stay. Difficult to explain on here but most frustrating part is the complimentary events were all booked before we arrived. I don't mean to go on a rant but we also had a mouse in the cabin. More of an urban style of resort. I brought my own boat but parking a truck and trailer was somewhat difficult. Had to disconnect the trailer to find parking. The best part was the staff were all very relaxed... yet sometimes this came off as unprofessional. Service was practically non-existent yet there's an 8% daily service charge. Almost gave it 3 stars just because the location is gorgeous. Maybe the owners are young and still learning the ropes. I may go back but not anytime soon.

Edit: per the owners response, the outfitters do have parking but there's a log placed so you cannot pull through to park an attached trailer. So I disconnected the trailer. It wasn't a big deal since I had to unhook the trailer anyway. I just didn't plan on doing it first thing upon arriving.

Also I don't know how you have only room for 8 people (9 including the capt) on your pontoon to bridal falls. The 8% daily service fee was ridiculous. We had no house keeping the entire time we were there and there was a huge mouse nest inside the bathroom. The outdoor grill was leaning so much we almost couldn't use it. The only actual service that was provided was when I walked up to the front desk to ask for ice and the young man started questioning me. He told me he could only do it this once. I didn't ask why, but I assume he meant he could only do this once per day.

I wish I could put 0 stars. Make sure to put their address in Google maps before you book!!! We wanted to go dog sledding and we booked through this Outfitters. Their address says Grand Marais, the tiny town just outside of Lutsen, however they are over an hour away from Grand Marias (pretty much in Canada). They said their address is Grand Marais because that's the closest city. When I called the lodge to discuss this and hopefully get a refund or a partial refund the girl I was speaking with hung on me when I mentioned refund. Their refund policy sucks by the way, no refund if cancelling within 72 hours and 50% refund if cancelling more than 72 hours in advance.

Great staff, very friendly and helpful. The Sunday BBQ buffet is exceptional. Have some ribs with the blueberry bbq sauce.... excellent. Best buffet I've ever had.

We did the elopement package and absolutely loved it! It was everything we wanted and more. We enjoyed ziplining, horseback riding, local hiking trails, and relaxing time in the fully equipped cabin. All of the staff, owners, and other guests were very nice. We felt very welcome. Our 6 month old puppy enjoyed the cabin and trails as much as we did. Wish we could have stayed longer to be able get out on the lake...hopefully next time.

The restaurant is a bit slow on getting food out but it's worth the wait. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the view! No cell phone service in the area but they do have wifi in the restaurant/main lodge and a curtousy phone available for free to guests. We will definitely be back for future anniversaries :)

Did the Towering Pines Canopy Zipline tour and it was awesome.

Very negative experience. Sounds like that is a trend there. We got our food 90 minutes after we arrived. They were out of every fish and fish comprises about 80% of their menu. Steak was terribly overcooked. Baked potato wasn t hot enough to melt the butter. Service was slow. The bathroom trash was overflowing with paper towels and the soap dispenser was broken. Additional staff was sitting around on the patio. My wife said she d rather microwave an Oscar Mayer hotdog for dinner than go back here

Wonderful place to visit! My favorite time is in the winter when ticks are no longer a problem. I went here before new ownership took over and have not been back as the prices have gone up. I hope to be back in the future I hope nothing changes.

Stopped for a nice dinner. Great food! Try the walleye chowder!

The Gunflint Trail is one of the longest "dead end" roads I've ever been down. Deep in the fire scarred northwoods, far from stressful bustle of the cities, near the end of the Trail, is the Lodge. The cabin I had the pleasure to stay in, one of the 'Romantic' ones, was designed so nice and comfy that I'm definitely pondering to copy the design and build one of my own in the future. The food at the main lodge (dinner and breakfast we had) was excellent. Gunflint Lake is but a few steps outside the cabin and quite pretty, even during the winter. With the lake frozen over, and the northern border at the halfway point in the lake, there was some fear of feral Canadiens wandering south from their frigid unihabitable wasteland, but thankfully the Lodge provided ample bags of critter feed to keep the Guardian Red Squirrels at their posts around the cabins, protecting the border from any incursions. There were also offerings at the Lodge to join in on other daily patrols via Dogsled during the winter and by horse during the summer as another line of defense against Moose Riding Canadiens. Overall, I'd give the Gunflint Lodge the highest marks. I had an extremely safe, relaxing, and enjoyable stay, and plan on staying again sometime in the future.

We visited Gunflint Lodge for the first time this year, and it was a wonderful experience! The cabin we stayed in was amazing - very spacious, with lots of amenities (fireplace, sauna, laundry, etc) and an amazing view of the lake. There were plenty of hiking trails to explore, and canoe rentals were free! I especially enjoyed feeding the many duck friends waddling along the beach. There was one in particular with a wounded/broken leg that left a soft spot in my heart. I would love to try the zipline tour next time we come - and there will definitely be a next time!

The only negative experience we had was on the evening of 9/22, when we decided to have dinner at the lodge restaurant. Let me preface by saying that I started out in my career as a server, so I have a lot of patience and compassion when it comes to the profession because I know it's not an easy job; however, it was not a very busy night and the service was beyond horrible. We waited nearly 40 minutes for our food to arrive cold - as though it had been ready on the counter for quite a while and forgotten - and then another 30 minutes just to get the check. Never once did the server come check up on us, and he came by once to refill my glass (long after it had been dry) without so much as a word. No apologies, no explanations. His nonchalance was like adding insult to injury. I sincerely hope you re-train this individual to maintain the high standards that you have clearly done so well to maintain in every other aspect of your establishment.

The only other constructive criticism and/or suggestions I have is to please consider making some minor improvements in your cabins: upgraded faucet fixtures in both the shower and sinks, softer towels, and nicer curtains in the main family room window (it was hard to get them to close all the way, because there was barely enough fabric to cover all the window panes). You have done so well to maintain the cabins and add some modern touches, but a little bit more will go a long way! Thank you for the wonderful overall experience. We will definitely be back again next year!

Gorgeous place to stay, friendly staff and owners. Multiple visits here and enjoy every time!