Gitchi-Gami Trail Association

Help Support a Great Trail on our Great Lake!

When completed, the Gitchi-Gami State Trail (GGST) will be an 88-mile non-motorized, paved recreational trail betweeno Harbors and Grand Marais, Minnesota. About 35  miles have been completed to date, including 3 newly constructed segments!

New segments include:

1) A new segment in Two Harbors opened in Spring 2025! This segment, about a mile long begins near the Two Harbors campground and travels to the intersection with the Superior Shores Road... this is the first step to getting to the beautiful Flood Bay State Wayside. This trail segment will tie into the network of trails in the City of Two Harbors. Let's roll!

2) A new 1.5 mile segment added length to the trail in the Lutsen area in Spring 2025! This swoopy lil' segment between the Ski Hill Road and the Arrowhead Electric area of Lutsen ties into another 12 or so miles of trail connecting the 3 Cook County communities of Lutsen, Tofte and Schroeder. This segment brings trail users one step closer to getting into the "Town Center" area of Lutsen and we are working hard to see the next phase of trail funded and ready to construct in 2027 or 2028!

3) As we type, a super exciting trail construction project is happening! There has long been a gap in the Cook County trail segment in the Town of Tofte and crews are hard at work pouring curb and gutter, installing culverts and getting ready to pave the trail! This will forge a 13+ mile segment of trail in Cook County linking Schroeder, Tofte, and Lutsen tying in great waysides, Temperance River State Park, lots of great small businesses, museums, town parks, worker housing and so much more! We're so pumped about this!

The Gitchi-Gami Trail Association (GGTA) is a private, non-profit, all-volunteer organization incorporated in July 1997, working to make the GGST a reality. Its mission is to promote, plan, construct, and maintain a premier recreational trail connecting the communities, state parks, and points of interest along the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Working in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC), the GGTA has sought funding for the trail and helped facilitate its design and maintenance.

Membership dues are used, in part, to pay for the GGTA's operations budget. These funds are used to create our newsletter and other publications, to organize and publicize our annual trail ride, and to contract for professional assistance in our efforts to fund the development and construction of the GGST through legislation and grants. This year we are also hard at work on a website redesign and your membership and donation dollars will help us impove this great tool to connect people to the trail! Funds are also used to assist with trail maintenance and special projects through our collaboration with the DNR. Most important, with your help, we contracted with ARDC, our great partner, for indispensable administrative services for our small but enthusiastic organization.

You can read more about the Gitchi-Gami State Trail and the GGTA at www.ggta.org, and on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/gitchigamitrailassociation. 

The GGTA membership is statewide. A large percentage of GGTA members live outside the Lake Superior watershed.This widespread membership is key to developing broad state and federal legislative support for the completion of the trail. Please consider supporting the GGTA.

   Support this GREAT trail on our Great Lake!