Superior Hiking Trail:
Give This One A Try Soon!

By Diane Spicer

The Superior Hiking Trail is begging for your boots.

Seriously!

This fantastic hiking opportunity is named for the Great Lake it travels beside (Lake Superior), but also for the superior hiking trail that it is.

You've heard of the Appalachian Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail, as well as the Continental Divide Trail.

And maybe you're considering even less well known long distance hiking trails.

So why not a Midwestern "superior" trail that skirts that gloriously wild and immense lake?

OK, I'm biased.

I grew up in northern Michigan - extreme northern Michigan: the Upper Peninsula.

Many summers were spent playing in "the big lake", camping on its shores,  and taking a boat across its choppy waters to the fabulous national park called Isle Royale (that's where I learned a lot of my early backpacking skills).

So to say I have an affection for this area is an understatement.

But you want to know, what's so great about this Superior trail?

Hmmm... where to start?

Trail selling points: start here

Ah, good point!

This trail starts in Minnesota, and winds for over 280 miles to the Canadian border. That's a long stretch of Minnesota hiking trails!

So it offers you a lot of options for starting and stopping a lengthy hike.

Here's another reason why the Superior hiking trail is great: there is no permit system for the 80 or so campsites, so there's no lottery that you have to win in order to be on this trail for multiple nights.

Yet another reason I'm singing the praises of this trail:

It's maintained by a hard core body of volunteers, true hiking aficionados who are dedicated to making sure YOU have access to this fabulous hiking opportunity.

• You can sign up for regular updates by visiting the link I provided above.

If you're a fan of solitude plus mixed forests of pine, birch and maple, and inhabitants of this terrain like deer, black bear, fox, grouse and more, you've got to get on this trail.

• Fewer people mean more chances of animal encounters.

 
Can you hear the Superior hiking trail
calling you?

Here's another jam packed resource to get you started with planning a hiking trip on this great trail, from a woman who has done it.

Superior, but not hyped

So if you're feeling a bit jaded about the more "famous" long trails mentioned above (too crowded, too hard to plan for, too strenuous, too restricted, too well known), give this one a good long look.

Lake Superior is a fantastic "inner fresh water ocean" smack dab in the middle of the upper Midwest.

• It presents weather challenges, so be sure you're familiar with the forecast each day.

If you haven't given yourself the chance to stand on its shores and gaze over to Canada, or let the crisp breezes play over your face during sunrise, or explore the interplay between water and rock along its shores...

What are you waiting for??

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Superior Hiking Trail