Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway - Grand Marais - Minnesota
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Gunflint Trail - ClimateAs you drive up the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway from the town of Grand Marais, you will gain more than 1,000 feet in elevation as you crest the rise that separates the Gunflint Trail from the North Shore of Lake Superior. And you may be surprised to find that sometimes the weather changes along with the scenery and elevation.Some people claim the Gunflint Trail has a micro-climate all its own. It is not unusual to experience rain and fog on the shore of Lake Superior and just five miles up the Gunflint Trail encounter a sunny afternoon. Or you may leave Grand Marais on a warm, sunny late fall afternoon and soon find yourself surrounded by blowing snowflakes on the Gunflint Trail. You just never know. Extremes of temperature are not uncommon on the Gunflint Trail, from 30 degrees below in the winter to 90 degrees above zero in the summer. What's more, being so far north, the difference between hours of daylight on the longest and shortest days of the year is also extreme: nearly eight hours! Temperatures range from an average of 5 degrees in January to an average 65 degrees in August. There is an average winter snowfall of 70-80 inches, and the average duration of one inch or more of snow cover is 175 days.
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