Lakefront MN Family Vacations

GUNFLINT TRAIL SNOW UPDATE
Well things have been a bit brisk here the past few days. We had -24F this morning, not very nice weather for being outside. This cold weather is great for the lakes and swamps that did not get a good freeze early on.

We did get some new snow on Thursday night maybe 2-3 inches with a little more closer to Lake Superior. We did not get any snow out of the big storm that crossed the central and southern MN. I would say our snow depth is still right around 18” give or take a little bit depending upon where you are at along the Gunflint Trail.


We have been working very hard getting our new menu put together as well as getting all of the cabins ready for winter. We have also upgraded 4 of our Gunflint Trail rental snowmobiles this year. We will still have a fleet of 6 sleds, two Polaris Super Sports and four 2010 Trail Touring’s.

MINNESOTA WINTER RESORT RE-OPENS
Hungry Jack Lodge, on the Gunflint Trail, is scheduled to re-open on December 26th for the snowmobiling and ice fishing seasons. It looks like we should have great conditions for snowmobiling when we re-open.

We have only 2 winter cabins for rent for the New Year’s weekend. We’re sure that the two remaining winter cabins that are available will be rented very soon. So, if you are planning on snowmobiling the Gunflint Trail over the New Year’s weekend, be sure to make your MN winter cabin rental reservation quickly.

In fact, reservations for our Gunflint Trail winter cabins are beginning to get filled on a regular basis. Be sure to book your reservations early so that you can be assured of getting a winter rental cabin at our MN snowmobile resort on the dates that you have your trip planned.

GUNFLINT TRAIL WINTER ACTIVITIES

DECEMBER 31 --- We will be having a New Year’s Eve party in the Logger Lounge at Hungry Jack Lodge.

JANUARY 15 --- Lake Trout Ice Fishing season Opens. To celebrate the opening of Trout Season we will have the Demeritt band playing in the Loggers Lounge beginning at 8 PM.

FEBRUARY 18 and 19 --- The Eddie Mac Band will be playing in the Loggers Lounge at Hungry Jack Lodge on the Gunflint Trail. The Eddie Mac Band is one, if not THE favorite bands in the Minnesota northwoods. Below is a video of the Eddie Mac Band playing at WTIP radio studios.




FEBRUARY 18 --- GUNFLINT RAILSNOWMOBILE DRAG RACES on Hungry Jack Lake at Hungry Jack Lodge. Sign up at 11 am. Drag racing starts at noon. This is probably the biggest event on the Gunflint Trail during the winter season. Come early stay late. Enjoy food, your favorite beverages, drag racing and the Eddie Mac Band at 9 pm. It just doesn’t get any better than this.

VISIT OUR GUNFLINT TRAIL RESORT WEBSITE
For more information about Hungry Jacvk Lodge, on the Gunflint Trail, in Grand Marais, MN please visit our website http://www.hungryjacklodge.com/ Online winter cabin reservations are available on our website or phone (reservation only phone) us with your reservations at (800) 338-1566

MN SNOWMOBILING & ICE FISHING
Hungry Jack Lodge winter resort on the Gunflint Trail, in Grand Marais MN is currently closed while we get ready for our re-opening on December 26th, for the snowmobiling and ice fishing seasons of 2010-2011. We’re busy getting our last boats and docks out of the water, cutting and stacking firewood for the fireplaces in our winter rental cabins and are preparing for winter in general.

The Minnesota snowmobiling and ice fishing seasons will soon be here. We’ve already had light snow a few times this month. THINK SNOW!!!

GUNFLINT TRAIL SNOWMOBILE RENTALS
A couple of weeks ago we wrote that we were getting a total of 4 new snowmobiles for our Grand Marais and Gunflint Trail snowmobile rental fleet. The new snowmobiles will be Polaris sleds and not Arctic Cat as we previous wrote. We will be getting 2 new two-up and 2 new one-up snowmobiles to add to our snowmobile livery fleet.

We will be retiring 4 of our oldest rental snowmobiles (two 2-up and two 1-up) and replacing them with the brand new Polaris sleds. In total, Hungry Jack Lodge will have six 2009 and 2010 model year Polaris snowmobiles available to rent in the Grand Marais, MN, Gunflint Trail area during the 2010-2011 snowmobiling season.

