Other stories in "Hiking"

• Goin' on a treasure hunt
  We jump on the geocaching bandwagon and get hooked.
• Hikes with benefits
  For exercise as well as edification, tag along with an expert.
• Along for the walk
  In fall, join a group hike through the glowing forest.
• Tracing the Ice Age Trail
  In Wisconsin, a slow-moving monolith left a playground for weekend wanderers.
• 12 great fall hikes
  For a perfect day, hit the trail and do some sightseeing, too.
• Hiking the North Shore
  For most, it's the preferred way to soak up the scenery.
• Devil's heaven
  In the Baraboo Hills, a splendid park makes people come running.
• King of the hill
  With a huff and a puff, hikers earn a view of fall colors.
• Michigan's Pictured Rocks
  There's a lot of scenery crammed into one stretch of Lake Superior.
• Six ways to walk the Superior Hiking Trail
  On a guided trip, you can pay a lot or a little.
• Trek to Timm's Hill
  The highest point in Wisconsin is the gateway to a forest full of trails.
• Peak hiking
  For Highpointers, nothing but a summit will do.
• Walk 'n' roll
  Thanks to a bike trail, backtracking on the Superior Hiking Trail is a thing of the past.
• Duluth walks
  Trails along creeks, ravines and bays provide stellar hiking in the heart of town.
• Isle Royale reverie
  Whichever face it shows, the Lake Superior wilderness is beguiling.
• Hitting the trails in Trempealeau
  There's lots to do in this Mississippi River hamlet.
• Preventing Lyme disease
  Bite of a deer tick can cause major headache.

Hiking Duluth

The city sections of the Superior Hiking Trail are spectacular.

If Duluth wasn't already one of the best hiking cities in the nation, it definitely is now.

Creeks, ravines, bays and lakefront have given it spectacular terrain for the Congdon Park, Park Point and Western Waterfront trails (See Walking Duluth).

Now, 39 miles of the Superior Hiking Trail stretch from Jay Cooke State Park to Hawk Ridge, roughly following the same ridges and glacial beach terraces used by Skyline Parkway. Along the way, the trail passes such landmarks as Ely's Peak, Spirit Mountain,  Enger Tower and the Rose Garden.

"We never thought we'd be able to put a trail like that through the city of Duluth, but we did," says Gayle Coyer, director of Superior Hiking Trail Association. "Duluth is so amazing. In so many areas, you're going to think you're in a remote forest on the North Shore."

By 2010, says trail scout Bill Dryborough of Superior, 300 miles of trail should be completed between Duluth and the Canadian border.

At the grand opening of the westernmost section, which starts from the Grand Portage Trail just inside Jay Cooke State Park, I saw just how remarkable the trail is. Following blue blazes, we found ourselves high above ravines on a little ridge, just wide enough for a trail. I wondered aloud how scouts could have found such a perfect place to put it, and it happened that maintenance supervisor Mark VanHornweder was hiking just behind me.

"It's easier if we wait until the leaves are down, and then we just kind of roam around," he said. "Sometimes, we're guided by maps; and sometimes, it's just dumb luck."

Thimbleberries, trilliums, buttercups and blue-bead lilies lined the wooded trail, which also passed old-growth pines and cut through glades of thigh-high ferns so dense it made the woods look like rain forest.

At Mission Creek, we crossed an old stone bridge and walked half a mile on Duluth's Mission Creek Trail, once part of a western boulevard that linked Grand Avenue and Skyline Parkway.

We crossed Sargent Creek on a brand-new wood trestle-style bridge, then climbed wooden steps lined with yellow lady's-slippers. Soon, we were back at the 123rd Avenue parking lot; a few yards away, bicyclists and in-line skaters whizzed by on the Willard Munger State Trail.

The trail becomes a little more difficult to the east, climbing Ely's Peak on its way to the Magney-Snively trailhead. Then, it passes through Spirit Mountain to Kingsbury Creek, where a spur heads downhill to a trailhead behind the Lake Superior Zoo,  across Grand Avenue from the Willard Munger Inn and the Willard Munger State Trail.

The eastern section of trail goes back and forth over Skyline Parkway (See Duluth's Skyline Parkway). From Skyline Parkway at Highland Street and Getchell Road, it has great overlooks and passes many rock outcroppings called knobs. It goes through Enger Park and past Twin Ponds before descending to the Rose Garden and Lakewalk on Lake Superior.

From there, it climbs back up to Chester Creek and through the University of Minnesota-Duluth campus to Hartley Nature Center. It continues to Amity Creek and the Martin Road trailhead, with a 1¾-mile spur trail to Hawk Ridge.

"It's beautiful," Dryborough says. "You get all the lake views and all the harbor views; it's fantastic."

Trip Tips: Superior Hiking Trail in Duluth

Guided hikes: The Superior Hiking Trail Association offers occasional hikes where hikers shuttle themselves. For details and maps, 218-834-2700, www.shta.org. The fifth edition of the "Guide to the Superior Hiking Trail," $15.95, also includes maps of the Duluth sections.

What to bring: Water, snacks, sturdy boots and insect repellent. In spring and early summer, be sure to wear long pants and watch for ticks.

Tourism information: 800-438-5884, www.visitduluth.com. For more about  lodgings, dining and attractions, see Duluth stories.

Last updated on September 30, 2008