Superior National Forest, Laurentian Recreation Area: Lookout Mountain Trails (Blog Hike #646)

Trails: Lookout Mountain Trails

Hike Location: Superior National Forest, Laurentian Recreation Area

Geographic Location: north of Virginia, MN (47.57811, -92.54342)

Length: 3 miles

Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)

Date Hiked: July 2017

Overview: A somewhat rocky loop hike along the Laurentian Divide.

Area Information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/superior/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=43366&actid=50

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=943476
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: The Laurentian Recreation Area is located at a roadside rest area on US 53 3.3 miles north of the town of Virginia.  The rest area is only accessible from the northbound lanes of US 53.  If you are traveling southbound, you need to pass the signed recreation area on the left and do a U-turn at the next opportunity.

The hike: Tracing a mainly east-west course across northeastern North America, the Laurentian Divide separates the watersheds of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.  The divide starts at Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park, Montana and heads east roughly parallel to the United States/Canada border until it reaches northern Minnesota.  The divide then curves northeast into central Ontario and Quebec before ending at the intersection of the Labrador Sea and the Hudson Strait.  The name Laurentian Divide comes from the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec.  In northern Minnesota, rain north of the divide drains into Hudson Bay while rain south of the divide drains into either Lake Superior or the Mississippi River.

            Where US 53, the main road through northeastern Minnesota, crosses the Laurentian Divide, Superior National Forest owns and maintains the Laurentian Recreation Area.  The area has only a few picnic tables and a vault toilet for amenities, but it features an extensive trail system called the Lookout Mountain Trail System.  The system includes trails for snowmobiles, skiers, mountain bikers, hikers, and a fitness trail with numbered stations.  15 miles of trails are open to hikers.  Although many routes are possible, the somewhat short route described here provides a nice sample of the hiking the Laurentian Recreation Area has to offer.

Common entrance trail at rest area

            A single gravel entrance trail accesses the trail system from the parking lot.  Maps of the trail system are posted at major trail intersections including this trailhead.  The fitness trail area near the trailhead is a real maze of trails, so take a picture of the trail map posted here if you do not print one from the forest’s website.

            Very quickly you reach a major trail intersection (signed as point A) that forms the loop portion of this hike.  No less than 5 trails converge at this intersection.  The trails marked with white plastic diamonds lead to stations on the fitness trail, so you do not want to follow those.  To get out of the fitness trail area and onto the “real” hiking trails, you want to follow the blue plastic diamonds.  Angle left to follow the ones that head east and uphill.  Going this direction will take you around the loop clockwise, and the gravel trail going right will be our return route.

Climbing along the fitness trail

            You pass fitness trail points E, C, and F in that order before reaching a gravel road at 0.4 miles.  Angle left to follow the gravel road for about 500 feet to reach the start of the “real” hiking trails on the right.  This intersection is labeled as point G, and it is marked with a trail map sign and a blue plastic diamond.  Turn right to leave the gravel road and begin a single-track dirt trail.

Starting the single-track

            The trail continues its eastward course through a wet area before climbing slightly to pass under a power line.  After passing trail intersection #5 where a trail exits left for the ski and snowmobile trails, you reach trail intersection #7 at 0.9 miles.  Continuing straight would take you deeper into the hiking trail system, but this hike turns right to begin a moderate climb directly up the gradient of the Laurentian Divide.

            After gaining nearly 100 feet of elevation, you reach trail intersection #6 just past 1 mile into the hike.  (Aside: the intersection numbering system made little sense to me, but they are numbered the way they are numbered.)  Turn right to continue our loop.  The trail descends slightly to approach but not reach the power line.  The national forest brochure touts some overlooks in this area, but I never came to anything I would call an overlook, at least not during the leafy summer months.

Blueberries beside the trail

            The trail makes a sweeping left turn away from the power line to begin a moderate climb.  Overall, you gain about 200 feet of elevation over the next 0.5 miles.  Some mountain bike trails marked with official-looking plastic markers exit left or right.  As I approached the top of the hill, some blueberries growing beside the trail were ripe for picking.

Meadow at hike's high point

            At 1.7 miles, you reach trail intersection #9, where a right turn is required to continue our loop.  A little more climbing brings you to a meadow area that marks the highest elevation on this hike and your crossing of the Laurentian Divide.  Surrounding trees block any views during the summer.  The trail curves left to exit the meadow area and enter an area with a large number of mountain bike trails.  Watch for the blue plastic diamonds to stay on the hiking trail.

            Now on the south side of the main ridge, the trail heads west as you begin a long gradual descent.  The birch forest in this area admits much more sunlight than the forest you hiked through earlier.  Be careful where you step: this section of trail is quite rocky, and tall grass may obscure some of the rocks.  I failed to notice one of the rocks, stepped on its side, fell down, and sprained my ankle.  I managed to limp around the rest of the loop, but extreme caution is needed on this section of trail.

Grass covering rocks on the trail

            2.7 miles into the hike, you reach trail intersection #1.  Turn right to begin the final leg back to the trailhead.  The last segment parallels US 53, so traffic noise from the left will be very audible here.  A short distance of fairly level hiking returns you first to the gravel fitness trail and then to fitness trail intersection A to close the loop.  A left turn and short walk out the common entrance trail returns you to the parking lot to complete the hike.