Minnesota trails · Heartland State Trail
Heartland State Trail
A 46.6-mile network in Minnesota, with 177 ft of climbing. Reaches Stanley Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by Minnesota DNR.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 59% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 15.5. It gives back about 137 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Stanley Lake (lake)
- Sixth Lake (lake)
- Ten Lake (lake)
- Little Bass Lake (lake)
- Lake May (lake)
- Upper Fifth Lake (lake)
Getting there
Heartland State Trail access. About 28 min drive (20 mi) from Bemidji. 47.33748, -94.62253 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:04 a.m., the sun rises at 7:35 a.m. and sets at 6:32 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:03 p.m. (CDT) — 10 h 58 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 46.6-mile route works out to roughly 17 h 20 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Heartland Trail + Heartland State Trail — 3.2 mi loop, 281 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Paul Bunyan State Forest — 19.2 mi
- Crow Wing River — 21.7 mi
- North Country National Scenic Trail — 27.9 mi