Qualla: Superior Hiking Trail

Superior Hiking Trail: Introduction

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kjell Olsen from Minneapolis, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. In 1995, Paul Hlina became the first person to thru-hike the Superior Hiking Trail. He did it on crutches. Paralyzed from the waist down, Hlina hauled himself across ridgelines of billion-year-old volcanic rock, through forests of birch and balsam fir, past waterfalls that tumble over basalt ledges into the largest freshwater lake on Earth. He raised $16,000 in pledges for the trail association along the way. His journey captured something essential about this footpath: the Superior Hiking Trail demands effort, rewards stubbornness, and belongs to anyone willing to put one foot in front of the other across 310 miles of Minnesota's North Shore.

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Image: Kjell Olsen from Minneapolis, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0

Superior Hiking Trail: A Trail Built on Borrowed Inspiration

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kjell Olsen from Minneapolis, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. The idea was straightforward and audacious: build an Appalachian Trail for the upper Midwest. In 1986, a group of hikers formed the Superior Hiking Trail Association to turn that vision into dirt and stone. Construction began the following year, celebrated with a log-cutting cere...

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Image: Kjell Olsen from Minneapolis, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0

Superior Hiking Trail: Two Trails in One

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jim Sorbie, CC BY 2.0. The trail divides naturally into two distinct sections. The Duluth section covers roughly 50 miles, winding through Jay Cooke State Park, the Spirit Mountain Recreation Area, Enger Park, the historic downtown, and Canal Park before ending at a trailhead on Martin Road. This urban...

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Image: Jim Sorbie | CC BY 2.0

Superior Hiking Trail: Ridgeline and Ruin

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kjell Olsen from Minneapolis, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. What makes the Superior Hiking Trail singular is its geology. The path follows the Sawtooth Mountains, a chain of ridges formed by ancient lava flows tilted and eroded into jagged profiles. From these ridgelines, hikers look down over Lake Superior, which stretches to the horizon...

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Image: Kjell Olsen from Minneapolis, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0

Superior Hiking Trail: America's Underrated Classic

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kjell Olsen from Minneapolis, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. In 2005, Reader's Digest named the Superior Hiking Trail one of the five best hikes in America. A decade later, The Guardian listed it among the top ten long-distance hiking trails in the United States. Backpacker Andrew Skurka, who has logged thousands of miles on trails worldwi...

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Image: Kjell Olsen from Minneapolis, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0