8-miles of wild ice skating on Hungry Jack Lake on the Gunflint Trail

8-miles of wild ice skating on Hungry Jack Lake on the Gunflint Trail  
Maintained skating path around the lake now open to the public 

Gunflint Trail, Minn. – January 3, 2024 – Those seeking a wild ice skating experience should head up to Hungry Jack Lake, about 25 minutes up the Gunflint Trail, where Hungry Jack Lodge is maintaining a multilane skating path. 

“True adventurers at heart, the business owners on the Gunflint Trail are always reinventing ways to introduce visitors to the wilderness experience,” said Linda Jurek, Executive Director of Visit Cook County. “Despite a slow start to winter, these kinds of new opportunities keep popping up.”

“We had to get a little creative this year,” said Forrest Parson, owner of Hungry Jack Lodge on the Gunflint Trail. “It took a few days to prepare the initial routes, but now that they’ve been established, we plan to keep maintaining this trail for the next couple of weeks or until we get a major snowstorm.” 

The skating path begins right at the lodge and loops around the entire circumference of Hungry Jack Lake, running beneath the iconic Honeymoon Bluff cliffs. In total, there is a little over 8-miles of managed trails as well as a rink right in front of the lodge. The trail is free and open to the public, however, visitors will need to bring their own skates.  

For those looking for a post-skate beverage or meal, Hungry Jack Lodge is open daily at 11:00am for food and beverage service. 

Visit Cook County, Minnesota 
Visit Cook County encompasses the northeastern Minnesota communities of Lutsen, Tofte, Schroeder, Grand Marais, the Gunflint Trail and Grand Portage, commonly referred to as “the Arrowhead” and the “North Shore of Lake Superior.”  Grand Marais, Minn., has earned several national accolades — most recently, it was named America's Best Small Lake Town by Travel & Leisure Magazine, USA Today’s Best Midwestern Small Town, and Outside Magazine’s The 16 Best Places to Live in the U.S. 2016. Rekindle your sense of adventure by exploring the Superior National Forest or paddling through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Discover what makes the communities of Cook County, Minn. “Naturally Unforgettable.” Connect on social media using #donorthmn, Twitter @CookCoVisitors, Facebook, or Instagram @donorthmn. Learn more at VisitCookCounty.com.

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