Minnesota trails · Hogback Lupus Loop
Hogback Lupus Loop
A 3.8-mile out-and-back in Minnesota, with 124 ft of climbing. Reaches Twin Lakes and other lake destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 72% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 1.3. It gives back about 195 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Twin Lakes (lake)
- Canal Lake (lake)
- Steer Lake (lake)
- Lupus Lake (lake)
- Hogback Lake (lake)
- Alger Lake (lake)
- Cliff Lake (lake)
- Scarp Lake (lake)
- Mound Lake (lake)
Getting there
Hogback Lupus Trail Loop. About 3 h 16 min drive (100 mi, 22 of them unpaved) from Virginia. 47.64138, -91.10350 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:50 a.m., the sun rises at 7:21 a.m. and sets at 6:18 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:49 p.m. (CDT) — 10 h 57 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 7.6-mile round trip takes roughly 2 h 55 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 10:16 a.m. — 8 h 02 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Hogback Scarp Loop + Hogback Lupus Loop + Hogback Connector — 2.8 mi loop, 409 ft gain
- Hogback Connector + Hogback Lupus Loop — 3.4 mi loop, 206 ft gain
- Hogback Lupus Trail Loop + Hogback Lupus Loop + Hogback Connector — 3.8 mi loop, 640 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Hogback Lupus Trail Loop — 1.5 mi
- Powwow Trail — 16.6 mi
- Tettegouche Lake Trail — 21.1 mi
- Old Pines Loop — 25.0 mi