Minnesota trails · Snowbank
Snowbank
A 12.9-mile out-and-back in Minnesota, with 173 ft of climbing. Reaches Grub Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 1,050 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Grub Lake (lake)
- Birdsey Lake (lake)
- Wooden Leg Lake (lake)
Getting there
NORTH COUNTRY NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL WEST — parking nearby. About 1 h 52 min drive (73 mi, 2 of them unpaved) from Virginia. 47.96813, -91.46554 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:52 a.m., the sun rises at 7:23 a.m. and sets at 6:19 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:50 p.m. (CDT) — 10 h 56 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 25.9-mile round trip takes roughly 9 h 45 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 5:08 p.m. — 1 h 11 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Snowbank + Snowbank Trail — 4.7 mi loop, 285 ft gain
- Snowbank + Parent-Disappointment + Snowbank Spur — 12.9 mi loop, 1,319 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Snowbank Trail — 0.0 mi
- Old Pines Loop — 7.6 mi
- Old Pines Loop Trail — 8.6 mi
- Powwow Trail — 11.5 mi