Bill and I recently spent two weeks on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. We got out hiking most days and while I claim the Ice Age Trail as my “home trail” we were able to explore two other great trails.
The trail we were hiking on the most was the Superior Hiking Trail. This glorious walking path covers about 300 miles from just south of Duluth to just south of the Canadian border. So why do I call it “glorious?” There’s no other way to describe this trail which runs principally along the ridgeline overlooking Lake Superior and provides many breathtaking views of the lake and shoreline. Hikers are also treated to views of the Sawtooth Mountains, inland lakes and rivers, many waterfalls (one of which is pictured here), and deep gorges. The trail features a large variety of trees — oak, maple, basswood, balsam, pines, spruces, cedar, and tamarack — as it passes through eight state parks.
Along the Superior Hiking Trail there are some elevation changes that are quite steep. The Superior Hiking Trail Association features a “Summit Challenge” that invites people to climb at least seven of the summits along the trail within a year’s time. The trail is very popular with trail runners as evidenced by the Superior Fall Trail Race (100 miles, 50 miles or 26.2) which takes place annually. We happened to be hiking on the section of trail where the Superior Fall Trail Race was taking place and witnessed weary-looking runners, some of whom had been running for 85 miles at the time that we encountered them. To learn more about the Superior Hiking Trail and see some beautiful photos go to superiorhiking.org.
The other trail that we spent a bit of time on and which we have visited previously was the North Country Trail. Like the Ice Age Trail, the North Country Trail has been designated as a National Scenic Trail. Unlike the Ice Age Trail this trail passes through eight states, from North Dakota to Vermont, which means that the hiker gets to experience a large variety of scenery. The North Country Trail is the longest trail in the National Trail System at 4700 miles, compared to 1200 for the Ice Age Trail. As I visited the North Country Trail website I found a number of things that are similar to the Ice Age Trail, including the fact that they have Trail Towns (just as the Ice Age Trail has Trail Communities) and they have local chapters, as does the Ice Age Trail. I was also interested to see that while the Ice Age Trail has the Mammoth Hike 41 Challenge (which takes place throughout October…you can still sign up to participate), the North Country Trail has a Hike 100 challenge that takes place over a calendar year. You can learn more about the North Country Trail by going to northcountrytrail.org.
We’re so fortunate to have these hiking trails available to us within driving distance and I feel privileged to have been able to enjoy them. No doubt I will think about the experiences I had while walking these two trails as I continue to hike more locally….Along the Ice Age Trail.

Patti Herman live in the City of Lodi with her husband, Bill Welch. A retired educator, Patti is glad to be living in the Lodi Valley where she is surrounded by so much natural beauty, including the beauty to be found along the Ice Age Trail.
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