Minnesota trails · Nicollet Trail
Nicollet Trail
A 4.0-mile network in Minnesota, with 92 ft of climbing. Reaches Whipple Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by Minnesota DNR.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the middle third: 51% of the ascent falls between mile 1.3 and mile 2.6. It gives back about 108 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Whipple Lake (lake)
- Picard Lakes (lake)
- Nicolet Lake (lake)
- Floating Moss Lake (lake)
- Elk Pool (lake)
- Little Elk Lake (lake)
- Mikenna Lake (lake)
Getting there
Nicollet Trail access — parking nearby. About 1 h 14 min drive (46 mi) from Bemidji. 47.19346, -95.22927 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:06 a.m., the sun rises at 7:37 a.m. and sets at 6:35 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:06 p.m. (CDT) — 10 h 58 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 4.0-mile route takes roughly 1 h 31 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:08 a.m. — 9 h 27 min before sunset.
Nearby trails
- Nct — 3.3 mi
- Paul Bunyan State Forest — 24.9 mi
- Crow Wing River — 27.6 mi