This project, which involved a complex and time-consuming series of transactions, began in 1992 when Parks & Trails Council purchased 960 acres near Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, of which only a small portion was able to be added to that park.
Meanwhile, Parks & Trails Council had been working to expand George H. Crosby Manitou State Park. In particular, the area northeast of the Manitou River with one of the largest remaining blocks of northern hardwood forest on the North Shore. It is also one of the finest segments of the Superior Hiking Trail with rugged relief, superb vistas and beautiful forests. This area was mostly owned by Lake County due to tax-forfeiture and would need to be purchased from them before it could be incorporated into the park.
We began discussions with Lake County for a possible exchange in which we would give them the land we owned near Split Rock Lighthouse in exchange for land they owned within Crosby Manitou. As discussions progressed, more lands were added to the deal. We agreed to purchase another 620 acres of privately owned land nearby, but outside of Crosby Manitou. Between 2005 and 2009 we traded both the 620 acres and 840 acres we owned outside the park for land of equal value that Lake County owned within the park. This resulted in expanding Crosby Manitou by 1,660 acres.
As icing on the cake, prior to the trade we worked with the Superior Hiking Trail Association to allow the trail to be re-routed through the land we owned along Egge Lake, just north of the campsite they manage on the lake.