Snowmobile rental rates for the sleds in our snowmobile rental fleet are already among the most affordable in the Grand Marais and Gunflint Trail area and our snowmobile rental rates will remain the same as they were last year.

The Hungry Jack Lodge, Gunflint Trail, and Grand Marais, MN snowmobile rental rate is $185 for a full day. Hourly, Week-end and Weekly snowmobile rental packages can be arranged. Call 1-800-338-1566 to reserve your snowmobile rental or to arrange a special pricing package.

MN WINTER LOG CABIN AND CABIN RENTALS
The 2010-2011 winter cabin rental rates at our Grand Marais, Gunflint Trail snowmobiling and ice fishing resort will not change and will be the same as they were during the previous MN winter season. Our Minnesota winter resort has cabins and log cabins available for rent that can accommodate from 2 in a smaller sized cabin and up to 20 people in our large “Deer” Log Lodge.

For more information about any of our Gunflint Trail winter log cabin rentals, be sure to check out the Winter Cabin Rentals page of the Hungry Jack Lodge website. Cabin rental reservations can be made online, directly from our website, or feel free to call us at (800) 338-1566 with any questions that you may have.

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We’ve been real busy at Hungry Jack Lodge getting ready for the Minnesota snowmobile and ice fishing season. We have most of the cabins that will not be open for the winter winterized, the fishing docks and all but a couple of boats out of the lake. Firewood is being cut and stacked at the winter log cabins and cabins that will be open and available for rent during the winter.

Hungry Jack Lodge will be closed beginning October 24th and will re-open for the Gunflint Trail snowmobiling and MN ice fishing seasons on December 26th, the day after Christmas. THINK SNOW!


GRAND MARAIS & GUNFLINT TRAIL SNOWMOBILE RENTALS

We will be getting 4 new snowmobiles to add to our Grand Maris, MN and Gunflint Trail snowmobile rental fleet, for the 2010 – 2011 MN snowmobile season. We will be adding two 1-up and two 2-up sleds. Though we are not absolutely sure at this point in time, the new rental snowmobiles will probably be Arctic Cat’s.

Our Gunflint Trail rental snowmobiles usually are booked fast during the winter season on the Gunflint Trail. So, we suggest that if someone in your winter vacation party needs to rent a sled, contact us at the earliest possible date to reserve one of our rental snowmobiles. It’s probably best to reserve a snowmobile rental at the same time that you book your winter cabin rental, at our Grand Marais, Gunflint Trail, Minnesota winter resort.

Snowmobile rental reservations must be made by phone and cannot be made online. Call (800) 338-1566 to reserve a rental snowmobile for the Grand Marais, MN and Gunflint Trail area.

NORTHERN MINNESOTA WINTER CABINS

The rates for our MN winter log cabins and cabin rentals will not changed for the 2010 – 2010 winter season and will be the same as they were for last winter. See the Gunflint Trail Winter Cabin Rentals page of the Hungry Jack Lodge website for more details on our winter log cabin rentals and winter cabin rentals at our Gunflint Trail snowmobiling and ice fishing resort.

GUNFLINT TRAIL 2010 RUFFED GROUSE SEASON

In our last Blog entry we disputed the MN DNR prediction that the ruffed grouse hunting season in the Arrowhead region of MN would be down from the 2009 grouse hunting season. Local observations of ruffed grouse indicated, and we predicted, that the 2010 grouse hunting season should be good and not down as the Minnesota DNR had predicted, based on the DNR’s spring drumming counts.

Well, we were correct. The 2010 ruffed grouse hunting season has proven to be absolutely phenomenal. Grouse hunters at our Gunflint Trail resort in NE Minnesota are doing exceptional well and the ruffed grouse harvest is one of the best that we’ve ever seen. There are more grouse this year than anyone can remember in the recent past.



The MN ruffed grouse hunting season runs through 1/2/2011. However, you have only a couple of weeks left to come on up and hunt grouse at Hungry Jack Lodge, due to the fact that we will be closing on October 24th for a short break before we re-open for the 2010 – 2011 MN snowmobiling and Gunflint Trail ice fishing season on December 26th.

We suggest that you call now to reserve one of our northern MN log cabins before you end up missing the great ruffed grouse hunting that is in full swing right now in Gunflint Trail area of NE Minnesota. Online cabin reservations are available from our website. http://www.hungryjacklodge.com/  Or, Call us at (800) 338-1566 to make your cabin reservation and enjoy what remains of a great ruffed grouse hunting season.

