NPS Photo / Sharon Layton
Contact: More Information, 218-475-0123 Grand Portage National Monument staff will temporarily open the historic Lake Superior fur trade depot at Grand Portage, MN for Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, May 25th-27th. The historic depot will be closed again from May 28th-31st. During this time (May 28th -31st) the heritage center will remain open from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. daily. We will open the historic depot for the summer season on June 1, 2013 (please refer to posted operating schedule below). This amended schedule marks a change from past years. "We have received a reduction of approximately $67,000.00 to our operating budget as a result of the sequestration of federal budgets. We are making adjustments in our operations, including amending our opening dates, to meet the requirements of sequestration and be able to accommodate visitors travelling over the Memorial Day weekend. As always, we are looking forward to another busy, rewarding, and productive year," states Superintendent Tim Cochrane. Beginning on June 1, 2013, the monument's heritage center will be open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until mid-October. While at the heritage center, visitors can view the monument's new interpretive film, "Rendezvous With History: A Grand Portage Story" and additional video "Shorts" along with over 2,000 square feet of exhibits that highlight Ojibwe culture and the history of the North West Company. The historic depot area will be open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through mid-October as well. In the Great Hall, visitors can "window shop" via a new exhibit entitled, "From Furs to Fashion". This exhibit is a London streetscape complete with storefronts that welcome "shoppers" interested in the luxurious hats and furs, as well as powder puffs, fancy perfumes, and even fishing lures made for European shoppers from pelts and parts of mammals traded to the North West Company in the 1790's. The Park interpretive staff is busy preparing programs and facilities for the upcoming season. The historic fur trade depot with its Great Hall and Kitchen, and the Canoe Warehouse will be open to the public along with our outdoor exhibits in the Ojibwe Village and Voyageurs' Encampment. Here visitors step back more than 200 years in time to get a glimpse of life during the fur trade. A variety of ranger programs are offered including talks, demonstrations, "Try It On" fur trade era clothing, historic gardening, and birch bark canoe building. Our visitors can walk the grounds and see how a fur press works, learn and play traditional games in the Ojibwe Village, get a glimpse of a voyageur's life at the reconstructed voyageur encampment, and walk in the footsteps of the Ojibwe and NWCo voyageurs on the 81/2 mile Grand Portage! Also available for hiking is the Mt. Rose Trail. This is the fourteenth year in which the Grand Portage Band of Minnesota Chippewa will be providing maintenance services and select projects to the monument under a first-of-its-kind partnership between the Band and the National Park Service. Over 110 projects have been completed through this Tribal Self Governance Act agreement. In addition to preparing the site for the 2013 season, the Band's maintenance crew will improve accessibility to park walking paths. Other projects involve preservation work on the Great Hall, Kitchen, and Canoe Warehouse, rehabilitating the palisade pickets, and constructing a new hiking trail that will increase hiking opportunities on Mt. Rose. This work also includes the construction of a picnic area adjacent the Heritage Center Parking Lot. Come visit us this summer! We look forward to seeing you. You can also visit us on our website at www.nps.gov/grpo Through Saturday, May 24, 2013: Saturday, May 25, 2013 - Monday, May 27, 2013: Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - Friday, May 31, 2013: Saturday, June 1, 2013: About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 401 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov. |
Last updated: March 18, 2020