Hungry Jack Summer Home Group earns national recognition for a century of recreation, craftsmanship and care
Christine Kolinski
Public Affairs Specialist
christine.kolinski@usda.gov
Tucked along the shores of Hungry Jack Lake are some of the newest members of the National Register of Historic Places. The Superior National Forest is pleased to announce that the Hungry Jack Lake Summer Home Group was formally listed to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on October 6, 2026. The listing recognizes the group’s important role in history, as well as craftmanship and character of historic buildings.
Located approximately halfway up the Gunflint Trail, this collection of rustic cabins has welcomed generations of families seeking solitude, recreation and connection to the North Woods.
The Hungry Jack Lake Summer Home Group consists of approximately 20 rustic cabins and 40 outbuildings, many of which have been maintained to a very high standard over the past 100 years. Among the buildings recognized are four cabins constructed between 1930 – 1960 by master log builder Robert Zimmerman, known for designing and building fully scribed, Scandinavian-style log buildings.
These cabins and outbuildings were built as part of the Summer Home system of Recreation Residences starting in the early 1900s, which allowed for limited development of summer cabins, resorts, and recreational camps on tracts surveyed and designated by the Forest Service. The Summer Home program was discontinued in 1976; however, there are approximately 114 cabin groups that are still managed on national forest lands nationwide. Of those, just under a dozen of those listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Hungry Jack Summer Home Group is the latest to earn that distinction.
The nomination form was prepared and submitted in partnership by the Superior National Forest Heritage staff, with assistance from permit holders and the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office.
The Forest Service thanks the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Cook County Historical Society, Gunflint Trails Scenic Byway Committee, Gunflint Trail Historical Society and the National Forest Homeowners Association for their support throughout the nomination process.
