Minnesota · Long-distance trail

Superior Hiking Trail

310 mi long · in Minnesota

The Superior Hiking Trail runs 310 miles along the ridgeline above Lake Superior on Minnesota's North Shore, from the Wisconsin border to the Canadian border. Built between 1986 and 2017, it is maintained by the Superior Hiking Trail Association and intersects eight Minnesota state parks.

States: Minnesota
Length: 310 mi
Trail type: Long-distance trail
Network: Regional (rwn)
Centroid nearest city: Minneapolis, MN · 190 mi · ~5 hr drive
Centroid coords: 47.3034°, -91.1341°
Official site: superiorhiking.org
OSM relations: 1 sub-relations on OpenStreetMap

From Wikipedia: The Superior Hiking Trail, also known as the SHT, is a 310-mile (500 km) long hiking trail in northeastern Minnesota that follows the rocky ridges overlooking Lake Superior for most of its length. The trail travels through forests of birch, aspen, pine, fir, and cedar. Hikers enjoy views of boreal forests, the Sawtooth Mountains, babbling brooks, rushing waterfalls, and abundant wildlife. The lowest point in the path is 602 ft (183 m) above sea level and the highest point is 1,829 ft (557 m) above sea level. The footpath is intended for hiking only. Motorized vehicles, mountain bikes, and horses are not allowed on the trail. Many people use the trail for long-distance hiking, and facilitating this purpose are 94 backcountry, fee-free campsites. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Superior Hiking Trail, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Termini

Start & end

Southern terminus: Wisconsin border, Minnesota.

Northern terminus: Canadian border, Minnesota.

Plan your hike

Practical notes

Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.

Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.

When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.

If you've hiked Superior Hiking Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.

Other trails within 50 miles

6 nearby

Minnesota

C.J. Ramstad/North Shore State Trail

17 miles from this trail's centroid

Minnesota · 30 mi

Powwow Trail

39 miles from this trail's centroid

Minnesota · 30 mi

Snowbank and Old Pines Loop

48 miles from this trail's centroid

Minnesota · 24 mi

Snowbank and Disappointment Lakes Loop

49 miles from this trail's centroid

Minnesota · 28 mi

Snowbank Trail

49 miles from this trail's centroid

Minnesota · 41 mi

Kekekabic Trail

49 miles from this trail's centroid

Sources

Public data + curation

Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.