Crane Lake Visitor Center Project

Crane Lake Visitor Center ribbon cutting, summer 2025.

NPS/Mark Miller

 

Crane Lake Visitor Center nearing completion, winter 2025.

NPS/Mark Miller

 

Artistic drawing of Crane Lake Visitor Center's interior design with temporary displays.

A Unique Partnership Project

As Voyageurs National Park celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025, a new chapter in its history began. The Crane Lake Visitor Center, now open during the summer months, offers an exciting new space for visitors to learn, explore, and connect with the park’s breathtaking landscapes and rich history.

Located in the gateway community of Crane Lake, Minnesota, the new visitor center serves as an important entry point for those venturing into the park’s vast interconnected waterways.

Address:
7480 Crane Lake Road
Crane Lake, MN 55725

The visitor center is a community-led effort championed by the Crane Lake Township who garnered $3.2 million for a municipal campground (Introducing the Crane Lake Voyageur RV Park and Campground), and $2.6 million for the community building through the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund.

Since the inception of the park, and the development of the park's General Management Plan (GMP), the benefit of having a National Park Service (NPS) visitor contact facility in each of the gateway communities was identified. Given that the NPS has no lands in the Crane Lake community, the need to seek a partnership opportunity to fulfill the objective was always necessary.

To learn more about the community, visit Crane Lake.

Funding

Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).

Interior Themes for Visitor Education

• Dark Sky Education - Preservation, Enjoyment, Cultural Stories
• Regional Indigenous History
• Interconnected Skies & Waters (Stewardship and Enjoyment of Voyageurs National Park, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Quetico Provincial Park)
• Area Recreation Opportunities, Programs, Wayfinding
• Overview of Voyageurs National Park

 

The beautiful waters of Crane Lake in late summer.

NPS/Mark Miller