Great day hikes in Wright, Minn., area

Beaver Pond Trail at Savanna Portage State Park.

A beaver pond, a centuries-old portage route, and an intercontinental divide await day hikers in the Wright, Minn., region.

Located in the Minnesota Northwoods, the small town of Wright is the gateway to a state park, a state forest, and a state wildlife management area. The region is fairly easy to reach from the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area; simply take Interstate 35 north, then in Moose Lake exit onto Minn. Hwy. 73 and head north.

Among the great day hikes in the Wright area are:
g Beaver Pond Trail – The 0.6-mile lollipop trail heads to then circles a beaver pond at Savanna Portage State Park in neighboring Aitkin County west of Wright. A parking lot is at the trailhead off of Shumway Lake Road.
g Continental Divide Trail Overlook – The northern end of the Continental Divide Trail offers an overlook to see where waters to the west flow into the Mississippi river and those to the east head to Lake Superior. To the reach the overlook, park at the trailhead for the Old Schoolhouse Trail and hike that to the Continental Divide Trail for a roughly 3.6-mile round trip.
g Kestrel Avenue to Lake 16 Trail – Up to five miles of trails run through a woodland from Kestrel Avenue west to just shy of Lake 16 in the Savanna State Forest in Aitkin County. Park on the east side of the road at the T-intersection about a half-mile south of the Savanna Portage State Park entrance.
g Salo WMA Impoundment Trail – In the Salo Marsh State Wildlife Management Area south of town, a half-mile jeep trail runs through woodland to where a stream flows into the Salo WMA Impoundment. Park at the trailhead off of 115th Pl.
g Savannah Portage Trail – Families with older teens can experience history by walking across this portage that the first European explorers of the area hiked more than 300 years ago – and that Native Americans used for millennia before. The trail runs six miles one-way (12-miles round trip) in Savanna Portage State Park. It connects overland the watersheds for the Mississippi River and Lake Superior, one of many inland routes that allowed travelers to reach, via water, the North American interior from the Atlantic Ocean.

Learn more about nearby day hiking trails in my Day Hiking Trails of Northeast Minnesota guidebook.

Hike ancient river portage in Northwoods

Savannah Portage Trail

Trail runs 12 miles round trip,
links Mississippi, Great Lakes

Families with older teens can experience history by walking across a portage that the first European explorers of the area hiked more than 300 years ago – and that Native Americans used for millennia before.

The Savannah Portage Trail runs six miles one-way (12-miles round trip) in Minnesota’s Savanna Portage State Park. It connects overland the watersheds for the Mississippi River and Lake Superior, one of many inland routes that allowed travelers to reach, via water, the North American interior from the Atlantic Ocean. It’s best hiked during fall when the trail’s eastern end isn’t so wet.

To reach the trailhead, from Wright, Minn., take County Road 20 (aka West Mud Lake Road) west; it soon curves north, paralleling the Savanna State Forest boundary. Turn left/east onto County Road 42 (aka 480th Street), heading into the state forest. Next, go north onto County Road 64 (aka Kestrel Avenue). At the County Road 14 (aka Lake Avenue) intersection, turn right/northwest and head into the state park. When the road forks at the information office, go left/north.

The Savanna Portage Trail crosses the road in about a quarter mile. Park in the pullout on the road’s side.

Trinkets for fur
Begin the hike by heading west down the trail to a backchannel of the West Savanna River. In 1763, fur traders arrived in this area from what is now LaPointe, Wisconsin. They traded alcohol, beads, blankets, knives and trinkets to local Indians for bear, beaver, fox, lynx, marten, muskrat, otter and wolf hides.

From the West Savanna River, these voyageurs could reach the Mississippi River and trade with Indians downstream or continue south to the Gulf of Mexico.

Once the trail stops at the river, hike back to the road, head north a little on it, cross, and continue east. You’ll have an easier go of the portage across this flat marshy area than the fur traders did. Today, a small boardwalk keeps your feet from sinking into the mud.

The trail quickly reaches a wooded upland and remains under forest cover for most of the rest of the way. Along the route, hikers cross two man-made channels of the Savanna River.

Six hours vs. six days
In six miles, the trail comes upon a fork of the East Savanna River. From this waterway, fur traders could head to the St. Louis River south of Duluth and head into Lake Superior. Usually these segments of the two shallow Savannah rivers were negotiated by poling the canoes.

After taking in the East Savannah fork, return the way you came.

The round trip hike takes about six hours to complete. Fur traders needed six days to work their way through the swamp, however.

One thing hasn’t changed from those days, though: There will be mosquitoes, so be sure to wear insect repellent.

Read more about day hiking Northeast Minnesota in my Headin’ to the Cabin: Day Hiking Trails of Northeast Minnesota guidebook.

Hike Solana State Forest trail to see wildlife

Solana State Forest. Photo courtesy Minnesota DNR.

Eagle, deer, grouse common
sights in popular woodlands

Day hikers are likely to spot a variety of northern Minnesota wildlife on the Solana Forest Road Trail west of Rutledge.

The 1.5-mile round trip out-and-back trail actually is located in Aitkin County. Late summer and early autumn mark the best time to visit, as the trail will be drier and the bug population lower.

To reach the trail from Rutledge, take County Road 39/Rutledge Road west. Turn right/north onto Maple Road. At County Road 41, go left/west; the highway curves north to become Jones Road then swerves west and becomes County Road 2 or 220th Street. About 1.5 miles into the state forest, turn onto a dirt road on 220th Street’s right/north side. In about 100 feet, you’ll come to a dirt parking area on the left.

Wildflowers and berries
Walk the dirt road north. A path circles around a gate for preventing unauthorized motor vehicles from using the road.

The road curves northwest through what at one time was a paper birch forest. As the woodlands grows back, this is an excellent area to look for a variety of ground plants that call the state forest home; among the flowers are trilliums, lady’s slippers, and Jack-in-the-pulpits as well as ferns. Several bushes sporting wild berries, including blueberries, chokeberries, highbush and wild cranberries, and raspberries, also grow in the state forest. Fernsare abundant, too.

About 700 feet from the gate, the trail enters a sparsely wooded area, then a quarter mile in thicker tree groves appear east of the trail.

Tamarack, black spruce, black ash, and lowland brush prefer the state forest’s lower elevations. The higher ground attracts red pine and white spruce.

Migrating moose
Which animals you might see largely depends on which trees dominate the area you’re passing through. While white-tailed deer are ubiquitous, black bears and gray squirrels prefer oaks for their acorns while ruffed grouse tend to hang around aspens. In more open areas, watch for bald eagles hovering above as seeking a meal.

At about 0.43 miles, a wetlands sits east of the trail. Migrating moose sometimes are spotted in the state forest, and small ponds like the ones here are among their favorite habitats.

In a little more than 0.75 miles, the trail curves east with an intersecting path heading northwest. This trail junction marks a good spot to turn around. More than a century ago, this area was heavily logged. A forest fire in 1925 ended that, however, and the land was sold to the government then eventually became a state forest, which has since expanded. Solana State Forest now stretches more than 68,000 acres across Pine and Aitkin counties.

Be advised that Solana Forest Road also serves as an ATV trail. For safety purposes, always yield the right-of-way to a motorized vehicle when hiking.

Read more about day hiking Northeast Minnesota in my Headin’ to the Cabin: Day Hiking Trails of Northeast Minnesota guidebook.