I’m not sure which is more impressive:
Naniboujou’s food or architecture.

The sun is shining. The skies are fairly clear. It’s warming up. It may just be spring!

Regardless of the weather, I always enjoy the gastronomic signs of spring. Trail Center and The Dockside Fish Market and the Angry Trout are now all open for business. The World’s Best Donut shop opens again on May 21st.

And the one event our whole area embraces is Mother’s Day brunch at Naniboujou Lodge. This is where many of the “locals” go to catch up. Some of our friends have been someplace warm for a few months. Others have stayed home in the woods and haven’t done much socializing. There is a wait–sometimes a long wait–but no one seems to care. The solarium is full of people catching up with all they missed over the winter. The long wait actually seems short.

Naniboujou is just 15 miles away from Stone Harbor.

And the food is worth the wait! Almost all of the ingredients used in cooking at Naniboujou are local. Many of the menu items are gluten free or can be ordered gluten free.

What is Naniboujou? The lodge is located about 15 miles east Grand Marais on Highway 61 on the way to Grand Portage. It opened originally in the late 1920’s as a private club with charter members like Jack Dempsey and Babe Ruth. It was to be very exclusive and have all the amenities the likes not seen before in this part of the state, or really anywhere for a long distance. And then came the stock market crash and it never really got very far.

The present owners have had it for about 30 years and have made many improvements to the building. It is a place of solitude and quiet. No TVs. No phones in the rooms. No internet connections. No nightclub. But what it has are beautiful grounds and fabulous meals. The rooms are small but you are in the northland. What are you doing in your room? You should be across the road at Judge Magney State Park, hiking up to Devil’s Kettle. Or up the road to Grand Portage going to the state park or national monument. You are about 65 miles from Thunder Bay so bring your passport. Oh…I almost forgot…a short drive of 15 miles brings you back to Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply.