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The North Country Trail – The trail that makes the Appalachian Trail look like a walk in the park

The North Country Trail (NCT) spans 4,600 miles and stretches from New York to North Dakota. This distance makes it the longest of the National Scenic Trails at more than twice the distance of the Appalachian Hiking Trail and almost 50% longer than the second longest option, the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail. As of summer 2010, over 1,800 miles have been certified. The trail is managed by the National Park Service with the help of volunteers from around the country.

In total, the trail will pass through seven states: New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota and ten national forests. The North Country hit list also includes:

Four National Park Service areas including

• Wisconsin St. Croix National Scenic River
• On the shores of Michigan’s Painted Rocks National Lake
• Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park in Ohio
• New York Fort Stanwix National Monument

Other highlights –

• 57 state parks and state historic areas
• 47 state forests
• 22 state playgrounds

The North Country Trail will be, in part, a combination of many local trails joined together to form one long, continuous trail through the northern part of the United States. There are over 10,000 people involved with the trail, either as members of the North Country Trails Association or as members of one of eight affiliated organizations across the country. In Minnesota, the affiliated trail associations are the Superior Hiking Trail Association and the Kekekabic Trail Association. Other sections will be made available to private citizens across the country who grant easements for several hundred miles of trails.

Once the project is complete, hikers trekking through Minnesota will have the option of taking the scenic route via the Superior Hiking Trail, Border Route and Kekekabic Trail or taking a more direct route from Duluth to Chippewa National Forest. The mileage difference between these two routes is approximately 250 miles!