Minnesota trails · Central Lakes State Trail
Central Lakes State Trail
A 55.1-mile point-to-point in Minnesota, with 247 ft of climbing. Reaches Brophy Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by Minnesota DNR.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the middle third: 47% of the ascent falls between mile 18.4 and mile 36.7. It gives back about 302 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Brophy Lake (lake)
- Victoria Lake (lake)
- Golden Pond (lake)
- Lake Stony (lake)
Getting there
Central Lakes State Trail access. About 1 h 38 min drive (75 mi) from Brainerd. 45.86620, -95.14197 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:05 a.m., the sun rises at 7:35 a.m. and sets at 6:36 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:06 p.m. (CDT) — 11 h 01 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 55.1-mile route works out to roughly 20 h 32 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- North Country Trail + Central Lakes State Trail + Central Lakes Trail - Tunnel — 2.1 mi loop, 70 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Sauk River — 3.0 mi