50 Circuit Hikes: A Stride-By-Stride Guide to Northeastern Minnesota

By Howard Fenton

Book Overview

Filled with tempting trails and intriguing trailside lore, this comprehensive guide introduces hikers of all abilities to the unique natural beauty of northeastern Minnesota. Choose a hike to match your mood, time frame, and skill level. Over 225 miles of spectacular scenery to choose from: Lake Superior vistas, woodland trails, hidden waterfalls, rocky outcroppings, wildly dashing rivers. Trails in six counties: Pine, Carlton, Aitkin, St. Louis, Lake, and Cook. Each hike is a loop (or circuit): every step takes you to new territory; no cars to jockey between start and finish points. Hikes for all ages and abilities: families, weekend walkers, hard-core hikers. From quick strolls (30 minutes) to all-day outings; mostly in the 1-3 hour range. Whether it's a wilderness trek or a city trail, each walking adventure in 50 CircuitHikes is outlined with superb detail: Ratings for length and difficulty: 10 easy hikes, 18 moderate, 12 difficult, 10 strenuous. Detailed maps including complete directions to the trailhead (with GPS coordinates) and parking facilities. Stride-by-stride milepost information accurately describing landmarks so you can easily keep your bearings. For pre-hike preparation or on-the-trail exploration: a wealth of natural history information on geology, plants, and animals you're likely to see; guidelines for safe hiking, plus points of special interest.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816641994
• ISBN13: 9780816641994
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great resource for the adventurous hiker/naturalist

This is a terrific book for people who love to hike in NE Minnesota but have done all the typical trails. Yes, he covers common, over-used trails like the Split Rock River loop on the Superior Hiking Trail or the Bass Lake Trail north of Ely. But the real strength of the book is in all the obscure trails he's found off in the boonies, like the Eighteen Lake Trail or nice loops in the state parks. The book title isn't quite clear about this, but all of the hikes are loops, so there's no need to arrange a shuttle or completely return along the same route. The natural history information for each trail is well done and reflects a lot of thought about the terrain. It's probably more information than most hikers really wanted, but if you take the time the night before your hike to read it through, it will definitely enhance your experience.