Hosted by Visit Cook County, Moose Madness is an annual family-friendly festival that takes place over MEA weekend each October in Grand Marais. A popular favorite amongst visitors, the festival includes several scheduled events and activities and various ways for participants to earn “Moose Bucks”. You then redeem your Moose Bucks collection for prizes and other goodies. During Moose Madness you have the best chances of spotting Murray the Moose, the mascot of Visit Cook County. He gets called to town each year at the start of the festival and can be found walking around the downtown area most of the weekend!
Visit the Visit Cook County website for a full list of events and details!
Moose Madness Events
Most of Cook County gets into the Moosey spirit each October. Activities and events are found throughout the county over MEA weekend. Most events are family-friendly and fun for everyone. Some fan favorites over the years have been the Grand Marais State Bank Medallion Hunt, live music at Moose Headquarters, and many adventures and challenges to earn Moose Bucks.
This year, for 2021, the Medallion Hunt is on! Read the first clue, which will be released on Friday morning, and see if you can solve the riddle and find the medallion. You can find more clues as they are released at regular intervals until the medallion is found. The family that finds the medallion and turns it in at Moose Headquarters will win $100!
This year other events will include:
Moose on a Stoop Scavenger Hunt! Search for code letters, unscramble the code, and mention the code word at moose Headquarters to earn 5 Moose Bucks!
Colvill Moose Crawl! Drive the County Road 14/Highway 61 loop through Colvill and see how many moose you can spot! No, you’re not looking for real moose. Keep your eye out for cutouts, statues, posters, etc. But, just maybe, if you’re really lucky, you can spot a real one, too!
Moose Coloring Page Contest! Kids ages 2-10 can pick up a moose coloring sheet from Mike’s Holiday Gas Station in Grand Marais. Color it and turn it in for a chance to win a prize package!
Moose Trivia on Small Change! Our local radio station, WTIP, is hosting a moose trivia version of their weekly call-in trivia show. The best part of this event is you don’t even have to be in Grand Marais to participate! Stream the show on Friday, October 22 at 7 PM from anywhere! Just click on the “Listen Now” button on their website. Or, ask your Alexa device to “Play WTIP North Shore Radio on TuneIn”.
Moose Safari! Follow the Visit Cook County moose driving routes for your best chance of seeing a moose in person. The routes range from 1-2 hours and take you deep into Cook County’s Northwoods. We happen to know that even if you don’t spot a moose, the drives are beautiful!
Moose Bucks
New in 2021: Participants earn Moose Bucks and redeem them at your favorite Grand Marais business! In previous years you would redeem Moose Bucks for prizes donated by local businesses. In 2021, this has changed so Moose Bucks are redeemable at many Grand Marais businesses. These include Beth’s Fudge and Gifts, Dairy Queen, Drury Lane Books, Gunflint Mercantile, Joy & Co, The Big Lake, and more! See a full list on the Visit Cook Count website. 1 Moose Buck = $1!
Have Fun at Moose Madness!
Moose Madness kicks off on the Friday of MEA weekend and runs until Sunday. You will find most activities scheduled on Friday and Saturday. Check out the Visit Cook County website for the full list of activities and events.