My family rented a cabin on Little Bowstring Lake. The quiet, small lake with great fishing is ringed with cabins set back from the shore. A short drive east and south brought us to one of the trailheads for Suomi Hills. Suomi is the Finnish word for Finland. Many families in Northern Minnesota decended from Finnish immigrants.
The full name is Suomi Hills Semiprimitive Nonmotorized Area. It is part of Chippewa National Forest. There are two trailheads about 5 miles apart on Highway 38 north of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The trails were a bit overgrown but easily passable on the three days I was there. Long pants are a good idea if you do not like plants brushing against your legs. Insect repellant strongly recommended. I have heard that something called “Thieve’s oil” is good for keeping deer flies away and I plan to get some before my next trip. We kept re-applying deet but it did no good against the flies. The second day there were zero flies. Go figure.











This area was unknown to me before this trip. What a treasure! Next trip I hope to explore the rest of it. There is always something more just around the bend.
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