Wender·Vista
Magnetic Rock trail
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMinnesota
at the end of the Gunflint Trail, on the Boundary Waters edge

Magnetic Rock trail

— the stone that turns the needle.

— Minnesota wall art on a ceramic tile, made to order
from $22
Finished by hand in Knoxville. Free US shipping over $75, on your wall in about ten days. Damaged in transit? Free replacement within 30 days; other returns within 30 days. Returns · Contact
— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
In the living room, above the sofa.
— In the living room, above the sofa.
Beside the kettle, propped on the counter.
— Beside the kettle, propped on the counter.
On the nightstand, catching the morning.
— On the nightstand, catching the morning.
In the entryway, first thing you see.
— In the entryway, first thing you see.
A quiet corner of the bath.
— A quiet corner of the bath.
shown in a slim black floating frame · 6 × 6 in
— shown in a slim black floating frame · 6 × 6 in
— bring it home

Magnetic Rock trail, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

comes gift-ready
— comes gift-ready

Each tile ships in a kraft box, tied with cream ribbon, with a handwritten note from the studio if you'd like to add one.

or build a grouping
— or build a grouping

Three or five different vistas, hung together — a chapter of places you've been, or want to go.

— a note from the studio

“A short trail in the burn country at the top of the Gunflint, walking out to a 60-foot iron-bearing monolith that pulls a compass needle off true north. The Ham Lake Fire came through in 2007 and the regrown jack pine is now waist to chest high. The rock is the destination but the open ridge on the way out is the surprise.

from the studio
— about Magnetic Rock trail

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Magnetic Rock trail leaves the Gunflint Trail about 45 miles north of Grand Marais in the Superior National Forest, near the boundary of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The route runs roughly 1.5 miles each way over exposed bedrock and through regrowing jack pine to a freestanding monolith of iron-rich rock about 60 feet tall. The trail and surrounding forest sit inside the burn footprint of the 2007 Ham Lake Fire, one of the largest wildfires in modern Minnesota history.

— the stone

The rock itself is a glacial erratic of iron-bearing Precambrian bedrock, magnetised strongly enough to deflect a hand compass held against its surface. The stone stands about 60 feet tall and roughly 25 feet wide at the base, dropped here when the last glaciers retreated about 10,000 years ago. The Gunflint Iron Range runs through this part of Cook County, and the surrounding ridges hold the same banded-iron formation in lower exposures along the trail.

— the visit

The trailhead is a small pull-off on the east side of the Gunflint Trail just north of Gunflint Lake, with a sign and a kiosk. The walk is rocky underfoot but moderate, with open ledges that give long views over the burn. Carry water and bug spray from June through August. The trail is at its best from mid-September through early October when the regrown aspen turns gold among the jack pine, and again after first snow when the ledges read clean.

— informed by USDA Forest Service
— where
United States · Cook County, Minnesota
— within
Superior National Forest
— position
48.0883° N · 90.7728° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
2 km S
Gunflint Lake
lake
at the lake
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
wilderness
72 km S
Grand Marais
town
N
Magnetic Rock trail
Gunflint Lake
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Grand Marais
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Magnetic Rock trail — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The stone is iron-bearing Precambrian bedrock with enough natural magnetism to deflect a hand compass held against its face. The Gunflint Iron Range runs through this part of Cook County.

Roughly 1.5 miles each way, about three miles round trip, over open bedrock and through regrowing jack pine. The footing is rocky but the grade is moderate.

At a small pull-off on the east side of the Gunflint Trail just north of Gunflint Lake, about 45 miles up from Grand Marais in the Superior National Forest.

Yes. The 2007 Ham Lake Fire burned through the area, and the trail now runs through one of the most accessible long-term burn-recovery landscapes on the Gunflint.

The freestanding monolith is about 60 feet tall and roughly 25 feet wide at the base, a glacial erratic left behind when the last continental ice sheet retreated.

The trail runs right along the southern edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness but the route itself stays in the Superior National Forest. No permit is required to walk it.

— about the piece in your home

It tends to land well for BWCAW regulars and Gunflint outfitters. A Small or Medium with a studio note about the Ham Lake burn reads as a piece of trip memory, not generic canoe-country art.

The burnt-orange, jack-pine green and dark iron palette holds up in Cabin Modern, warm Industrial and Scandi rooms. It works against unfinished pine and over a stone hearth.

Yes. Specific named Boundary Waters landmarks have moved well in cabin renovations across the upper Midwest. A named rock reads more grounded than generic canoe imagery.

A single Large carries a standard console. Above a sofa, a 4-tile Mural holds the wall; for a long sectional, a 9-tile Mural is the cleaner answer.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both resist scratch and humidity and are intended for vertical installation in baths, showers and backsplashes.

A microfibre cloth and water. No abrasive pads, no ammonia-based sprays. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface and will not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is drawn in the studio's own visual language, with no licensed or stock imagery. One studio, one eye, no outside artists.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
Brainerd Paul Bunyan Land
just east of Brainerd, in the Minnesota lake country
Brainerd Paul Bunyan Land
— — a giant who has greeted children by name since 1950.
Father Hennepin State Park
on the southeast shore of Mille Lacs Lake, near Isle
Father Hennepin State Park
— — the long shoreline a French priest noted in 1680.
Frontenac State Park bluff
on a Mississippi bluff above Lake Pepin
Frontenac State Park bluff
— — the ridge the hawks ride south on.
Glacial Lakes State Park
on the prairie coteau south of Starbuck, Minnesota
Glacial Lakes State Park
— — the kettles the ice left behind.
Gooseberry Falls Lower Falls
on Minnesota's North Shore, below Highway 61
Gooseberry Falls Lower Falls
— — the last drop before the river meets the lake.
Gooseberry Falls Middle Falls
just below the visitor center on Minnesota's North Shore
Gooseberry Falls Middle Falls
— — the picture every North Shore drive stops for.
Grand Marais harbor
the last harbor town on Minnesota's North Shore
Grand Marais harbor
— — the small bay the lake keeps for itself.
Gull Lake summer cottage
in the Brainerd Lakes, just north of Nisswa
Gull Lake summer cottage
— the screen door, the dock, the long evening.
Hibbing Greyhound Bus Museum
on the Iron Range, northwest of Duluth
Hibbing Greyhound Bus Museum
— where a bus line started with one Hupmobile.
Lake Mille Lacs
in central Minnesota, two hours north of the Twin Cities
Lake Mille Lacs
— the lake the wind never quite leaves alone.
Lake Superior Maritime Museum
in Canal Park at the Duluth shipping canal
Lake Superior Maritime Museum
— the room where the lakers come and go.
Lake Vermilion island camp
an island camp on Lake Vermilion, in northern Minnesota
Lake Vermilion island camp
— — a cabin you reach only by boat.