Minnesota trails · Otter Tail River
Otter Tail River
A 162.6-mile point-to-point in Minnesota, with 506 ft of climbing. Reaches Otter Tail River Reservoir and other lake destinations. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 51% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 54.2. It climbs almost continuously, with little descent to recover on.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Otter Tail River Reservoir (lake)
- Mud Lake (lake)
- Hubbel Pond (lake)
- West Lost Lake (lake)
- Pine Lake (lake)
- Dayton Hollow Reservoir (lake)
- Breckenridge Lake (lake)
- Orwell Lake (lake)
- Rice Lake (lake)
- Big Pine Lake (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
Otter Tail River access — parking nearby. About 1 h 31 min drive (67 mi) from Detroit Lakes. 46.26425, -96.59868 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:11 a.m., the sun rises at 7:41 a.m. and sets at 6:42 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:12 p.m. (CDT) — 11 h 00 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 162.6-mile route works out to roughly 60 h 28 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Across the border
- Continues into ND as Red River of the North — view on the map