Sawtooth Mountains Ski Area

The ski area sat on Sawtooth Mountain above Grand Marais, off the Gunflint Trail in Cook County. The town built it as a community hill, starting in 1948 with $6,000 raised by public subscription. By 1960 it had two electric rope tows, two open slopes and several trails; its longest run, the 2,500-foot Grinden run, was named for Duluth skier Harold Grinden. A chamber of commerce leader put the vertical drop at 730 feet; the Midwest Lost Ski Areas Project lists 531 feet and queries 730. Grand Marais High School taught skiing there, and its racers had won the state slalom title two years running.^1,3

The hill had once hosted alpine races of national standing, but by 1964 it had stood idle for a few years. That year two local men proposed a $657,000 year-round resort on the site with a double chairlift and snowmaking. In 1971 a local company outlined a $530,000 first stage with two lifts, noting the hill had been skied on a limited basis for 25 years. In 1974 a Grand Marais businessman said he had tried for years to revive the area, but government money had not come.^2,4,5