Lakeview rooms and fully-equipped kitchenette suites with Lake Superior to the front and the Superior National Forest in back. Beach on Lake Superior. Hiking trails join the Superior Hiking Trail and the trails along the Kadunce River. Located eight miles northeast of Grand Marais, MN on Lake Superior's beautiful North Shore. Free WiFi. Great prices!
What a find. The host was so accommodating and fun. Even though I was too pooped to feed their chipmunk when checking in, I definitely had the opportunity to grab a peanut for him anytime. Front row adironacks to Lake Superior were available. We were provided a couple of wine glasses (no plastic glasses allowed for proper sipping👌) . A perfect vibe for the area.
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Date of stay: October 2024Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Outpost Motel, Owner at The Outpost Motel
Responded Oct 14, 2024
Aw! Thanks so much for your kind review! Our chipmunks certainly do have the life around here. They act cute and get fed. What a gig! So happy you enjoyed your time with us. Looking forward to your next visit. We will make sure you have wine glasses!
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I've stayed in each one of their rooms over the past twenty plus years and each one of them is simple, warm, immaculate and looks out to an amazing expanse of the big lake. Out the back door is the Superior Hiking Trail; to the side is the Kadunce River; up the road is the High Falls of the Pigeon River; and just to the west is the Gunflint Trail into the BWCAW. The Outpost is a family owned, affordable home base for those wishing to visit any or all of these attractions! Guests tend to return year after year after year. It's a gem.
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Date of stay: August 2020
Cleanliness
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Outpost Motel, Owner at The Outpost Motel
Responded Sep 29, 2021
We are so sorry this response is so tardy! Thank you so much for your kind review. We LOVE the fact that our guests keep coming back year after year. We do have the BEST location (in our humble opinion!).
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This was our first place to stay on a 10-day Lake Superior Circle Tour (and my absolute fave!). It is quaint and charming, and the owners are amazing! We graded each of our stays on 12 points that travelers might find helpful: 1. Coffee Maker - Yes 2. Microwave/Fridge - No 3. AC - No 4. Fan - Ceiling 5. Bath - small but clean! and old-fashioned gym-type water-saving shower head 6. Bed - ok 7. Accessible - No 8. Cleanliness - A+ 9. TV - Small 10. View - Awesome! 11. Ice - No 12. Price - very reasonable There are Adirondack chairs in the yard for coffee and cocktails overlooking the lake. While this does not have all the modern amenities that some of you will be looking for, its charm and welcoming owners completely outweigh that. I would stay here again and again!
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Date of stay: June 2024
Value
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Location
Cleanliness
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Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Outpost Motel, Owner at The Outpost Motel
Responded Jan 5, 2025
Thank you so much for taking the time to put together such a comprehensive review! We are so happy that you enjoyed your stay here, and happy that we could be a part of your amazing trip! You will have to come back sometime and stay in one of our kitchen rooms. You can spend some additional time here, and you will have full kitchen amenities as well. We do require a two night minimum on those rooms--but I'll bet after your trip, you know the areas you want to return to. Again, thank you for posting such detail. It really means a lot when people are looking to book a place to stay.
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The perfect spot to base your upper North Shore explorations. Comfy very clean knotty pine motel rooms with basic amenities are a quiet retreat after a busy day of hiking and exploring. It truly is a motel; you drive right up to the room door to load/unload. Each room has a rear door that leads out to a grassy common with Adirondack chairs overlooking the lake. Far enough away from Grand Marais to be peaceful but close enough to head in for a meal or restock the cooler. The eclectic group of guests the three nights we stayed were a laid back friendly lot. The owners are genuinely happy to have you as a guest and are very responsive to any requests you may have. Our room had a thoughtful, comprehensive binder assembled by the owners with all the info you need to know to explore the area. At the time of our stay very sensible COVID housekeeping protocols were in place. You will read elsewhere about limited/no WiFi or cell service - that is part of the luxury of solitude. A quick jaunt into Grand Marais will get you back on the grid if you must. We will return for another stay.
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Date of stay: July 2020
Value
Rooms
Service
Room Tip:Â Opt for kitchenette or the room with two queens to have aa bit more space if you are staying for...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Outpost Motel, Owner at The Outpost Motel
Responded Aug 15, 2020
Thank you so much for your kind review! We are so happy that you enjoyed your time with us. Thanks for the shout out about the room book too! We try to give travelers the information that they need to be able to really enjoy the area. Hope to see you again soon!
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Stayed here one night while on a motorcycle trip with the boys around Lake Superior.
This small locally owned motel is across the road from the lake and the cozy rooms have unobstructed views. The room are modest, but spotless. The owner is friendly and proud of his motel.
He feeds the chipmunks peanuts and has named many of them. They’re tame. There is s small playground that would give small kids something to do after selling the beach adding to their stick and rock collections.
They only downside is it’s about nine miles north of Grand Marais if you’re hungry.
I’d stay here again.