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Ruffed Grouse populations tend to rise and fall on a 10-year cycle and populations are surveyed by counting the number of male ruffed grouse heard drumming on established routes throughout Minnesota’s forested regions.

LOCAL OBSERVATIONS - RUFFED GROUSE
2009 was an excellent ruffed grouse hunting year. Based on our observations and in our opinion, the ruffed grouse hunting season for 2010 should be at least as good, if not better than the 2009 ruffed grouse season.

Our opinion is based on personal observations plus conversations with various UPS drivers, food service & beverage delivery drivers and others who drive almost all of the local roads on a continuous basis. Pretty much everyone that is frequently on the back roads, in the Gunflint Trail area of northern Minnesota, says that they are seeing more ruffed grouse than they did last year, which as an excellent grouse hunting year.

Keep in mind that our prediction is based on the actual observations of ruffed grouse and is not based on spring drumming counts, which are used by the Minnesota DNR to estimate the ruffed grouse population in northeastern Minnesota.

MN DNR RUFFED GROUSE ESTIMATES
According to the Minnesota DNR, ruffed grouse drumming counts were significantly lower in 2010 than they were in 2009, across most of their range.

The Minnesota DNR claims that ruffed grouse drumming counts decreased 31% compared to those in 2009 in the northeast survey region, which makes up the core and bulk of the grouse range in Minnesota. However, even though the DNR estimates a decrease in ruffed grouse, the numbers are still closer to those at the high end of rather than the low end of the 10-year cycle.

WHO TO BELIEVE
Due to the fact that the Minnesota DNR ruffed grouse spring drumming counts and our own late summer observations of ruffed grouse conflict, it will be interesting to see if 2010 goes down as an excellent ruffed grouse hunting season.

Keep in mind that the MN DNR prediction is an estimate based on spring drumming counts and our prediction is based on actual late summer observations of ruffed grouse by local people.

Only time will tell how good 2010 turns out for Minnesota ruffed grouse hunters.

GROUSE HUNTING AT HUNGRY JACK LODGE
The Gunflint Trail area of northeastern MN is one of the best (if not THE BEST) ruffed grouse hunting areas in the Untied States. As a result, Hungry Jack Lodge, located on the Gunflint Trail, is the temporary home to a fairly large number of grouse hunters during the MN grouse hunting season. Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground offers everything that grouse hunters want or need.

Small game hunting licenses are available at Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground. Lakefront log cabins and cottages are available for rent at our Gunflint Trail resort and we also have campsites that will accommodate tents up to large motor homes.

Do your own cooking or enjoy breakfast and dinner in our new lake view main lodge. The Loggers lounge in the lower level of our lodge offers beer, wine and full liquor service along with multiple TV’s, pool table, darts and video games.

For more information about grouse hunting at Hungry Jack Lodge visit the Minnesota hunting page of our website at www.hungryjacklodge.com/hunting_bwca.htm Information about our lakefront rental cabins can be found at www.hungryjacklodge.com/deluxe-lakeside-family-resort-cabins.htm and for information about our northern MN lakeside campground visit www.hungryjacklodge.com/camp.htm

This year there is a new attraction and activity on the Gunflint Trail which is ideal for those not so perfect weather days, when the weather happens to be a little too windy and the lake is rough or if it is raining. The 50 acre Chic-Wauk Museum and Nature Center, located near the end of the Gunflint Trail was opened on July 4th.

Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center is being run by the Gunflint Trail Historical Society and offers a number of interpretive and interactive displays, videos and photos, all of which describes the natural and cultural history of the Gunflint Trail. In addition to the inside displays and activities at Chik-Wauk there are also picnic areas, overlooks and a number of interpretive hiking trails.

Though we have not had the opportunity to personally visit Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center we have heard from others that it is very interesting and informative, especially for those who not aware of or want to learn more about the rich history of the Gunflint Trail.

Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center is located on the southeast edge of Saganaga Lake near the end of the Gunflint Trail. To reach Chik-Wauk, follow the Gunflint Trail (Cook County Road 12) 55 miles from Grand Marais, MN to Moose Pond Drive (Cook County Road 81). Turn right and travel 1/4 mile to the entry gate for Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center.

