By Karen Brzys
Many times, in the rural part of our country, regional communities and organizations work together for a common cause. This is true relative to a new handicapped pathway that will be installed on Agate Beach in Grand Marais.
This project started in 2019 by the Grand Marais Rock and Mineral Show to give people with mobility challenges the ability to get to the rock piles on the Lake Superior Beach. Residents and businesses in Grand Marais, Newberry, Munising, and other nearby communities contributed to this effort, as well as attendees who traveled from throughout the mid-west to attend the annual show.
This project finally came together in January 2025 when the Burt Township Board approved the purchase of a portable, rollout access pathway.
The Grand Marais Rock and Mineral Show donated $14,000 to help pay for the pathway. A new ramp will be constructed near the end of the existing boardwalk. The ramp will be built as a switchback to facilitate access from the boardwalk’s elevated platform to the Mobi-Mat that will be installed on top of the sand extending north to the rocks located along the Lake Superior shoreline. The Mobi-Mat will tee and extend to both the east and west to facilitate multiple people using the nonslip access mat at the same time.
The Mobi-Mat Walkway comes in 10-foot sections that are five feet wide. It is designed to be used by individuals of all abilities. The sections connect together to create a comfortable and safe rolling surface for wheelchairs, walkers, strollers, electric scooters, and other devices used by people with mobility challenges.
Burt Township will purchase the 10-foot sections, construct the access ramp, install the pathway, maintain the walkway during the summer season, take up the Mobi-Mat sections in the fall, store them over the winter, and reinstall the pathway in the spring. Thank you, Burt Township!
Those of us who started and now manage the Grand Marais Rock and Mineral Show are passionate about the hobby of rockhounding. Our shoreline has an incredible diversity of rocks and minerals — one of the best beaches in the Great Lakes region. Avid rock collectors come from all over the globe to look for agates and other collectable rocks and minerals on local beaches.
Until now, it was difficult—if not impossible—for people with mobility issues to get to the rocky section of the shoreline located just above the waterline. Last summer, one husband was seen carrying his wife to the shoreline, putting her down on the rock pile, and collecting buckets of rocks in the area outside of his wife’s reach—all afternoon, much to his wife’s delight!
Now, others who perhaps are not as adventurous will have a chance to safely use this new pathway to also reach and enjoy the beautiful Lake Superior stones! Thanks to everyone who has been involved in this project!
The Grand Marais Rock and Mineral Show is held the weekend after Labor Day. This year, it takes place on Friday and Saturday, September 5 and 6.
For more information about the show, please visit www.grandmaraisrockandmineralalshow.com.
