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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.

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Length
162.6 mi
Elevation gain
506 ft
Difficulty
Easy
Max grade
11%
Steepest mile
+44 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
0.1 mi
Shape
point-to-point
Managed by
State

Elevation profile

950 – 1,455 ft121416181101121141161

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

3-D terrain view of Otter Tail River

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

Otter Tail River access — parking nearby. 46.26425, -96.59868 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:14 a.m., the sun rises at 6:45 a.m. and sets at 8:07 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:38 p.m. (CDT) — 13 h 22 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