2010 GUNFLINT TRAIL WEATHER
The weather here at our Gunflint Trail family and fishing resort has been great so far this year. We’ve had a few days of rain here and there, which is need to keep the surrounding forest and woods out of high fire danger. Our temperatures have been as near perfect as we could ask for, ranging mostly in the mid 70’s for the most part. With the weather co-operating, our lakefront cabin rental guests and full service northern MN campground guests have had good to great fishing, ideal days on which to canoe and to hike on one of the many hiking trails.

MINNESOTA FAMILY FISHING RESORT INFORMATION
Need more information about our northern MN lakeside resort? Visit our website at http://www.hungryjacklodge.com/ to find out more about our northern Minnesota lakefront family and fishing resort on the Gunflint Trail, near Grand Marais, MN. Or, call us at (218) 388-2265. Reservations for our lakeside rental log cabins can be made with your credit card from our website 24/7 or by calling us at (800) 338-1566.

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MN FAMILY RESORT VIRTUAL TOUR
Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground has finished updating the Virtual Tour on the Hungry Jack Lodge website. The Virtual Tour of our resort has a totally new look and feel to it and offers a larger viewing area.

The new Virtual Tour has been expanded to include many new scenes that were not in the older version of our Virtual Tour. Though many of the Cabin scenes have not changed there are a multitude of new scenes of our recently completed lakefront log main lodge building (inside and outside) in addition to new Virtual Tour scenes of the Hungry Jack Lodge family resort grounds.

Be sure to visit our Gunflint Trail Resort Virtual Tour page to view the new Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground Virtual Tour. You’ll be able to see what our Grand Marais MN, Gunflint Trail family and fishing resort has to offer vacationers at our northern MN family and fishing resort.



“ALL YOU CAN EAT” DINNERS ON THE GUNFLINT TRAIL
In addition to our new Virtual Tour you can now also see our “all you can eat” Summer Dinner Menu on our lakefront resort website. Lightly battered Walleye, baby back ribs and scrumptious steaks are just a few of the items on our menu. Visit the Grand Marais Lakeside Dining page of our website to see or print our summer menu.

Just a reminder --- We do require one day notice for dinner reservations. Call (218) 388-2262 for “all you can eat” dinner reservations at our Gunflint Trail resort.

HUNGRY JACK LAKE GIVES UP 31" WALLEYE
Josh Hallberg caught the 31" walleye shown below on Hungry Jack Lake, during his 3 day stay at Hungry Jack Lodge. He caught the "wall hanger" on Saturday, July 10th by trolling with a Rapala.

As I mentioned in our last posing, even though it is the middle of summer and the weather is warm fishing is still good. You might have to work a little bit to get a nice walleye like Josh caught but the walleyes, small mouthed bass and an occassional northern pike are still biting.

MINNESOTA GUNFLINT TRAIL CAMPGROUND
Let’s face it there are a number of places to camp in the Gunflint Trail area. So how do you choose where to camp during your northern MN vacation? In order to figure out which campground on the Gunflint Trail is best for you, you have ask yourself a couple of questions.

Do you want to stay in a Forest Service campground without running water, showers and flush toilets? Do you want to stay at a campground along the Gunflint Trail or elsewhere and hear a lot of traffic noise? Or, would you like a Gunflint Trail campground right next to a gravel road so you can eat dust from passing cars?

If you answered YES to any of the foregoing questions then the Gunflint Trail campground at Hungry Jack Lodge & Campground is not for you. We do not have road noise from the Gunflint Trail or dust due to being next to a gravel road. On the other hand, our northern Minnesota lakeside campground on Hungry Jack Lake is a full service MN campground with electric and water hook ups, shower house and a dump station for your motor home or RV.  Fire pits and picnic tables are in every campsite and free campfire wood is available.

In addition to being a full service MN campground, all of the amenities and services of Hungry Jack Lodge are available to you and your camping party. Canoe rentals, pontoon boat rentals, fishing boat & motor rentals are available along with bait and Gunflint Trail fishing guide service.

You can be a pampered camper at Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground on the Gunflint Trail in Grand Marais, MN. Tired of cooking in your campsite over a fire or small stove? Treat your family to one of our “all you can eat” family style dinners in our lakeside dining room. If you or someone needs to keep in touch with your office or check your email you can walk to our main resort log lodge and use our free WiFi. Our “Loggers Lounge” is of course available to you and offers full beverage service including cocktails. You’ll also find a pool table, darts and an electronic hunting game in the Loggers Lounge along with tables to play cards or other games.

