Minnesota trails · Superior Hiking Trail
Superior Hiking Trail
A 11.6-mile network in Minnesota, with 454 ft of climbing. Reaches Bear Lake and other lake/viewpoint destinations. Managed by Minnesota DNR.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 1,570 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Bear Lake (lake)
- Bean Lake (lake)
- Mount Trudee Overlook (viewpoint)
- Elams Knob Overlook (viewpoint)
- Round Mountain Overlook (viewpoint)
- Blue Jay Overlook (viewpoint)
- Hawk Hill Overlook (viewpoint)
- Bear Lake Overlook (viewpoint)
Heads up
Getting there
Superior Hiking Trail access — restroom. About 1 h 26 min drive (60 mi) from Duluth. 47.29197, -91.29733 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:51 a.m., the sun rises at 7:21 a.m. and sets at 6:19 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:50 p.m. (CDT) — 10 h 58 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 11.6-mile route takes roughly 4 h 31 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 11:53 a.m. — 6 h 26 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Superior Hiking Trail — 8.4 mi loop, 1,582 ft gain
- Superior Hiking Trail Spur G + Superior Hiking Trail — 5.5 mi loop, 1,402 ft gain
- Superior Hiking Trail + Moose Loop Trail + Lutsen Ski — 9.1 mi loop, 793 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Tettegouche Lake Trail — 4.7 mi
- Hogback Lupus Trail Loop — 25.4 mi
- Hogback Lupus Loop — 25.7 mi