My love of hiking is no real secret to anyone who knows me. A major part of the reason I decided to leave my job in 2018 was so I would have more time to spend outdoors, specifically out hiking.
There are so many trails I want to thru-hike that I have a running list on my iPhone. They vary in length from shorter hikes like the 93-mile Wonderland Trail to the the long distance ones like the 2650-mile Pacific Crest Trail.
Somewhere in the “completely manageable” distance on my hiking list is the 310-mile Superior Hiking Trail. But, I never thought I’d get a chance to hike it because, well, it’s in Minnesota. I hate the cold. And Minnesota is crazy cold for much of the year.
Hiking the Superior Hiking Trail
For those who’ve never heard of the Superior Hiking Trail before, it’s an incredibly well-marked trail that runs through northeastern Minnesota adjacent to Lake Superior. It starts at the Wisconsin/Minnesota border, runs though Duluth and seven State parks, and ends just shy of the Canadian border.
The Great Lakes was the starting point to our full-time travel adventures in the RV. So, hiking on the Superior Hiking Trail was definitely on my short list of things to do. Our brief trip to Minnesota this summer allowed me to briefly hike parts of the trail four times times in five days!
Hike #1 – The “accidental” hike
I first encountered the Superior Hiking Trail in in Duluth when deciding to head up to Enger Park and Tower to get a bird’s eye view of the city and visit the Japanese Garden.
As I meandered around the park trying to get good views of Lake Superior and the aerial lift bidge, I accidentally stumbled on the trail. I didn’t get much hiking done that day – just a little bit of trail up in the park, and about a mile along Duluth’s Lakewalk. But, it was a nice introduction.
Hike #2 – The early morning hike
My next encounter with the Superior Hiking Trail was equally unexpected. I got up early one morning while Keith and Finn were still snoozing and for a trail run.
The lady who checked us into the RV park the prior day mentioned there was a trail across the road and absent-mindedly waved her hand off in a general direction.
Given her nonchalance, I didn’t expect to be a spur for the Superior Hiking Trail. Imagine my surprise when I once again saw the distinctive signs for the trail and a had an pleasant run on a beautifully maintained, well-marked path.
Hikes #3 & 4 – The family hikes
During our stay in northern Minnesota we decided to plan a few family friendly hikes on the Superior Hiking Trail.
It’s probably worth noting that “family friendly” has nothing to do with what we see or how long we hike. It just means Finn is going to get dragged along… because nothing quite fills up the peacefulness of nature like an 11 year old whining about how hot (or cold) he happens to be, or incessantly asking how much farther we have to go.
Both of our planned hikes were around the 5-7 mile range. The first hike started in Lutsen Mountain ski area and we followed the trail for about two hours, finding ourselves along the Poplar River with some nice areas to camp or just stop for a snack.
We were able to bribe Finn into “enjoying” this initial hike because he got to carry our new camera and take lots of photos. Plus, there was an Alpine slide ride at the end of the hike — right near where we parked. Hey, know your motivation, right?
The following day, we did a 7-mile roundtrip day hike up to Carlton Peak where we had a nice picnic lunch up at the summit. The bugs weren’t tremendously bad on either hike (I think they were lying in wait for when we hit Michigan).
These short hikes only whet my appetite to thru-hike the entire Superior Hiking Trail in the future. It definitely won’t be in the winter, but if this summer’s days hikes are any indication, I’ll be back in Minnesota soon!
