Great trails surround Voyageurs National Pk.

Tilson Bay Trail

Several million acres of forest and public land surround Voyageurs National Park. All boast a number of great hikes that pass fascinating rock formations, head to little seen waterfalls, and offer inspiring trailside vistas.

Most of these trails can be found in one of three regions: the International Falls area, east of the city as heading to the national park's Rainy Lake Visitor Center; Kabetogama State Forest, which sits south of the park’s Kabetogama and Ash River visitor centers; and Superior National Forest, which includes the Boundary Waters Canoe Area to the park’s west.

In the International Falls area, a bicycle path runs from the city to the Rainy Lake Visitor Center. Along the way, the Tilson Bay Trail and the Tilson Creek Ski Trails in the Koochiching State Forest allow you to clamber over ancient rocks as heading through lush woodlands.

The Kabetogama State Forest offers a variety of trails and forest roads that can be hiked. The best sight to see is the Ash River Waterfalls Trail, which leads to a little-known three-story waterfall.

Superior National Forest offers two particularly scenic trails near Voyageurs. The Vermilion Falls Trail heads to a 25-foot waterfalls while the Vermilion Gorge Trail overlooks a narrowing of the Vermilion River.

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

Kabetogama trails found near Voyageurs

Pelican Lake in Kabetogama State Forest

If driving north from Duluth, Minn., to Voyageurs National Park, you’ll first have to pass through the expansive Kabetogama State Forest. Covering 967 square miles, fir, spruce, aspen, pine, maple, and birch cover the public lands.

Plenty of great trails and forest roads perfect for hiking ramble through those woodlands. With the state forest’s entire northern boundary adjoining Voyageurs, a number of trails can be found near the national park. Most of these can be explored on a day hike.

They include:
• Arrowhead State Trail segment – The combination snowmobile/hiking trail runs 135 miles from south of International Falls to west of west of Tower. Park in the turnaround at the end of the road heading east off of County Road 122/Gamma Road immediately north of U.S. Hwy. 53. Go east on the trail down a hill to a stream flowing into Kabetogama Lake for a 1.5-mile round trip.
• Ash River Falls Trail segment – Two sets of stacked loops make up the 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 a 1.8-mile trip.
• Pelican Lake Trail segment – The trail runs from Hwy. 53 in Ash Lake to the north shore of Pelican Lake. Park off the highway alongside County Road 519 and walk to the creek flowing into Ash Lake for a 2.5-mile round trip.
• Ash River Falls Waterfall Trail – A three-story waterfall on the Ash River awaits at the end of 0.85-mile (one-way) hike. To reach the trail, as taking the last curve on the Ash River Recreational Trail (a paved highway) before the NoVA Far Detector Building, park in the pullout on the road's left/northwest side. Take the trail on the right and go northeast.

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

Trail heads to little known 3-story waterfalls

Ash River Falls from the air.

Satellite map of Ash River Falls Trail.

Day hikers can head to a three-story waterfall on the Ash River near Voyageurs National Park.

The Ash River Falls Waterfall Trail runs 1.7-miles round trip. Though not an official trail in the Kabetogama State Forest, the falls is so spectacular a sight that people have cut a path to it.

To reach the trail, from U.S. Hwy. 53 about midway between Ash Lake and Ray, turn east onto County Road 129/Ash River Trail. Then go right/south onto Ash River Recreational Trail. The paved highway naturally becomes Bright Star Road. As taking the last curve before the NoVA Far Detector Building (which is off limits to the public), park in the pullout on the road's left/northwest side. Two trails start at the pullout. Take the one on the right and go northeast.

The sandy jeep trail heads through a woods as it wraps around the detector building. A particle physics experiment designed to detect neutrinos, elementary particles are beamed through 503 miles of Earth from Fermilab (the near detector) to this one in northern Minnesota (the far detector).

After about 0.42 miles, on the detector building's east side, the trail narrows and heads through a pine barrens.

Where the woodline picks up abut 0.38 miles later, the trail descends through evergreens to the Ash River shoreline. Once on the rocky beach, turn right/south; the base of the waterfall is in about 300 feet.

The Ash River tumbles about 34.5 feet over four tiers of gray rock. You’ll likely spot a canoeist or two on the river below the falls; this is a popular canoeing destination from a series of resorts along County Road 129, which begin about a mile upstream. Unfortunately, no hiking trail leads from the resorts to the falls.

Below the waterfall, the river widens and flows northeast to Sullivan Bay, which empties into Kabetogama Lake near the Ash River Visitor Center in Voyageurs National Park.

Learn more about nearby 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.