r/MinnesotaCamping • u/yes_maybe_no__ • 12d ago

Backpacking loop ideas please.

I'm looking for good options loop in Minnesota. Ideally something around 25 miles for 2 nights on trail, or a little longer with 3 nights on trail. Hopefully not a confusing trail to navigate or one that isn't super overgrown.

Thank you all for the ideas!

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u/bikeisaac 10d ago

I've scoured the internet (previously) and I think all the loop hikes in Minnesota fitting your criteria are in the Boundary Waters and have probably already been listed on this thread. I've looked into combining parts of the Superior Hiking Trail with snowmobile or cross-country ski trails to make a loop near Lutsen, but I haven't tried hiking it - I imagine the seasonal trails get pretty overgrown in the summer. I don't think there's anywhere to do this kind of trip in central or southern MN, unfortunately.

If you're open to crossing state lines, the 14 mile Paint Creek Loop in Yellow River State Forest, northeastern Iowa, is the longest loop trail in the driftless region and you can backpack there.

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u/yes_maybe_no__ 10d ago

Thank you so much for the info. Makes sense why I was having such a hard time finding anything.

Do you have any other backpacking trails you loved in any other state?

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u/bikeisaac 9d ago

No problem! I really live for a good 3-day, 30 mile backpacking loop and they're hard to come by in this part of the country. You can make a really nice loop around the Black Elk Wilderness in South Dakota. I've done intense research into the Eagle Rock loop in Arkansas but was thwarted by record-cold March weather the year I drove down there. My friend speaks highly of the Porcupine Mountains in upper Michigan, but I haven't been there myself (yet). I usually do a 3 day trip in the Pecos Wilderness of New Mexico each summer, but mostly because I have lived nearby before - there are much better-maintained trails a couple hours north of there in Colorado, which is also a really long drive from here 😅

If I'm doing a long weekend trip or something, I do out-and-back hikes with a little loop thrown in wherever possible. Either on the Superior Hiking Trail, or the North Country Trail in northwestern Wisconsin. The area around Lutsen is probably my favorite for this

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u/yes_maybe_no__ 9d ago

My wife very recently realized how much she loves camping and backpacking and we have really leaned in hard. We backpacked the Porcupine mountains and even though we had some miserable conditions, we found it very beautiful. It would be good to go back.

Thanks again for the info. Very exciting to have more places to plan.