County may open large section of Gunflint Trail to ATV use

The county is considering a plan that would open a large section of the Gunflint Trail to ATV use.

As it stands now, the Gunflint is open only in specific sections for motorized ATV use. Under a series of proposed amendments to a county ordinance regarding ATV use on the Trail, the entire road would be open from the start of the Gunflint in Grand Marais to the Mid-Trail area, a distance of approximately 35 miles. The amendments to the ordinance would allow ATV use from Grand Marais to County Road 92, known commonly as Iron Lake Road.

A public hearing on the proposed changes that would open this large section of the Gunflint Trail to ATV use is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8, in the commissioners’ room at the Cook County Courthouse. The public hearing is a section of the planning commission meeting scheduled for May 8.

A regular meeting of the planning commission will take place immediately after the public hearing. On the agenda for the planning commission is a continued discussion of a proposed ordinance for short-term rentals in Cook County. Click here for more information on this topic.

WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs spoke with Tim Nelson, the director of the county’s land services department, about these topics ahead of the May 8 meeting.