NORTHERN MN FISHING

There have been some people catching nice sized Lake Trout on Leo Lake. Leo Lake is right next to Hungry Jack lake and is well known for trout fishing. Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground does offer fishing boats for rent for trout fishing on Leo Lake.

During the mid-summer and at other times, when the fish are not as plentiful as during the spring and fall months, we highly recommend that our guests use our professional fishing guide service. Being local professionals our Gunflint Trail fishing guides know what is biting where and what fishing baits and methods will work best to insure that you have a great day of fishing. We suggest that you book a fishing guide at the earliest possible date, due to the fact that our fishing guides get booked up quickly. Fishing Guide service is available for a half or full day through Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground.

BOUNDAY WATER CANOE AREA DAY TRIP
The new BWCAW Day Trip video on Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground Summer Activities page of our website has been a great hit. For those of you have not seen the video, I suggest that you view it on the Gunflint Trail Summer Activities page or the MN Photo Galleries page of our website. The video gives canoe paddling directions from our Minnesota family and fishing resort to Rose Falls, which is inside the BWCA(W) between Duncan Lake and Rose lake, on the U.S. Canadian border.

The video has spurred considerable interest and more people are now taking this 3 to 5 hour canoe day trip into the BWCAW from Hungry Jack Lodge. Canoe rentals for the Rose Falls and Stairway Portage canoe day trip are available from Hungry Jack Lodge to both guests and non-guests of our northern Minnesota resort & campground. If you have never been to the Rose Lake waterfall I strongly suggest that you do. The day trip to Rose Falls and Stairway Portage is a relatively easy canoe trip that can be enjoyed by young and old alike.

GRAND MARAIS DINING ON THE GUNFLINT TRAIL
Hungry Jack Lodge has always been well known for it's “all you can eat” family style dinners and this year it is even more popular. With a spectacular tranquil lake view of Hungry Jack Lake, the dining room in our new log lodge is even more beautiful than our old Gunflint Trail dining room had been. Our dining menu changes daily and offers some of the best food, lovingly prepared by Chef Ericka and Chef Forrest that you’ll find in northern Minnesota.

Dining is available to guests and non-guest of Hungry Jack Lodge & Campground. Our dining room is a one of the favorite places to eat for local residents from Grand Marais and the Gunflint Trail area. Reservations for our “all you can eat” family style meals are required no later than the day before your dinner.

NEED MORE INFORMATION?
If you need more information about Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground please visit our website at http://www.hungryjacklodge.com/ or phone us at 218-388-1566. Online cabin reservations are available 24/7 from our website. For dinner or campground reservation please call 800-338-1566

Almost everyone who visits the Gunflint Trail and northeastern Minnesota has heard of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Unfortunately, there are many visitors and guests staying on the Gunflint Trail that think that you have to canoe and camp overnight inside the BWCA in order to experience the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. That misconception is not true.

BWCAW CANOE DAY TRIPS
One of the popular Gunflint Trail summer activities, for people staying at a resort on the Gunflint Trail is to take a day trip into the Boundary Waters. There are many unforgettable “canoe day trips” into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area that can be made easily by people who are not experienced canoe paddlers. One of the better known canoe day trips into the BWCA is to go to Stairway Portage and Rose Falls, a waterfall between Duncan Lake and Rose Lake near the U.S./Canadian border.

Being adjacent to the BWCA(W), Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground is an excellent starting location for a canoe day trip to Rose Falls and Stairway Portage. Canoe rentals are available from Hungry Jack Lodge & Campground for BWCA(W) day trips and are very reasonably priced. So, unless you have your own canoe, we suggest that you get your Gunflint Trail canoe rental at Hungry Jack Lodge. By renting a canoe from Hungry Jack Lodge you will be able to leave for Stairway Portage and Rose Falls right from Hungry Jack Lake and not need to load a canoe on the top of your car and drive it up to Hungry Jack Lake.

DIRECTIONS TO ROSE FALLS WATERFALL
There are some people that are afraid that they will get lost is they canoe in the Boundary Waters. Trust me when I say that you won’t get lost. The trip to Rose Falls waterfall and Stairway Portage is simple and requires only a moderate amount of physical effort. For directions to Rose Falls watch the video shown below.



