Trail Description
From the western end of the Kekekabic Trail, the trail route enters the large gap area within the Arrowhead Re-route area. In this section, the NCT’s exact route has not been finalized yet but options are laid out in the NPS’ Draft Northeastern Minnesota Route Assessment and Environmental Assessment. The newly-formed NCTA Arrowhead Chapter is tackling this section and has just begun trail scouting within the City of Cohasset and around the City of Grand Rapids in Itasca County.
In general, the NCT route will head west from Snowbank Lake towards Ely within the Fernberg Rd. (Lake Co. 18 / MN-169) corridor, passing by the Kawishiwi (River) Falls, International Wolf Center, and Dorothy Molter Museum on the way. Ely affords hikers ample opportunities to take in the Boundary Waters area via one of the more traditional ways – via a canoe, dogsled, XC ski, or guided fishing trip. From Ely, the trail will head southwest towards Vermilion / Bear Head Lake, McCarthy Beach, and Scenic State Parks before entering the Chippewa National Forest near the St. Louis – Itasca County border. Within Itasca County, the proposed route will head south through the Chippewa National Forest and either the Suomi Hills or Trout Lake non-motorized areas.
South of the Chippewa National Forest boundary, the trail will cross the Prairie River, skirt around some of the Iron Range’s historic mining areas, and follow the Mesabi Trail on the way into and through the City of Grand Rapids. South of Grand Rapids, the proposed route will follow the City of Cohasset’s Tioga Trail to a large block of UPM-Blandin Paper Co. and public lands that will take the trail to the Cass County line near the historic Willow Lake wayside rest area. From there, a 7-mile stretch of new trail is proposed to link up with the existing NCT segment in the Chippewa National Forest near Long Lake north of the City of Remer.
Long-distance hikers have several options for covering this stretch, including:
1) Piece together a roadwalk route from the Kekekabic Trail to Grand Rapids that suits your fancy. For instance, if you like history and don’t mind lots of traffic maybe you’d want to walk on MN-169 & U.S. Hwy 169 and go through the Mesabi Iron Range communities. If you want more of a wilderness feel, you could walk on more remote forest roads where primitive camping and water would be abundant but resupply options scarcer.
2) Roadwalk from the Kekekabic Trail to Ely and Tower on MN-169, and Giant’s Ridge Ski Area where you can pick up the Mesabi Trail which can be walked all the way into Grand Rapids, MN.
3) From Grand Rapids, head southwest on the Tioga Trail and then walk west on Co. Rd. 63 to MN-6. Head south on MN-6 and look for the NCT crossing just past FR2120.
Trail Description
There are no certified NCT segments within this section.
For long-distance hikers, an alternative exists to piecing together a road walk between Ely and Grand Rapids. This is to hike on the Mesabi Trail, a paved multi-use trail that runs between Ely and Grand Rapids traversing Minnesota’s famous Iron Range. This is an area of huge tailings piles and even larger mine pits – many of which are now popular recreational lakes. Along the trail, you’ll have the opportunity to go on an underground mine tour (2,300′ below the surface) at Tower-Soudan State Park, skirt around the largest open pit iron mine in the world – what people refer to as “the Grand Canyon of the North” at Hibbing, and come close to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame near Eveleth.
Currently, 102 miles of the 132-mile trail is completed and walkable with more added each year. The existing gaps can be easily bypassed by roadwalking from Ely to Soudan on St. Hwy 169 and Tower to Giant’s Ridge ski area on St. Hwy 135. For more info, contact the Mesabi Trail at 218-254-0086.
Regulated Uses
Camping Regulations
Camping is available in many of the communities along the Mesabi Trail.