Best of the Midwest: Day Hiking on the Superior Hiking Trail, Minnesota

The Trip

Backpacker magazine ranks the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) as one of the country’s top 10 trails. The Chicago Tribune calls it the Midwest’s Appalachian Trail, although many think it’s more scenic than the Appalachian Trail. Discover for yourself why the SHT draws raves from hikers with this week-long, day-hiking adventure on some of the best trail miles along the 300-mile route.

Our hikes take us to the ridgeline hundreds of feet above Lake Superior, where we're treated to panoramic views of the lake, vast inland forests, and smaller lakes. The trail dips into river valleys that feature some of the Midwest’s most dramatic waterfalls, cascades, and gorges. This is the North Woods at its best.

“Best of the Midwest: Day Hiking on the Superior Hiking Trail” is a hiking vacation for people who like the comforts of a lodge, and who enjoy exploring challenging trails through some of the most impressive scenery in the Midwest.

This popular Sierra Club trip is the highlight of the hiking season for many participants. One previous hiker wrote: “This was the best Sierra Club trip I’ve been on. It was perfect from beginning to end.”

The SHT is designed as a rugged footpath trail that follows ridges and creeks paralleling Minnesota’s Lake Superior shore. This trail was conceived in the mid-1980s and built to connect the area’s most scenic views. Since then an army of volunteers constructed a continuous, 300-mile path from Duluth to the Canadian border, including bridges over 100 water crossings. The well-maintained trail crosses the Superior National Forest and eight state parks and is an important link in the North Country National Scenic Trail. 

When the founders conceived and built the Superior Hiking Trail 30 years ago they could not have anticipated the heavy traffic and extreme rain events that the trail now endures. The Superior Hiking Trail Association is an organization dedicated to building, managing, renewing, and promoting the Superior Hiking Trail. A representative from the Association will join us on one of our hikes to share some inside perspectives on the joys and challenges involved in protecting and honoring the land and water it passes through.

The trip is based at the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center (WRELC), a 2,000-acre wooded campus near Finland, Minnesota. WRELC features comfortable bedrooms with private baths and showers, and tasty, healthy meals. The facility offers optional nightly activities included in the price of the trip: naturalist programs, canoeing, and more. We’ll also tour an on-site organic farm that, when fully developed, will provide many of the vegetables served in the dining hall. WRELC provides van transportation to and from trailheads.

Day 1: Registration at Wolf Ridge begins at 2 p.m. We’ll spend 90 minutes on a 1.5-mile hike to Mt. Marshall on the WRELC campus to achieve our first Lake Superior vista, followed by orientation, reception, and dinner.

Day 2: Our introduction to the SHT is the 7.6-mile Bean and Bear Lakes Loop from Silver Bay. It is a challenging hike that “climbs and descends three ridges in predominantly maple forests” with “great views of Lake Superior and inland bluffs” and two lakes in Tettegouche State Park.

Day 3: Today’s 6.8-mile hike includes several open ledges with beautiful views of Lake Superior, inland lakes, mountains, and valleys. The trail has everything we’ll enjoy during the week, from easy, rambling sections to rugged, rocky, rooty, and steep segments.

Day 4: Today will be an easier day with a half-day hike in the morning on the Split Rock Ridge Loop, which takes us from a ridge above Lake Superior to its shore. In the afternoon we’ll explore the Split Rock Lighthouse historical site. Admission is included in the trip price. In the evening we’ll tour the organic farm that is being developed to produce many of the vegetables served in the dining hall.

Day 5: A 7.6-mile, up-and-down hike leads to high cliffs overlooking Sawmill Creek and Baptism River valleys, and an impressive 440-foot boardwalk constructed over an abandoned beaver dam.

Day 6: Our last hike on the SHT is an 8.0-mile hike with meadows, waterfalls, moose habitat, and lookout views that hug the dramatic Cross River for more than a mile before meeting and following the roaring Temperance River as it pours through a dark basaltic canyon. We’ll celebrate our week’s achievements at a local restaurant this evening. Dinner is not included in the price of the trip.

Day 7: The trip ends after we share our last breakfast at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center.

* Descriptions quoted and other trail information are from Guide to the Superior Hiking Trail, Eighth Edition; a publication of the Superior Hiking Trail Association. Important note: Scheduled hikes are subject to change, primarily due to weather and trail conditions. Evening activities are subject to change based on staff availability.

Getting There

The Superior Hiking Trail is located on Minnesota’s North Shore, which is the western shore of Lake Superior. Our trip on Sunday starts with registration beginning at noon at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, 6282 Cranberry Road, Finland, Minnesota. WRELC is 250 miles north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport and about 80 miles north of the nearest commercial airport in Duluth, Minnesota. There is a commercial shuttle between the airports in Minneapolis and Duluth. Participants will get a roster to facilitate ride-sharing. Please do not make travel arrangements until the leaders have confirmed you as a trip member.

Accommodations and Food

Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center is a nationally recognized leader in environmental education, hosting more than 18,000 people annually. We will have a floor or wing of a dorm to ourselves, featuring rooms for three or four hikers (single and double rooms may be available at an extra cost –- contact the leaders) with a private bath and shower in each room. The wing has a clothes washer, dryer, and refrigerator. Towels, bedding, and pillows are provided. High-speed wireless Internet service usually is available.

Except for a final evening restaurant meal, all meals are included from dinner on day one to lunch on day seven. Cafeteria-style meals are served in the dining room. In addition to a hot entrée, breakfast may include fresh fruit, yogurt, granola, and other cereal. We’ll make our lunches each morning from a wide variety of sandwich ingredients. Dinner is a featured entrée with salad, vegetables, and dessert. On our last night together we will have dinner at a local restaurant, which is not covered in the trip cost.

Trip Difficulty

Trip participants need to be experienced hikers in good physical condition. Although the loads we’ll carry are light for day hikes, we will hike varied terrain, from gently rolling to rugged, rocky, rooty, and steep. Good hikers will appreciate the challenge, but if you’re new to the SHT or Midwest hiking, don’t underestimate the effort required. We hike at a typical Sierra Club pace of about 1.5 mph, including breaks; however, we pace hikes to satisfy all participants. We know that some prefer a brisk pace while others prefer a leisurely pace to view wildflowers and vistas or take photographs.

Equipment and Clothing

Sturdy, broken-in, lug-soled hiking boots may be the most important equipment to pack. Overall, our pack weights will be light for these day hikes; you'll just need a rain suit, a warming layer (a fleece pullover, for example), lunch, two to three liters/quarts of water, a camera, and a few other items. Additional equipment suggestions will be distributed to hikers before the trip. 

The weather in August is typical in the upper Midwest, with high temperatures in the 70s and lows in the 40s, although colder and warmer temperatures are possible anytime.

References

Conservation

With an average frost-free season of only 124 days in nearby Grand Marais, Minnesota (May 22-Sept. 23), growing vegetables is a regional challenge. Although still being developed, the Wolf Ridge Organic Farm now has three 30'x96' tunnel greenhouses and other resources to supply organic produce for 140,000 meals served annually at the facility. We’ll tour the farm and talk about the benefits of locally grown food and land stewardship, and we’ll learn about other ways WRELC is reducing its carbon footprint through alternate fuels, energy conservation, and other sustainability practices. We will have several conservation conversations about local and regional environmental issues.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.