Superior Hiking Trail sections and day hikes above Lake Superior
The Superior Hiking Trail runs roughly 310 miles from Duluth to the Canadian border along the ridgeline above Lake Superior, and dozens of trailheads off Highway 61 let you sample it a few miles at a time. Nearly every classic North Shore day hike is either a section of the SHT or a state park loop that connects to it.
Footing is rock and root, and the climbs off the lake are short but steep. Trails dry out by late May, bug season peaks in June, and September through mid-October is the best hiking on the shore. Carry water — ridge-top sections have none.
Several of these trailheads are within a few minutes of lodging: the Superior Hiking Trail crosses the road from Cove Point Lodge and North Shore Camping Co. in Beaver Bay, and the Silver Bay and Split Rock River trailheads are both a short drive from either.
The signature North Shore hike: about 7 miles from the Silver Bay trailhead to overlooks above two cliff-walled lakes. Steep in places and busy in fall, but the payoff is the best view on the trail.
A 5-mile loop up one side of the Split Rock River gorge past cascades and down the other, with Lake Superior views on the return. Trailhead is right off Highway 61.
A short, quiet lakeside stretch of the Superior Hiking Trail that starts at Cove Point Lodge and climbs to a ridge view over the cove — an easy first hike or after-dinner walk.
1.5 miles each way to the tallest waterfall entirely in Minnesota, with a suspension bridge over the Baptism River and a platform at the lip of the falls.
Beyond the paved loop, the Fifth Falls trail adds a 2-mile forest circuit with bridges and far fewer people than the main falls area.
Two very short walks with outsized views — Palisade Head’s cliff top over the shore, and Day Hill above Beaver Bay for sunrise on the lake.
The Bean and Bear Lakes loop out of Silver Bay is the signature North Shore hike — cliff-top overlooks above two lakes on a Superior Hiking Trail section. For something shorter, the Split Rock River loop and Gooseberry's Fifth Falls trail are the best half-day options.
Yes. The trail runs the length of the shore and connects directly to lodging in Beaver Bay — the Cove Point Loop ties into it right from the property, and North Shore Camping Co. sits footsteps from it.
Plenty. Palisade Head is a drive-up with a short walk to the cliff edge, Gooseberry's lower loop is paved, and Day Hill in Tettegouche is a modest climb for a big Lake Superior view.
