Guide to Hiking the North Country Trail in Minnesota

The Guide to Hiking the North Country Trail in Minnesota details the approximately 840 mile route of the North Country National Scenic Trail's across Minnesota. The Trail is one of only 11 National Scenic Trails in the entire U.S. and since 1980, over 3,100 miles (out of an estimated 4,600 mile length) have been built by the North Country Trail Association's amazing volunteer force. 


Explore the silence of lake country in the Boundary Waters' long, cold winter. Stop to enjoy the amazing spring wildflower show under the hardwood forest's canopy in the Chippewa National Forest. See a hawk swoop down over the vibrant green prairie to grab a mouse. Take a break in an old-growth pine forest older than our nation in Itasca State Park. Stop to watch a raging river plummeting down toward Lake Superior on the North Shore. Enjoy the beauty of Minnesota's four seasons on this Trail that connects amazing scenery, culture, and history across northern Minnesota. 


The editors of the guidebook – Linda Johnson and the late Susan Carol Hauser – worked with contributions from over 50 volunteers who wrote up descriptions for trail sections and shared stories from the trail. Hikers have found that the book provides the maps & data necessary to use the trail while also providing some nature notes and glimpses of the behind the scenes trail-building and maintenance work.