Naniboujou Lodge is on the lake side of Highway 61, 15 miles up the shore from Grand Marais, just before the Brule River. Built in 1928, it was designed as the clubhouse of an exclusive private membership club for wealthy Twin Cities sports figures, journalists and businessmen — Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Ring Lardner and others all bought in. The 1929 stock-market crash ended the venture; the lodge has been a small inn and restaurant ever since.
The main dining room is what draws visitors. The walls and ceiling are painted in vivid red, yellow, blue and green geometric patterns inspired by Cree decorative art, with the largest native-rock fireplace in Minnesota at one end. The food is decent (the building's age and the painted room are the real attractions). Open daily for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea; reservations recommended for dinner.