Giving this place short of a 5 star rating is beyond me. Amazing store with extremely reasonable prices, considering it is in the most remote part of Minnesota. It is not even a block away from the Canadian border. The store has such a big variety of items that we stayed there for over an hour just perusing. Extremely friendly staff which is a plus. If you are ever that up north, this should be on your list. P.S. their jerky is absolutely phenomenal and it is cheaper than the big box brand jerky. read more

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They don't have any magnets or Tshirts that say Grand Portage on them. All the magnets say Canada on them even though the store isn't in Canada. There's a liquor store next door which I didn't go into. Great selection of Canadian candy! read more

Although I have not been to the store, I had to ship something there for a customer. They must be swamped because the phone is repeatedly busy - keep trying! Sam answered and without transferring me anywhere was able to answer my questions and was *very* helpful about letting me know package progress and its path. Thanks, Sam! read more

If one were to need of a motel room on the Canadian border that makes you feel like you're up to something, Ryden's is your place. I'm not sure if the room looks more like a '70's basement rec room or a trailer home. It was large. There was no telephone. The television only picked up one channel (ABC), and not very well. Long hours to do or plan ill deeds. These days, there is a indian hotel/casino down the street. You'd think Ryden's would have faded away. Yet still they remain, renting rooms on a need-to-know basis. Selling groceries, beer and supplies. Cranking out eggs, flapjacks and as much coffee as you want to drink from 6am to 9pm. What was I doing there? None of your business. read more

Stopped here for gas and currency exchange on our way to Canada. Did my exchange in a timely manner and were off. Bank in Grand Marais recommended Rydens...told me their exchange rate would probably be better than the bank. Worked for me. read more

General store is awesome, but the cafe closed 3 YEARS AGO, so don't come expecting a meal. Fun and cheap stop before or after you cross the U.S. border! read more

My boyfriend and I went to Ryden's Border Store to pick up some parcels we had bought online. Receipts in hand, we stood at the service desk and we were promptly assisted by a young staffer. With 6 boxes to account for, we previously had some trouble with tracking our parcels online (one sent to Atlanta) along with forgetting our last name on one particular item, which we informed the young man about when he asked for our names to look up on the computer. He was very hostile and difficult to communicate with, as he would hardly listen to the particulars of our situation and kept spieling off on how he probably couldn't look it up. Four of our parcels were easily accounted for, however he continued to give us a hard time about the last two ("Who did you buy them from?", "What service did they use?", "No nothing"). I informed him the parcel without a last name was a pair of golf shoes and the one that had been previously sent to Atlanta was a golf bag. Finally after some more grief, a lady staffer came over to assist. She located the golf shoes immediately and pulled out a box that contained a golf bag. That box was missing it's shipping address label (ripped off in mail?) and it was the only one they had in the back. We said it was probably ours and even described it to a tee before she opened it to check. We needed to get the tracking ID to confirm it was ours which wasn't on our reciept. The young man actually said "It's probably not yours. Do you know how many golf bags we get here a year?!" I'd had it with this man's attitude, so I calmly asked him, "How s your day today? Are you okay? You seem very agitated", at which point he ceased in assisting us and his lady co-worker apologized and took over. We found our tracking ID on my phone and she was very pleasant. I've always enjoyed stopping at Ryden's, but I might think twice the next time I consider having something sent there. read more

Stayed there on a trip to Isle Royale National Park. The price was half as much as other local resorts and motels. The rooms were huge - there are only 4 rooms total, so call ahead. read more