Koochiching County / Rainy Lake Area Real Estate covers waterfront properties throughout Koochiching County on many of the rivers. It also includes lake homes, waterfront cabins and lakeshore lots on Rainy Lake near International Falls, Minnesota.. See All Other Itasca Region Lake Areas
Heading north into Koochiching County from the Itasca County line is a bit like driving across the moon, until you begin to reach its northern edges. There are essentially no lakes – other than a few small ones around Gemmel and Northome – and an extremely limited supply of towns or highways as well. If you decide to venture off into uncharted territory in the Pine Island State Forest, you may be there for several years before someone finds you!
But as you get a little further north, toward Big Falls and Littlefork, you begin to come across larger rivers and more high ground, and a fair amount of appealing waterfront real estate along the banks of these rushing streams. The fishing here can be excellent, and you probably won’t see a lot of other boats around trying to move in on the best holes.
At the northern edge of Koochiching County, the Rainy River and Canada form a boundary that runs from just east of Baudette to International Falls, and then onto Ranier. And that is where Rainy Lake begins…a Canadian Shield lake of massive rock islands, cliffs, and craggy shoreline, entirely out of character with the softer shoreline on lakes to the west and south.
Here begins about 220,000 acres of navigable waters on Rainy Lake, with about the same amount more available by truck portage at Kettle Falls – about 45 miles to the east of International Falls. That will allow you to travel by boat through all reaches of Voyageurs National Park into Namakan Lake, Lake Kabetogama, Sandpoint Lake, and all the way to the resorts in Crane Lake…30 miles east of Kettle Falls.
Most available real estate on the American side of Rainy Lake is within about ten miles of International Falls, where there are about 1,000 total parcels of private lake homes, cabins and lots, both on the mainland and on various islands. So there is generally a number of lake properties available to choose from. Because Rainy Lake is on the dividing line of our areas, you will find other Rainy Lake properties in our Iron Range Region.
Top Residential Real Estate Water Bodies:
Rainy Lake: 220,810 Acres
Rainy River / Bigfork River / Littlefork River