Located some 205 miles along the rocky ridgeline above Lake Superior, the Superior Hiking Trail is one of the best long distance hiking trails in northeastern Minnesota. The Superior Hiking Trail is actually located within the Superior National Forest, between the U.S. – Canadian border and the north shore of the Lake.

Covering 3.9 million acres of pine, fir, and spruce trees and over 445,000 acres of water in over 2,000 lakes, the Forest provides ample foliage as you trek along the Superior Hiking Trail. The waters provide you with ample fish species, including walleye, northern pike, small mouth bass, lake trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, and brown trout. Hiking has never been more of an outdoor adrenaline-rush than hiking on the Superior Hiking Trail.

Though the Superior Hiking Trial winds on both public and private lands, the trail itself is privately maintained. It was in the mid- 1980s when the Superior Hiking Trail was first conceived by a group of individuals who later banded together to form the Superior Hiking Trail Association. Aside from maintaining the trail, the Superior Hiking Trail Association also promotes the trail to individuals who would like to taste the wilder side of life.

Trail Description

The Superior Hiking Trail currently begins near Two Harbors, Minnesota, after which it extends along Lake Superior through seven state parks, including Split Rock State Park and Tettegouche State Park.

The Superior Hiking Trail’s northern leg passes near the town of Grand Marais in Cook County, so called for its big marsh in the vicinity (Grand Marais is French for “Big Marsh”). In addition to a brief Passover near Grand Marais, the north leg of the Superior Hiking Trail also includes a two-mile stretch on the gravel beaches of Superior, before finally ending just before the Canadian border.

Ultimately, however, the Superior Hiking Trail actually begins in Duluth, Minnesota, county seat of St. Louis County and a seaport city connecting to the Atlantic Ocean 2,300 miles away from the Great Lakes. And from there, the Superior Hiking Trail passes through the places mentioned before coming to an end just as it connects with the Border Route Trail. This trail connecting with the Superior Hiking Trial passes through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The Superior Hiking Trail is a proposed segment of the 4,000-mile North County Trail, which begins near Lake Champlain in New York State, and traverses New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Cakota. The North County Trail follows the Superior Hiking Trail along the north shore of Lake Superior, and then cuts across the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness along the BorderRoute and Kekekabic hiking trails.

Considered as one of the best hiking trails in the country, the Backpacker Magazine named the Superior Hiking Trail the trail with the “Best Trail/Camp/Shelter conditions.” Not only that, the Superior Hiking Trail was also named the trail with the “Best Signage” in the country, and one of the most scenic trails in the nation (December 2000). Hikers through the Superior Hiking Trail enjoy views of boreal forests, the Sawtooth Mountains, babbling brooks, rushing waterfalls, and abundant wildlife.