Hike Moose Viewing Trail at Superior National Forest

Rating	★★★☆☆(3/5)
Overall Difficulty	Easy
Navigation Difficulty	Easy
Distance	0.75 miles roundtrip
Time	30 minutes
Terrain	A few hills
Best Seasons	All
Family Friendly	Yes
Dog Friendly	Yes
Accessible	No

Highlights

Opportunity to see moose from a viewing deck
Old wrecked car

Hike Summary

While seeing moose here is not by any means guaranteed, the landscape here is ideal moose habitat. You can increase your chances of seeing a moose by visiting this trail at either dawn or dusk. The trail starts by following what seems like a dirt road before turning right as indicated by a sign. The trail is super short, and in less than ten minutes you will reach the platform pictured below.

Maybe if you wait patiently enough on this platform you'll see a moose

The view of the lake from the platform is less than satisfactory, and its apparent that many others agreed with my own disappointment by presence of use-trails between the platform and lakeshore. Normally I'm a proponent of never traveling beyond official trails, but I made an exception here because there were very clear paths and no wildlife destruction was involved. The result is the pretty picture below.

The small lake beneath the observation platform is quite pretty

After turning around and heading back the way you came, you might notice the wrecked car pictured below just off to the right of the trail before you reach the dirt road segment. I was shocked that I missed seeing something this large and obvious on my way in. To me this was a more exciting find than anything else on this hike, and the reason why I rated this 3 stars instead of 2. Why is there a car here and how did it get so beat up?

This wrecked old car is secretly the best part of the hike

Hopefully you'll be luckier than me and see some moose. Let me know if you're successful in the comments section below or by using #nocoastbestcoast on Twitter and Instagram!

Important Information

Dogs are allowed, and regulations don't explicitly state whether or not a leash is required, just that your dog remains "under control". This trail is great all year, though snow may make the drive more difficult. The short distance, wrecked car, and platform make this a good family friendly hike. I went on a late Friday afternoon and saw a couple people, but there may be more on a typical summer weekend.

Directions

From Grand Marais, drive up the Gunflint Trail (Cook County Highway 12) for about 22 miles. Watch for the brown sign for the Moose Viewing Trail, then turn left into the dirt lot.

Google Maps Directions