Outdoor Activities

Explore Outdoors

• 

  Wander the Depot

  Take a walk back in time to a historic fur trade depot and meet the people who made it possible.

• 

  Backcountry Camping at Fort Charlotte

  Camping is not available at the historic site and is limited to two remote backcountry campsites at Fort Charlotte for hikers or canoeists.

• 

  Hike a Trail

  Hike the eight-and-a-half-mile path made famous by the voyageurs or climb Mount Rose for a view of Grand Portage Bay and the Depot.

 

Mount Rose Trail and Grand Portage National Monument area. Click on the image to download a copy of the map.

NPS graphic

Canoe Loading across from the Historic Site

From Thursday August 7 to Sunday August 10, please load/unload canoes off road near the Grand Portage trailhead sign at the corner of Store and Mile Creek Roads. Please do not cross the intersection with packs or canoes during this time.

Campfires

Fires are prohibited on all trails except in desigated fire rings at Fort Charlotte.
Trails can be accessed across Mile Creek Road across from the depot. Mount Rose has an additional trailhead from the Heritage Center parking lot, near the picnic area.
Download a copy of the map.

 

Additional Map Alternative Text

Map of a section of Grand Portage National Monument adjacent to Lake Superior, depicting facilities and trailheads. No scale provided. An arrow pointing toward the top of the map indicates north. Grand Portage Bay of Lake Superior is on the right: a gray shape bordered by a wavy diagonal line near the middle of the map. The following descriptions begin in the lower left corner and move clockwise around the map.

• There is one main parking area for the visitor (Heritage) center with a picnic area and a trailhead for Mount Rose.
• Access to the Grand Portage Trail and another Mount Rose trailhead are across from the Historic Depot, northeast of the Heritage Center, which is accessed by a walking path the leads east from the Heritage Center. Another picnic area is next to the lake, east of the Depot. A dock extends from the Depot into the bay.
• Within the Historic Depot are the Kitchen, Historic Garden, and Great Hall. Southwest of the Depot is the Canoe Warehouse and Ojibwe Village.
• Accessible restrooms are located at the Heritage Center and between the Canoe Warehouse and Historic Depot.

 

The Mount Rose Trail offers stunning views of Grand Portage Bay. Several staircases protect the trail from erosion.

NPS photo / G.M. Spoto

Pets and Wildlife

• Pets must be restrained on a leash no longer than 6 feet (1.8 m). Pets are not allowed inside buildings or the stockade of the historic depot. There are trails around the perimeter of the stockade allowing a bypass.
• Please do not feed or disturb wildlife
• Wear protective clothing for ticks and biting insects, consider bug spray