Minnesota trails · Border Route
Border Route
A 27.2-mile point-to-point in Minnesota, with 520 ft of climbing. Reaches Mucker Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 2,783 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Mucker Lake (lake)
- Rove Lake (lake)
- Topper Lake (lake)
Getting there
Upper Gunflint Lonely Lake access. 48.08732, -90.70177 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:46 a.m., the sun rises at 6:18 a.m. and sets at 7:46 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:18 p.m. (CDT) — 13 h 27 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 27.2-mile route takes roughly 10 h 19 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 4:38 p.m. — 3 h 08 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Border Route + Upper Gunflint Aspen Rabbit + Upper Gunflint River — 4.2 mi loop, 417 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Kekekabic Trail — 13.7 mi
- C.J. Ramstad/North Shore State Trail — 27.2 mi
- Old Pines Loop Trail — 27.7 mi
- Old Pines Loop — 28.8 mi