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Other stories in "Hiking"

• Hiking in Duluth
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• Michigan's Pictured Rocks
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• Tracing the Ice Age Trail
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• Walking in Duluth
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• Quiet time on the North Shore
  Late fall is marked by stark beauty, cheaper stays and the gales of November.
• Trek to Timm's Hill
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• Along for the walk
  In fall, join a group hike through the glowing forest.
• Hiking the North Shore
  For most, it's the preferred way to soak up the scenery.
• Hikes with benefits
  For exercise as well as edification, tag along with an expert.
• King of the hill
  With a huff and a puff, hikers earn a view of fall colors.
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• Isle Royale reverie
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• Walk 'n' roll
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• Bird walks
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• Peak hiking
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• Preventing Lyme disease
  Bite of a deer tick can cause major headache.

Five ways to walk the Superior Hiking Trail

On a guided trip, you can pay a lot or a little.

Most guided adventure trips cost quite a lot. If you're prepared to pay, great; if not, you have options.

If you want to hike the Superior Hiking Trail on Minnesota's North Shore, for example, you can pay up to $379 per day, per person, or as little as $40 per day. Here's how it works out:

All of these trips include lodgings, meals and transportation as noted. Cost is per person and, for lodge trips, based on double occupancy. For camping trips, meals (mostly groceries) are estimated at $20 per day.

Hikers also may want to buy the new fifth edition of the "Guide to the Superior Hiking Trail," $15.95.

For the best parts of the trail, see Hiking the North Shore. For more about guided trips, see Follow the leader?

$379 per day — Guided midweek lodge trip offered by Timberline Adventures of Denver. Includes transportation from Duluth. Accommodations include Grand Superior Lodge, Bluefin Bay and Cascade Lodge. 800-417-2453.

$173 per day — Guided weekend lodge trip offered by nonprofit Wilderness Inquiry of Minneapolis. Open to people with disabilities. 612-676-9400.

$130 per day — Self-guided midweek lodge trip arranged by Barbara and Ted Young's Boundary Country Trekking. Package includes shuttle, breakfast, trail lunch and an annual membership in the Superior Hiking Trail Association; total includes $30 for dinner in a restaurant.

Guests choose from accommodations that include Bluefin Bay, Caribou Highlands and Cascade Lodge. Weekends cost more; late-spring and late-fall trips cost less. Based on double occupancy. 800-322-8327.

$45 per day — Self-guided, self-arranged weekend camping trip with return from Superior Shuttle ($25 for three stops, for a hike of 20-25 miles). Add cost of camping gear and maps. Dan Sanders offers the shuttles Friday-Sunday from mid-May to mid-October, 218-834-5511 or 612-803-8453.

$40 per day — Guided weekend camping trip offered to members of the Minnesota Rovers Outdoors Club of the Twin Cities (other outdoors clubs offer similar trips). Add $25 for an annual membership ($10 for students and non-metro residents). Members can borrow backpacks and other camping gear from the club.

Transportation from the Twin Cities is by carpooling; those who don't drive contribute to expenses. Trips are discussed at weekly meetings (Como Park in summer, Macalester College in winter).

Many other non-profit clubs offer similar trips; see Join the club.

Last updated on October 1, 2009