page_title: Grand Portage State Park
section_title: Recreation
hierarchical_section_title: Grand Portage State Park / Recreation
caption_attribution_description: Pigeon River Middle Falls
context_page_description: Grand Portage State Park is a state park at the northeastern tip of Minnesota, USA, on the Canada–United States border. It contains a 120-foot waterfall, the tallest in the state, on the Pigeon River. The High Falls and other waterfalls and rapids upstream necessitated a historically important portage on a fur trade route between the Great Lakes and inland Canada. This 8.5-mile path plus the site of forts on either end are preserved in nearby Grand Portage National Monument. The state park, held by the surrounding Grand Portage Indian Reservation and leased to the state of Minnesota for $1 a year, is the only U.S. state park jointly managed by a state and a Native American band. It is also the only Minnesota state park not owned by the state.
context_section_description: The High Falls is at the end of a gentle 0.5-mile (0.8 km) paved trail and boardwalk, making it the only North Shore state park in which the main feature is wheelchair-accessible.  Three wooden decks provide different angles to view the falls.  A further 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of hiking trail leads to the 30-foot (9 m) Middle Falls and provides distant views of Lake Superior and Isle Royale from hilltops.  A 0.2-mile (0.3 km) path leads from the park office through the picnic area to a historic marker commemorating the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.  In winter all of the trails are open for snowshoeing.
  Grand Portage State Park is developed for day-use only.  The closest camping is in Ontario's adjacent Pigeon River Provincial Park or in the unincorporated community of Grand Portage, Minnesota.
  The park emphasizes interpretation of Ojibwe cultural heritage, as a counterpoint to fur trade and natural history interpretation at nearby parks.  Many park employees have been members of the Grand Portage Band.
  The state park is located at the northern terminus of scenic Minnesota Highway 61.  The park's seasonal visitor center was replaced in September 2010 with a 5,800-square-foot (540 m²) combination visitor center, state travel information center, and highway rest area.  It is staffed by Grand Portage Band members and contains exhibits interpreting Ojibwe life.  The new facility complements the large travel center in Gooseberry Falls State Park, bookending the eight state parks along Minnesota's North Shore.
caption: Middle Falls on the Pigeon River
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