Minnesota trails · North Country National Scenic Trail
North Country National Scenic Trail
A 71.4-mile section of the North Country National Scenic Trail in Minnesota, with 330 ft of climbing. The full trail runs about 4,800 miles. Reaches Woodtick Number One Impoundment and other lake destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 52% of the ascent falls between mile 47.6 and mile 71.4. It gives back about 1,449 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Woodtick Number One Impoundment (lake)
- Birch Lake Impoundment (lake)
- Loon Lake (lake)
- Finn Lake (lake)
- Cyphers Lake (lake)
- Ten Lake (lake)
- Ivins Lake (lake)
- Sailor Lake (lake)
- Lake Erin (lake)
- Twin Lakes (lake)
Getting there
North Country National Scenic Trail access. 47.02152, -94.25016 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:03 a.m., the sun rises at 6:34 a.m. and sets at 7:59 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:30 p.m. (CDT) — 13 h 24 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 71.4-mile route works out to roughly 26 h 37 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Ridge Trails + Jay Cooke Trails + North Country National Scenic Trail — 1.9 mi loop, 112 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Triville Gia Snowmobile Trail — 0.9 mi
- Pine River — 19.7 mi
- Crow Wing River — 21.0 mi
- Paul Bunyan State Forest — 23.0 mi