Lake Saganaga

Lake Saganaga

Lake Saganaga on the “Voyageur’s Highway.” Voyageurs who paddled the Canadian interior went as far northwest as Great Slave Lake, more than 3000 miles from Montreal. Because of the vast distances involved, these voyageurs would often winter over in the field. Some weathered the long cold season in remote fur posts; others were welcomed to winter with Indigenous families. When the lakes thawed in the spring, these men returned to their canoes, laden with furs, and headed for Lake Superior. Photo by Jon Lurie, 2020.

High Falls on the Pigeon River

High Falls on the Pigeon River

The Pigeon River, which marks a thirty-one-mile portion of the US-Canada border, is the primary route by which voyageurs paddled to the Canadian interior. The lower Pigeon River, which empties into Lake Superior, alternates between navigable waters, cascades, and waterfalls. One of these, High Falls (pictured), is 120 feet tall—the highest in Minnesota. Voyageurs avoided the forbidding lower river by following the Grand Portage trail. Photo by Jon Lurie, 2020.

View of Wita Tanka (Pike Island) and Fort Snelling from Mendota

View of Wita Tanka (Pike Island) and Fort Snelling from Mendota

View of Wita Tanka (Pike Island) and Fort Snelling from Mendota. Painting by Edward Kirkbride Thomas, ca. 1850.

Two women with bicycles near Mni Owe Sni (Coldwater Spring)

Two women with bicycles near Mni Owe Sni (Coldwater Spring)

Two women with bicycles near Mni Owe Sni (Coldwater Spring), 1899.

Cover of a tourism brochure

Cover of a tourism brochure

Cover of a tourism brochure (Minnesota’s Ten Thousand Lakes: the Nation’s Summer Playground), 1918. A tourism organization printed 20,000 of these informational brochures to send to people who made inquiries after seeing newspaper or magazine ads. Forms part of “Pamphlets relating to lakes in Minnesota, 1900–” (F604.3), pamphlets collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Resort signs along a northern Minnesota road

Resort signs along a northern Minnesota road

Resort signs along a northern Minnesota road, ca. 1930.

Canoers completing a portage in the Superior National Forest

Canoers completing a portage in the Superior National Forest

Canoers completing a portage in the Superior National Forest, ca. 1930.

Map of canoe routes in the Minnesota-Ontario lake region

Map of canoe routes in the Minnesota-Ontario lake region

Map of canoe routes in the Minnesota-Ontario lake region, including those in the Quetico Reserve and the Superior National Forest. Published in Duluth by the Architects and Engineers Supply Company, ca. 1928.

Map showing the location of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Map showing the location of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Map showing the location of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as well as the Superior National Forest, Voyageurs National Park, and Quetico National Park. Created by Wikimedia Commons user Kmusser, February 10, 2009. CC BY-SA 3.0

Overhead view of Victory Memorial Drive

Overhead view of Victory Memorial Drive

Overhead view Victory Memorial Drive and Parkway in North Minneapolis. View looking west from Humboldt Avenue North, near the northeast end of the parkway. Photo by Flickr user Tony Webster, February 18, 2017. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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