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.