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Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Outpost Motel, Owner at The Outpost Motel
Responded Jun 28, 2022
Glad you enjoyed your stay and hope the remainder of your trip was fantastic!
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We have been going to the Outpost every year for the past 5 years. The rooms are always well kept and well supplied with all the kitchen supplies we need. The beds are very comfortable. What more can you ask than have Lake Superior right across the highway from the motel. Sit by the lake or on the grass and read a book and listen to the waves roll up on shore. Then make a campfire on the shore in the evening, when it isn't so dry, and look at the stars and planets in the sky. Todd and Holly are great hosts and are there to make your stay comfortable. Grand Marais is only 6 miles away so you can go eat at their many restaurants and just stroll around town and go in the many shops. Always 5 stars when we stay at the Outpost.
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Date of stay: October 2020
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Â If you're there for an extended stay the 2 kitchenette rooms are wonderful.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Outpost Motel, Owner at The Outpost Motel
Responded Sep 29, 2021
We are so sorry for the tardy reply! Thank you so much for your kind words. We are so happy you enjoy your time here. Can't wait to see you for year six!
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We stayed for two nights and had a wonderful experience. The rooms are clean and everything is in great working order. But the best part is the welcome we received from owners Holly and Todd. Friendly is not a strong enough word to describe these wonderful hosts. They were sensitive to all of our needs and made us feel very welcome. We made reservations for next year and look forward to our return. It was a quiet, peaceful restorative weekend. If you are looking for a place to stay near Grand Marais look no further.
Bert and Diane
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Date of stay: October 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Outpost Motel, Owner at The Outpost Motel
Responded Oct 6, 2023
Aww! You two are so sweet! Thank you so much for the kind review. SO happy that you had a good time and absolutely look forward to seeing you again in 2024!
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For my 40th birthday, my friends booked several rooms at the Outpost Motel, as we would be celebrating in Grand Marais for the weekend. We had an AMAZING TIME! Upon arrival, we noticed that there were many fun surprises waiting for us in the rooms. The excellent products in the bathrooms, the little moose figurines to include in pictures, the books in the bedside tables, and a hilarious flock of pink flamingos placed outside my bedroom window. The staff greeted us to get us settled and then allowed us to enjoy our weekend, appearing only when providing extra blankets or towels. As much as we enjoyed exploring the North Shore, we relished our time in the big lawn chairs facing Lake Superior at the Outpost. Fires on the beach were restorative and our time was full of laughter and serenity. We intend to make this trip a regular tradition and are grateful to the Outpost owners and staff for a very special weekend. Considering what a hard year we’ve had to navigate, I’m thankful for the magic and care of a small business like this one!
Matthew W. Duluth, MN
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Date of stay: March 2021Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Outpost Motel, Owner at The Outpost Motel
Responded Sep 29, 2021
We are so sorry for the tardy reply! Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We are so very happy you all had a good time here. Wishing more birthday celebrations in the future on the beach!
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We would definitely stay at the Outpost again. The owners are so friendly and efficient. The room was so clean and lots of information was provided in a notebook. They even have a door hanger to hang if you want to be notified if the northern lights are visible.
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Date of stay: June 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Â Nice chairs out front where you can sit and enjoy a glass of wine and the view.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Outpost Motel, Owner at The Outpost Motel
Responded Jun 28, 2023
Thank you so much for your kind review! We are thrilled that you enjoyed your time here, and hope you LOVED the North Shore! Looking forward to seeing you again.
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This is one of the nicest places I stayed in during the last years. And we travel a lot (+60 nights in hotels a year).
Hosts are very charming. When we arrived late (10 pm) they both came out to personally give us a warm welcome and talk a bit. Also when i called them earlier they were super super friendly and nice. We felt VERY welcome. We have the corner room which had a lot of space and a refrigerator and small TV. it had an old fashioned charm but was super comfy and very important CLEAN. You rarely every encounter such clean motels. No airco but a ceiling fan. The room is full of cute and funny little details showing the owners really love and care about their motel. Wow. Only bummer: no internet. I missed that as I wanted to pull in some maps for my cell phone. However when we drove a few miles North (South would also work) we had internet on our cell phone again. Just be aware. I understood normally internet is working though. Location is great. Grand Marais is not far. This region is absolutely gorgeous and stunning if you love nature! We saw beautiful waterfalls, the blue lake Superior and so on. We also did encounter a black bear and playing foxes a bit more up North. Great times! Highly recommend. We loved this place.
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Date of stay: July 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Â We had the spacey corner room!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Outpost Motel, Owner at The Outpost Motel
Responded Aug 15, 2020
Thank you so much for your kind review! We are in the process of installing all new wifi equipment--but the few weeks without it was an inconvenience, and we do apologize. Next time you visit, the wifi will be up and running!
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There are more places to choose from in the Grand Marais area.
LOCATION
United StatesMinnesotaGrand Marais
NUMBER OF ROOMS
14
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