Events
American Hiking Society Volunteer Vacation: NCNST Minnesota
Join the North County Trail Association to help clear and construct a new five-mile segment of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST) on both public and private lands. The work will include clearing the corridor using hand tools, power tools, and a brush mower followed by constructing trail tread using hand tools. This new segment will replace a road walk on the NCNST’s Arrowhead Reroute in between the Chippewa National Forest and Grand Rapids, Minn. The landscape the project traverses includes Tioga Mine pit lake, the southern most iron mine on the Mesabi Range. The NCNST will overlook the pit lake while passing through the Tioga Recreation Area, a world class mountain bike trail facility. The trail will also pass by historic mine sites, mine tailings piles, and along the edge of a private maple syrup operation.
Volunteers will camp in a group campsite near the project location, with pit toilets and access to water. Volunteers need to supply their own tent and personal camping gear including sleeping bag, towels, and personal cup/bowl/mug/eating utensils. Please contact volunteer@americanhiking.org for assistance with gear needs.
Bemidji Regional Airport in Bemidji, Minn. is the closest airport. Airport pick up and drop off is available for volunteers and will be arranged upon confirmation of the trip.
- Hiking/Access: Day hiking up to three miles each work day
- Project Rating: Moderate
- Accommodations: Primitive tent sites
- Minimum Volunteer Age: 16
- Maximum Group Size: 12; registration required
Learn more through the American Hiking Society’s web page.
The American Hiking Society (AHS) acknowledges with gratitude that this project takes place on the traditional lands of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Mdewakanton, and Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ peoples past and present. We honor the land itself, the Indigenous communities who have stewarded this land for generations, and those who continue to steward these lands today. AHS invites all volunteers to join us in our commitment to support and amplify the work of Indigenous communities as they work to dismantle the systems of oppression that these communities continue to face today.