PLAN YOUR ROSE FALL CANOE DAY TRIP
Be sure to read the regulations shown below. Pack a lunch, snacks and water for your trip. Be sure not to take things that need to be kept cold. Make sure your camera batteries are charged. (You’ll probably take a lot of photos.) You may want to take a towel, dry shoes and possibly pants and leave them in your car so that you have dry/clean clothes when you return, if you get wet during your trip. Don’t forget the sunscreen and a cap.

Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground does have snacks, beverages and drinks available in the lakeside “Loggers Lounge” located in the main lodge at our Gunflint Trail family and fishing resort. “All You Can Eat”, family style dinners are available at Hungry Jack Lodge but require advanced reservations. Plan ahead, by making your dinner reservation the day before your canoe day trip (call us at 1-218-388-2265). Then, when you return from your BWCAW canoe day trip to Rose Falls you can relax and have a drink or two before dinner in what many consider the nicest lodge and dining room on the Gunflint Trail.

BWCAW REGULATIONS
Permits are required to enter the Boundary Waters and must be carried with you during your BWCA trip. Free Day Use Permits are available at Hungry Jack Lodge. Motors are not allowed on Duncan Lake or most lakes within the BWCA. The maximum group size in the Boundary Waters is nine people and four watercraft. Pack out whatever trash you have. Do not throw fish remains or litter in the lakes. Cans and glass bottles are not allowed in the BWCAW. Containers of insect repellent, medicines and other items that are not foods or beverages are the only cans or bottles allowed. Read the full BWCAW Regulations.

GUNFLINT TRAIL RESORT
Hungry Jack Lodge & Campground on the Gunflint Trail in northern MN has lakeside cabins and log cabins for rent. In addition to our Gunflint Trail lakefront cabins, we have a 13 campsites campground with water and electric hook-up, shower house and a central dump station. Secure online cabin reservations are available on our Gunflint Trail family resort website. Reservations for our northern Minnesota lakeside campground are not available online and must be made by phone. Boats, motors, canoes and pontoon boats are available for rent. The lake view “Loggers Lounge” in the lower level of our Gunflint Trail, Grand Marais, MN resort offers full beverage service, pizza and snacks.

For more information about Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground be sure to visit our website at http://www.hungryjacklodge.com/ or call us at 1-218-388-2265. For cabin, campground or dinner reservations call us at 1-800-338-1566.

Well, what do you think?  Do you like the new look of the Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground News/Blog?  We hope that you like it.

The layout and look of our blog previously used one of the plain looking generic templates that was available from Blogger.  The new blog template uses a newer graphic logo in the Header of the blog that emulates the new main lodge building at our northern Minnesota lakefront family resort.  The new logo was created by graphic artist Cathi Erickson.  This new logo will be used by Hungry Jack Lodge & Campground on all of the new printings of our brochures and other printed matter.

Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summer.  Beginning Memorial Day weekend we will start serving the family style all-you-can-eat dinners that we at Hungry Jack Lodge are so well known for.  Reminder - Dinner reservations at our MN lakefront family resort must be made a day in advance.  So, if you want some of the best cooking available in all of MN while overlooking Hungry Jack Lake from our Gunflint Trail lakeside dining room of our lodge be sure to call Hungry Jack Lodge (800-388-1566) and  make your dinner reservations in advance.

SUMMER IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER
The photo on the right is of John Gulbranson.  John caught this 28 walleye in his usual fishing spot right off the dock on Saturday May 22. He caught and released this beauty. He was using a large sucker minnow fishing off the bottom in about 10 ft of water.

I know that we sometimes sound like a broken record about this issue, but be sure to make your vacation reservations at our northern MN family and fishing resort early.  That's the only way that you can insure getting the lakeside log cabin or rental cottage  that you want on the dates that you need or want. Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground offers safe and secure online MN cabin and cottage reservations.  Or, if you prefer you can call us at 800-388-1566 to make your Gunflint Trail rental cabin reservations and.  Reservations for the northern Minnesota campground at Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground must be made by phone and are not excepted using our online reservation system at this time.

The MN walleye and northern pike fishing seasons open on May 15th In 2009 the ice was not totally out of most Gunflint Trail lakes until just a few days before the MN walleye opener but this year Hungry Jack Lake and most other lakes in northern Minnesota were ice free a few weeks ago. Only time will tell as to whether the walleye fishing will be as good during the first few weeks of the season this year as it was in 2009.

