About Rockwood:
Historic wilderness resort and canoe outfitting on the Gunflint Trail
Rockwood Lodge and Outfitters operates a historic wilderness resort and canoe outfitting business located on the Gunflint Trail at mile 31, directly on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). We combine traditional cabin accommodations with full-service wilderness outfitting for canoe trips into one of America’s premier wilderness areas.
Rockwood successfully bridges the gap between wilderness adventure and comfortable accommodation, making the BWCAW accessible to a wide range of visitors while maintaining the authentic northwoods experience.
Accommodations:
- 9 fully-equipped lakeside cabins on Poplar Lake with modern amenities including high-speed WiFi, full kitchens, bathrooms with showers, and each cabin includes a canoe
- Bunkhouse accommodations with private bathrooms in each room, shared propane grill and griddle – ideal for groups preparing for or returning from wilderness trips
- Historic lodge building (built 1926-1932) with meeting room and gift shop
Canoe Outfitting Services:
- Over 70 canoes available (Kevlar, aluminum, Innegra and Royalex options in solo, tandem, three and four person configurations)
- Complete and partial outfitting packages
- Premium bent-shaft paddles, tents, sleeping bags, and camping gear
- BWCAW permits (no purchase necessary / permit pickup)
- Day trips into the wilderness
- Ultra-lightweight equipment specialization to reduce portaging weight
- Trip planning and route selection advice
Strategic Location: The central location on the Gunflint Trail provides direct access to remote BWCAW areas and multiple entry points along the mid-Gunflint Trail.
Historic Character: The authenticity of operating from an original 1920s-30s handcrafted pine lodge with a section of the original gravel Gunflint Trail running through the property gives unique character and charm.
Equipment Quality: Rockwood specializes in ultra-lightweight, high-quality gear that makes wilderness trips more comfortable and manageable, particularly important for portaging.
Full-Service Approach: Rockwood caters to everyone from beginners to experienced wilderness travelers, offering both complete outfitting and accommodation solutions.
Modern Conveniences: Despite the wilderness setting, Rockwood provides high-speed WiFi, EV charging stations (two 80amp level 2 chargers), and pet-friendly policies.
Experience and Expertise: The team (Carol, Mike, Carl & Stephanie) understands that each group has different needs and focuses on making each trip “the best vacation ever.”
UPDATE November 2024 – Rockwood Lodge and Outfitters has seen amazing progress in the past 9 years; we’re thrilled to share some exciting updates with you:
We recently acquired our neighbor’s cabin, now known as Cabin 8. This unique cabin offers stunning panoramic views of Poplar Lake, stretching between the islands for an unforgettable experience. It even boasts a separate building with additional beds, a second bathroom, bringing its total capacity to 9 people. In total, Rockwood now offers 9 cozy cabins, up from our original 7 cabins.
Our outfitting services have grown significantly to meet your wilderness adventure needs. We’ve added more 3- and 4-person Kevlar canoes for larger groups, along with over 7 solo Kevlar canoes for solo explorers. Looking for a different paddling experience? We now have 10 kayaks and even 4 stand-up paddleboards.
Several cabins have also been remodeled, featuring new decks and firepits to enhance your outdoor enjoyment; that includes upgrades to the bunkhouse, including WiFi access, new doors, and windows. The historic 1929 Lodge hasn’t been forgotten either! It’s received a beautiful new stain and refinished wood floors, making it even more inviting inside and out.
Here’s a nice article Steve Fernlund about Rockwood for a local newspaper. We’re proud of the progress at Rockwood Lodge and Outfitters and can’t wait to welcome you for your next Boundary Waters adventure…
UPDATE February 2020 – It’s been four years and we are entering our fifth year of operations. Time has zipped by, and we find that today’s priorities are similar to those four years ago. This post has been our website the entire time, and here’s a link to a nice article written about us in the local newspaper about Rockwood.
November 2015 – We purchased Rockwood Lodge from Mike and Lin in November of 2015. My first trip to Rockwood was in 1989, and I’ve been a loyal customer ever since. For the last 13 years we’ve been coming up to help Mike get the cabins ready in the spring, and help with the outfitters when needed.
My name is Carl, and my wife Stephanie is almost more excited about this new adventure than I am. Her sister Carol and husband Mike will be coming up in the Spring, moving in full time to help us run the resort. Carol’s background is in retail and history, while Mike has been fixing apartments for twelve years, in between hunting and fishing trips. Together we have three dogs and look forward to making Rockwood even more pet friendly by adding a dog run!
Our goal is to be as good as hosts as Mike and Lin Sherfy were; that’s actually a high bar, they were the friendliest hosts, making everyone feel like family. They successfully ran Rockwood for over 13 years, and the resort is better because they were here. We wish them well in their future endeavors!
We have several immediate plans for Rockwood, including turning the owner’s residence into a year-around cabin, and adding one more small cabin along with several other buildings. We are pricing new mattresses, adding to the fleet of canoes and installing high speed wifi throughout the resort.
We are keeping all the rates on the cabins the same for 2016 but there is a small change to the deposit policy. We changed some of the structure of the outfitting rates, trying to keep the rates close to what they were last year. Things will be tight, but with adding cabins and hopefully increasing the number of trips through outfitting we can make it work at the current rates.
Anyway, I hope to meet each of you next year, we’ll do our very best to make you feel comfortable. We feel like caretakers of a historic resource, and are very proud to finally own Rockwood!
