Skiing the North Shore: A Guide to Cross-Country Trails in Minnesota’s Spectacular Lake Superior Region (There & Back Guides)

Andrew Slade’s parents first set eyes on each other on the North Shore of Minnesota, and his life has centered there since birth―despite growing up in the Twin Cities. As a kid, he caught nets full of smelt at the Cross River, jumped cliffs into the deep pools of an unnamed North Shore river, helped to band woodcock in the open fields of North Shore homesteads, and shut his eyes tight each time the family wagon drove around Silver Cliff (readers, don’t worry― today there’s a tunnel through the cliff and Andrew’s eyes stay wide open). With his intrepid father, he had to abandon a mid-1970s assault on Carlton Peak due to a lack of recognizable trails. As a canoe guide and outdoor educator in Ely, he learned that “sauna” is a three-syllable word (sow-ooh-nah). In his twenties, he bushwhacked by snowshoe much of what is now the Manitou-Caribou section of the Superior Hiking Trail. At age 28, in his “before kids” era, he was the editor and lead author of the first Guide to the Superior Hiking Trail. Andrew graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in environmental education and from the University of Montana with a MS in environmental studies. His favorite wildflower is Mertensia paniculata, the native North Shore bluebell. Andrew has worked for environmental education, parks, and conservation organizations on the North Shore since 1992.

Why is North Shore skiing so darn good? Why do intelligent people give up on career advancement just to live near these trails? Why do families drive five hours each way for a few glorious hours in these woods?

There’s no single answer to these questions. It’s the rugged scenery and remote terrain. It’s the winter weather, bringing more reliable snowfall to the North Shore than anywhere else in the state. It’s the traditional hospitality passed down from generations.

A massive geologic event over one billion years ago created the foundation of the North Shore’s current landscape. Layer after layer of lava and magma erupted from a huge rift in the earth’s crust. These layers stacked up 20,000 feet high, then tilted in toward the center of what is now Lake Superior.

Glaciers from the last Ice Age scoured these layers down, leaving distinct ridges and valleys known now as the Sawtooth Mountains. The glaciers left behind the basin for the world’s largest expanse of fresh water, Lake Superior.

The broad inland sea that settled next to these rugged ridges created the perfect combination of dramatic views and lake-effect climate. Now, the ridges of the North Shore have by far the highest annual snowfall and longest-lasting snow cover in Minnesota.

There’s another reason why cross-country skiing fits this region like a mitten on a ski pole―the people of the North Shore. The history of cross-country skiing is long and mostly Scandinavian. It’s no wonder that Minnesota, with its strong Scandinavian heritage, became such a hot spot for “Nordic” skiing.

But where the Swedes and Norwegians settled in the south and west of the state, it was the Finns who came to the North Shore and left their mark. Korkki Nordic Ski Center in rural Duluth was an early center of skiing, with trails built by Charlie Banks in 1954 on land homesteaded by his Finnish father-in-law. A 1977 effort by Governor Rudy Perpich (a native of northeastern Minnesota) to make Minnesota the “Ski Touring Capital of the Nation” resulted in a flurry of activity with new standards, legislation, and trail signage.

North Shore community members were responsible for most of the trails we see today. Local skiers and resort owners, with training from state and national clubs, made up crews that built hundreds, even thousands, of miles of ski trails. Trails such as those at Sugarbush in Tofte were built with collaboration from resort owners, the Forest Service, and local residents. In Duluth, local volunteers joined with the city parks department to lace trails through the city’s green spaces. One Finn built his own trails at Piedmont, only to have them adopted by the city later on.

Why are these trails so darn good? Because time and nature and people have made it so.

Details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ There And Back Books; 2nd edition (September 21, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0979467551
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0979467554
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.3 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.2 x 8.5 inches