Minnesota Parks and Recreation Areas with National Monument

On a hot sultry day in mid-July 1802, partners of the most successful fur trade company in North America, the North West Company, met in their majestic Great Hall at Grand Portage and voted to move their summer headquarters from the protected shores of Lake Superior's Grand Portage Bay 50 miles north to the mouth of the Kaministquia River. Almost from the time the vigorous Anglo-Scot NorWesters had organized at Grand Portage in the mid 1780's an emerging United States wanted them out. The July vote would mean that 18 buildings constructed from native squared spruce, pine and birch and over 2,000 cedar pickets surrounding them would be torn down, transported north in company schooners and used in constructing the new Fort William far from U.S. soil. read more...

Phone: 218-387-2788   Price Range: $3 - $6   Open Season: N/A   Camping: Yes
Nearest Popular City: Grand Marais   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Monument   Activities: Backpacking, Birding, Cross Country Skiing, Hiking, Wildlife Watching, Camping, Nature Walks, Interpretive Programs, Snowshoeing, Star Gazing   Details Provided By: Grand Portage National Monument

The story of this stone and the pipes made from it spans four centuries of Plains Indian life. Inseparable from the traditions that structured daily routine and honored the spirit world, pipes figured prominently in the ways of the village and in dealings between tribes. The story parallels that of a culture in transition: the evolution of the pipes influenced - and was influenced by - their makers' association with white explorers, traders, soldiers, and settlers. read more...

Phone: 507-825-5464   Price Range: $3 - $15   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Pipestone   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Monument   Activities: Nature Walks, Tours   Details Provided By: Pipestone National Monument