Minnesota trails · Kettle River
Kettle River
A 60.6-mile point-to-point in Minnesota, with 359 ft of climbing. Reaches Big Spring Falls and other lake/viewpoint/waterfall destinations. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 50% of the ascent falls between mile 40.4 and mile 60.6. It climbs almost continuously, with little descent to recover on.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Big Spring Falls (waterfall)
- Wolf Creek Falls (waterfall)
- Kettle River Reservoir (lake)
- Kettle River Overlook (viewpoint)
Getting there
Kettle River access. About 1 h 07 min drive (52 mi, 1 of them unpaved) from Duluth. 46.52033, -92.88698 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:56 a.m., the sun rises at 7:27 a.m. and sets at 6:27 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:57 p.m. (CDT) — 11 h 00 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 60.6-mile route works out to roughly 22 h 38 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.