What’s next for proposed Sawtooth Bluff park
Nearly a year after allocating funding for additional planning work on the proposed Sawtooth Bluff park, the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved the use of $29,500 to contract with HKGi, a landscape and architecture firm that will work with the County Parks & Trails Commission to apply for regional designation for the project.
Sawtooth Bluff is proposed for 640-acres on the Gunflint Trail on the north side of Grand Marais.
Parks & Trails Coordinator Mitch Travis told WTIP that the HKGi will help establish a joint powers committee for further work on the project, and public engagement for ensuring that future decisions reflect the wants and needs of the community.
Travis said the joint powers committee would comprise of representatives from Cook County, the City of Grand Marais, and the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. He said he hopes that some of the potential user groups for Sawtooth Bluff would also take part in planning alongside the government entities.
There have been numerous efforts at public engagement over the several decades that the proposed park has been under consideration. Most recently, the Parks & Trails Commission conducted a survey in spring 2025 to get a better picture of what types of amenities residents considered a priority, as well as how much support they have for the project, and what concerns they night have.
Travis said he couldn’t say at this time what further public engagement efforts would look like specifically, but that the goal would be to update data previously collected about the project. He said, “HKGi has, you know, demonstrated to us that they we have all kinds of opportunities and tools at our disposal that we can utilize if we want to bolster that engagement in some specific way.”
The ultimate goal of working with HKGi is to ultimately achieve regional designation for the park. The designation would allow the joint powers committee to work alongside user groups to apply for funding through Minnesota Legacy Funds.
Travis said that this is a key element of the project if it is to be developed. “The idea behind this, in achieving this regional designation, is to relieve the burden on a lot of the taxpayers, so that we aren’t left holding the bag with, you know, developing this and maintaining this.”
Because the money for the contract was approved for the 2025 budget year, Travis said the board was tied to using it before the end of the year. Moving forward, he said that funding for additional work on the project would be coming from a fund specifically earmarked for outdoor recreation projects. The money from this fund comes from Payment in Lieu of Taxes funds from the federal government. This means a more flexible timeline for future work on the proposed park.
As the work with HKGi commences, Travis said he hopes that all members of the public with an interest in outdoor recreation will consider getting involved. “I welcome as many voices as possible in the process. It’s good to have people out and involved. Regardless of how you stand on the issue, we want to involve you.”
WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with County Parks & Trails Commission Coordinator Mitch Travis about the most recent Sawtooth Bluff updates. Audio of that interview is below.
Kirsten Wisniewski December 10, 2025