Clean out your tackle box and get your lakefront fishing cabin booked at Hungry Jack Lodge on the Gunflint Trail in northern Minnesota as soon as possible. We already have a number of reservations for the Walleye Opener and expect to fill up lakefront rental cabins quickly.

MN LAKEFRONT RESORT ONLINE RESERVATIONS AVAILABLE
Unfortunately our online reservation system for cabin rental was down for a few weeks in April.

But, during this past week we have switched our lakeside cottage and log cabin Online Reservations to a new system. The new reservation system for our lakefront rental cabins now offers more photos of our cabins and cottages along with better descriptions. Just as in the past, you can be assured that any cabin or log cabin reservations that you make at our lakeside Gunflint Trail, Grand Marais, MN resort using our online reservations is totally secure.

VIRTUAL TOUR OF OUR MN FAMILY RESORT
The Virtual Tour of our Gunflint Trail resort has over the past couple of year become outdated, but we are in the process of being brought up to date.

During the winter 10 new “scenes” were shot at two different locations for our northern Minnesota resort Virtual Tour. There are now scenes of our newly constructed log lodge, including the main level with dining & sitting areas and gift shop, “loggers lounge” bar level and a number of exterior scenes.

Our old family lakefront resort Virtual Tour had been lacking tour “scenes” of our premium Elk log cabin. There are now 3 different Elk Cabin virtual tour scenes available for you to view.

The new virtual tour scenes of our MN lakeside resort are available for your viewing on the Virtual Tour page of our website and can be accessed by clicking on the text link for the scenes. We plan on shooting additional scenes for the virtual tour of our MN family and fishing resort during this coming summer. Once all of the new scenes are shot, our virtual tour will be totally re-created to include all of the new virtual tour scenes at our.

MN CABINS, LOG CABINS COTTAGE RENTALS
The rental cabins, log cabins and cottages at our Gunflint Trail, Grand Marais, MN lakeside resort are booking fairly fast for the MN summer fishing and Boundary Waters Canoe Area canoeing season. As always, our lakefront cabins and log cabins rent on a first come first serve basis. Each of our lakefront cabins is unique and many of our returning guests have a “favorite” cabin that they prefer. To make sure that you get the cabin that you want, on the dates that you want, we suggest that you book your cabin at our northern Minnesota resort as soon as you know your vacation dates.

Reservations for our campground are not available using our online reservation system at this time. Reserve one of our 13 northern MN campsites by calling (800) 338-1566. All of the facilities of Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground are available to campground guests.

We suggest that you book your lakeside cabin at our Gunflint Trail family fishing resort by using our online reservation system. However, if you have questions or for some other reason prefer to book by telephone please do not hesitate to call us at (800) 338-1566.

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The winter snowmobiling season at our Gunflint Trail lakefront resort has come to an end. We are in somewhat of a lull here at our MN lakeside family fishing resort as everyone awaits the beginning of MN fishing season.

The opening date for Minnesota Walleye fishing is May 15th. The summer Lake Trout and northern pike fishing seasons begin on the same date. May 29th is the opening date for Large Mouth Bass and Small Mouth Bass.

Because our MN family fishing resort is so popular with anglers we already have a number of lakefront cabin rental reservations for the week of the Walleye/Lake Trout opening season. However, there are still a few fishing cabin rental vacancies at our Gunflint Trail resort. If you and your friends or family plan on fishing during the week of the Walleye Opener we suggest that you make your rental cabin reservations at Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground very soon. We’re sure that remaining lakefront fishing cabins at our Grand Marais, Gunflint Trail resort will fill up quickly.

Being adjacent to the Boundary Water Canoe Area (BWCAW) guests at our northern Minnesota fishing resort also have the opportunity to fish the mid Gunflint Trail lakes inside the Boundary Waters (BWCA(W) very easily. Walleye fishing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is only two very short portages away from your lakefront fishing cabin at our Hungry Jack Lake resort.

Gunflint Trail fishing guide service is available at Hungry Jack Lodge family resort. Boat and canoe rentals are also available at our lakeside resort. Our family fishing resort also has live bait and MN fishing licenses along with a limited amount of fishing tackle.



