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| View of Kabetogama Lake from the Overlook Trail. |
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| Kabetogama Lake Overlook Trail and visitor center walk to lake dock/rock outcropping. |
The 0.4-mile round trip Kabetogama Lake Overlook Trail and a 0.1-mile walk from the visitor center to a dock on the lake.
Five massive lakes, all carved out and filled by glaciers during the last ice age, sit in the park – Kabetogama, much larger, Rainy Lake to the north and west, Namakan lake to the east, and smaller Sand Point and Crane lakes in the southwest. Rainy, Namakan and Sand Point all help form the U.S.-Canada international border.
Kabetogama Lake and a peninsula bearing the same name sit at the heart of the national park and sport the most activities for visitors. A good introduction to the park and lake after traveling across the mostly flat Minnesota landscape is the overlook trail.
A parking lot for the trail sits off Mead Wood Road north of County Road 129/Ash River Trail. This is the third pullout on your left as you drive to the Ash River Visitor Center.
This short walk through the forest is handicap accessible with a minor elevation gain of 59 feet. That’s enough of a change, though, to offer a grand view of Kabetogama Lake looking west.
At 25,000 acres, Kabetogama Lake is large, sporting 200 islands. It reaches a maximum depth of 80 feet.
The lake formed some 10,000 years ago when glaciers during the last ice age pushed out loose rock in the region, forming long, roughly west-east troughs. As the glaciers receded, meltwater settled in the troughs. About two of every five square miles of the park is water rather than land.
Today, the first thing any visitor to Kabetogama notices on a sunny day is its peaceful blueness. Untouched by industry, the lake boasts an average water clarity of nine feet.
Kabetogama is highly regarded among walleye fishermen. Though cold even in July, its water remains slightly warmer, shallower and more fertile than the neighboring lakes, making it an ideal home for walleye, as well as northern pike, crappie, perch, bass, sauger, and smallmouth bass, all of which grow faster here.
Besides attracting fisherman, this draws bald eagles, which frequently can be seen flying across the lake. At the overlook, they soar between a couple of islands and the verdant shoreline of the Kabetogama Peninsula across the way.
After the overlook, continue driving north on Mead Wood Road to the visitor center. A rustic cabin, the center includes displays about the Ash River area’s history, wildlife and fauna. Upon taking it in, walk the road on the center’s west side to the lake. This leads to a small dock and a rock outcropping on which you can sit and enjoy the lake’s beauty. Be forewarned that sometimes the wind can be heavy across the water.
Learn more about the park’s day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at Voyageurs National Park guidebook.
