Koochiching: Water, Trails and Cultural History

When visiting Koochiching, you can focus on different experiences: water activities in Voyageurs National Park, hikes along rivers and lakes, or learning about the region’s history. The area’s communities and activities offer a range of ways to explore—from short walks to outings where traveling by water is essential.

Water, Islands and Camping

Rainy Lake is 60 miles long and includes 200 islands within Voyageurs National Park. Activities on the lake include boating, camping, paddling and fishing. The national park also offers guided boat tours, canoe trips and hikes. If you enjoy spending your days on the water, you’ll find several different activities here, while hiking offers an alternative on land.

Voyageurs National Park has more than 270 campsites, as well as opportunities for lakeside camping. Kettle Falls Hotel has been lodging and serving travelers since 1913. It is accessible only by water—an important distinction when planning a stay there. Kettle Falls was also a historic travel route used by Indigenous people, voyageurs and gold seekers.

Trails and Landscapes

For a short hike, try the Ethnobotanical Garden Trail, an easy route less than a quarter mile long. It includes a reconstruction of a traditional Ojibwe camp and offers a view of Black Bay. The trailhead is behind the Rainy Lake Visitor Center, and the trail can also be reached from the Oberholtzer Trail. This makes it possible to combine a short walk with a glimpse of a traditional camp and a view of the water.

In Franz Jevne State Park, trails pass moss-covered rock outcrops, through stands of aspen, pine and fir, and alongside open hardwood floodplains. The Hiking Club Trail ends at a Rainy River overlook. There, you can watch pelicans on the water, while bald eagles perch in the trees along the river. Just outside the park, a public boat access on the Rainy River is available for fishing and outings. Each of the park’s hike-in campsites has a picnic table and a fire ring.

The trails also differ in their stated uses: Voyageurs National Park has 110 miles of marked and groomed snowmobile trails. The Blue Ox Trail, by contrast, is an approximately 74-mile, year-round multi-use trail network in Koochiching County. Near Lake Bemidji State Park, it connects with the Paul Bunyan State Trail. The Rainy Lake Recreation Trail offers views of forest, lake and wetland landscapes.

Culture and Special Attractions

The Ellsworth Rock Gardens are an artistic landscape on the north shore of Kabetogama Lake. Voyageurs National Park also offers garden tours led by park rangers. One ranger-led garden tour in the park is about a quarter mile long and features stone sculptures, tiered flower-bed terraces, building remnants and winding paths.

The information presented at the Koochiching Museums reaches back 10,000 years. The Bronko-Nagurski Museum displays exhibits and memorabilia from the life and career of Bronko Nagurski. Smokey Bear Park is home to a 26-foot-tall, 82-ton Smokey Bear figure. Together with the historic traces at Kettle Falls, these places offer different ways to explore cultural history—from regional time periods to the life of a well-known sports personality.

Discover more destinations: International Falls, Chickasaw County, Faribault, Goodhue, Winona County, Brown County, Polk County, Kittson County

For the main travel overview: Minnesota.