For more information about Hungry Jack Lodge and Campground, located off the Gunflint Trail in Grand Marais MN., please visit our website at http://www.hungryjacklodge.com/. You’ll find a host of information on the Hungry Jack Lodge website about our lakeside cabin and log cabin rentals, fishing guide service, boat & canoe rentals and fishing in the Boundary Waters and Hungry Jack Lake itself.

Snowmobile trail grooming is being done today on the mid Gunflint Trail snowmobile trails and is being done 3 to 4 times each week. We got about 1” of fresh snow last night, here at our mid Gunflint Trail snowmobiling resort. Grand Marais MN received about 4” of snow last night and the Devils Track area got a very respectable 8” of snow.

Early January was poor for snowmobiling in the Grand Marais and Gunflint Trail areas of Minnesota, but that has changed. Though we personally have not had a chance to do much snowmobiling so far this year, guests staying at our MN winter resort that have been snowmobiling plus snowmobilers that stop in to quench their thirst or to enjoy some of the great food that we offer to snowmobilers, have reported that the Gunflint Trail area snowmobiling trails are in great shape.

The video shown below was shot by snowmobiling guests staying at our MN snowmobiling resort on January 27, 2010.



Minnesota ice fishing has been extremely good this year, both inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCAW) and on other lakes up and down the Gunflint Trail that are outside the BWCAW. In addition, with temperatures being a little warmer than normal along the Canadian / Minnesota border, ice fishing has been more bearable, resulting in most ice fishing being more productive that we normally see in the Gunflint Trail area. People are staying out on the ice longer and catching more fish than they would normally get while ice fishing during January and February. We’ve seen a lot of nice lake trout that have been taken by ice fishermen staying at our Minnesota winter resort this year.

Winter log cabin rental availability and online reservations are temporarily unavailable from the Hungry Jack Lodge website due to our winter family resort switching over to a new reservation system. Hopefully we will have the issue solved soon. Until our online reservations and availability are online again please phone in your reservations for winter cabins and winter log cabin rentals. Hungry Jack Lodge reservations can be called in toll free at: 1-800-338-1566.

Our snowmobile rentals for the Grand Marais MN and Gunflint Trail area have been flying out the door. If you or someone in your group needs a snowmobile rental for the Gunflint Trail be sure to phone Hungry Jack Lodge winter resort with your snowmobile rental reservation as soon as you know the dates that you will be on your snowmobile vacation.

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Ice fishing for trout on northern Minnesota’s Gunflint Trail has so far turned out to be one of the best in recent years. This year, all of the trout ice fishermen are being blessed with mild temperatures for a change. It is usually -20F or colder during early trout ice fishing season. Ice fishing success so far this season is generally pretty good.

Hungry Jack Lodge, located mid-trail on the Gunflint Trail, is surrounded by several lake trout lakes that seem to produce a good number of fish during the ice fishing season each year. A few of the ice fishing lakes in the area of our northern MN winter resort, that can be accessed by snowmobile are; Moss Lake, West Bearskin Lake, Birch Lake and Clearwater Lake.

ICE FISHING IN THE BWCAW
If you are feeling more adventurous and would like to hike in to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) to ice fish, our MN ice fishing and snowmobiling resort is located near the Duncan Lake and Daniels Lake entry points. These 2 lakes also produce some great fish throughout the winter months.

This morning at 7 am I went to the mail box and there were already 7 vehicles parked at the Moss Lake parking access. I think a lot of fisherman are taking advantage of these mild temps and getting out to enjoy the Minnesota northwoods. Live minnows are usually a bait of choice, however don’t forget, designated trout lakes prohibit the use of live minnows.



NORTHERN MN WINTER LOG CABINS
If you are considering coming up to the Boundary Water Canoe Area (BWCAW) or Gunflint Trail to ice fish we suggest making your reservation as soon as you can. The winter cabin rental vacancies at our MN winter resort have been very minimal and we are running close to full during recent weeks.

Due to somewhat poor snowmobiling conditions we still have some winter cabins and log cabins available for rent at our Gunflint Trail winter resort. However, once we get some heavier snows, the winter cabins available for rent at our Gunflint Trail family winter resort are sure to be filled by snowmobiliers and ice fishermen alike. Make your winter cabin rental reservations early!!

For more information about our Grand Marais, Gunflint Trail winter resort or to make reservations for a family winter vacation visit our website at: http://www.hungryjacklodge.com/ You can also call us at (800) 388-1566 to find out about our current winter snow, ice fishing and snowmobiling conditions.

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