Best trails to see Voyageurs NP’s wonders

Ellsworth Rock Gardens. Photo courtesy of Voyageurs NPS.

Among the best ways to see Voyageurs National Park’s top sights is via a day hike. Just three short trails will allow you to enjoy each of the park’s highlights – border lakes, rock gardens, and boreal forests.

The remote national park in northern Minnesota can be reached via U.S. Hwy. 53, which runs north from Duluth, Minn., and east from International Falls, Minn. County Road 122 then leads to Kabetogama while County Road 129 heads to the Ash River resort area.

Border lakes
The U.S.-Canadian border runs through two of the park’s four scenic lakes, all of which are popular among canoeists, kayakers and fishermen for their unspoiled beauty. The 2.3-mile Echo Bay Trail runs through aspens and pines, past a great blue heron rookery, and along an overlook of one of those waterbodies, spectacular Kabetogama Lake, which covers 62 square miles.

Ellsworth Rock Gardens
Beginning in the 1940s, artist Jack Ellsworth created terraced flowerbeds on rock outcroppings that now sit inside the park; today, his work is often compared to that of modern sculptors. Boat tours from Kabetogama Visitor Center visit this site on the northern shore of Kabetogama Lake with short hiking paths through the gardens.

Boreal forests
The park marks the transition zone between the hardwood forests common in the United States to the conifer-based boreal forests of Canada. The latter can be experienced on any segment of the Kab-Ash Trail, which runs up to 26 miles through the park. One easy-to-reach section begins off of Mead Wood Road, which leads to the Ash River resort area and includes the brief Beaver Pond Overlook Trail.

Learn more about the park’s day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at Voyageurs National Park guidebook.

Variety of sights to be seen on Kabetogama, Minn., area day trails

Kabetogama State Forest.
Photo courtesy of Minnesota DNR.

Boreal forests, fantastic views of massive inland lakes, a great blue heron rookery, and more await day hikers in the Kabetogama region of northern Minnesota.

To reach the area, from Duluth, Minn., take U.S. Hwy. 53 north into the Kabetogama State Forest or south from International Falls, Minn. The unincorporated community sits near the U.S.-Canadian border in Voyageurs National Park.

Among the many day hiking trails in the area are:
g Arrowhead State Trail segment – The combination snowmobile/hiking trail runs 135 miles from west of Tower to south of International Falls. In the Kabetogama State Forest, park in the turnaround at the end of the road heading east off of County Road 122/Gamma Road immediately north of Hwy. 53. Head east on the trail down a hill to a stream flowing into Kabetogama Lake for a 1.5-mile round trip.
g Ash River Falls Trail segment – Two sets of stacked loops make up the Kabetogama State Forest ski/hiking trail. Park at the western trailhead parking lot off of County Road 129 east of Hwy. 53 and hike the first stacked loop for 1.8-mile trip.
g Blind Ash Bay Trail – Day hikers can explore a boreal forest via this 2.9-mile round trip trail in Voyageurs National Park. Park at the Kabetogama Lake Overlook, near the Ash River Visitor Center, off of Mead Wood Road north of County Road 129.
g Echo Bay Trail – A set of three stacked loops, the 2.3-mile trail runs through an aspen and pine forest and past a great blue heron rookery while offering an overlook of Kabetogama Lake. Park in the lot on the north side if County Road 332 east of County Road 122 in Voyageurs National Park.
g Kab-Ash Hiking Trail segment – The combo ski/hiking trail runs 26 miles across Voyageurs National Park. A good segment to walk begins at the western terminus and heads east through a boreal forest. Park in the lot at the end of County Road 672/Salmi Road east of County Road 122.
g Pelican Lake Trail segment – The trail runs from Hwy. 53 in Ash Lake to the north shore of Pelican Lake in Kabetogama State Forest. Park off the highway alongside County Road 519 and walk to the creek flowing into Ash Lake for a 2.5-mile round trip.
g Voyageurs Forest Overlook – A 0.5-mile loop runs through pines with great views of Kabetogama Lake. Park in the first pullout on the right on Mead Wood Road north of County Road 129 while on your way to the Ash River Visitor Center (open daily May 7-Sept. 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

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