Explore the best rated trails in Hibbing, MN. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Circle T Trail and Circle L Trail. With more than 10 trails covering 565 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Had the chance the other day to ride from Chisholm to Kinney and back. Section from Chisholm to Buhl was much smoother than Hibbing to Chisholm, but had a couple of steep hills. The section from Buhl to Kinney was VERY rough. Be sure to stop and read the sign by the water treatment plant about the town of Fraser - interesting facts.
First time user on this trail. Road from Chisholm to Hibbing and back. Pretty rough in spots. Glad we had e-bikes - lots of hills and we are getting old! Hubby saw some bear scat. We saw signs saying that a bike pass was needed, but no information about where to get one or how much. Never saw anything about it on this site, so were unprepared.
There are a few different routes you can take to enjoy this trail. The length ended up being 2.4 miles the way we walked it. There is a very well maintained frisbee golf course, children’s playground, and plenty of memorial benches to sit and relax on throughout the walk as well. The highlight for us on this paved trail is the land bridge that has all of the state and country flags waving brightly. This is a fun and low impact walk.
I've ridden this trail several times in the past. This August '20 I took a shuttle from Hibbing to south of Eveleth, not doing a long out & back as usual especially considering the many hills. It was well worth it & would do it again next time when more eastern pavement is in.
I camped in Grand Rapids at the city park which is where the western end starts. Avoid when cars are racing nearby--awful noise for hours. The next day I went east almost to Hibbing--very steep hills. Close to GR I took a branch trail that led to a ball field--ok but disjointed.
All in all a very unique trail for MN where most trails are relatively flat & straight.
I've ridden this trail several times in the past. This August '20 I took a shuttle from Hibbing to south of Eveleth, not doing a long out & back as usual especially considering the many hills. It was well worth it & would do it again next time when more eastern pavement is in.
I camped in Grand Rapids at the city park which is where the western end starts. Avoid when cars are racing nearby--awful noise for hours. The next day I went east almost to Hibbing--very steep hills. Close to GR I took a branch trail that led to a ball field--ok but disjointed.
All in all a very unique trail for MN where most trails are relatively flat & straight.
The trail from Giants Ridge to just south of Embarrass is in great condition, is fun and challenging with the curves and elevation gain, and has spectacular scenery especially in late September.
The trail from Giants Ridge to Aurora and around St. James lake is similarly fun and beautiful.
We travel from central Illinois (over 650 miles) every fall in order to ride these sections of the trail and it is well worth the drive. We highly recommend it.
Have to agree with the positive reviews. The varying grades, scenery, history and over-all length make this trail a real winner. The remarks regarding a lack of water spouts and other amenities are generally accurate, and some of the dinky towns may not have much in the way of said amenities, however by and large it's one helluva trail. One of my favorites in the entire state, truthfully. Those mine pits make for excellent swim/dive sites, incidentally. Besides, I've learned never to look a gift horse in the mouth—you cheat yourself out of a lot if you do!
This trail has varied terrain and lots of side trails as well. If you encounter illegal ATVs on the trail you are to call 911. That is what the park security has directed us to do. We had to report several ATVs to the police in Nashwauk. The police already seemed to know who it was, they did not require to see the photos of the law breakers.
My son and I rode this trail in early August, from Grand Rapids up to Giant's Ridge. We did a self-supported bikepacking trip, camping overnight for two nights along the trail. This gave us plenty of time to see the sights.
It is a glorious trail to ride! It's well used by the locals, generally very well marked and maintained, and really a delight to ride. Other than three or four 8% grade hills, it is not a strenuous ride. The hills are generally quite short so that other than those few bigger hills previously mentioned, a beginner rider could easily do this trail. There is a section of the trail just before Biwabik that is on the road/hiway, and so this section may not be suitable for a beginner.
A word of caution for those camping and/or riding the entire trail: There is no water source at any point once you leave Grand Rapids - no pumps or spigots. Plan to carry plenty of water or be prepared to find a spot in one of the many towns the trail goes through to beg for water (the bars were quite accommodating)! Also, the only actual campsite area was just off the trail in Buhl. Otherwise, camping is limited for bike-packers. I highly recommend this trail for the ride experience and for the history lesson on Minnesota's iron range. There are many support mechanisms in place as well, for those that need it, including shuttle service. Well worth the WheelPass!
No doubt the Mesabi Trail offers a unique experience that's hard to beat. Like the best of the rail trails, but with hills and curves added. I rode 106 miles in two days of round-trip riding from Chisholm to Grand Rapids and had a very good time doing so. Very nice scenery, not too many road crossings, an excellent surface.
The trail stops at the edge of most cities and takes to the road until the other end of town. Most of these segments were pretty well signed, but coming into Nashwauk from the east I encountered conflicting signs posted next to the road and painted on it, followed the wrong one, and went out of my way almost a mile before backtracking.
One poorly signed road section is not a surprise. The biggest surprise (apart from the fact that I didn't at all mind the hills) was the lack of any true trailheads along the way.
The ideal trailhead has a dedicated parking lot for trail users, picnic tables, water, toilet facilities, and the gold standard: shade and showers. Many trailheads lack one or more amenities, but typically a trail has one or two trailheads with most of them.
Many towns along the trail had little to no off-road adjacent parking, there were few bathrooms, and not one trailside place with water to fill my bottles.
Another quirk which is not so unusual was the mileposts. They were spotty for the first 10 miles, then much more prevalent. There were 3 places between 0 and 48 where I found unaccounted gaps of up to 1/2 mile between two mileposts, so by the time you reach 48 you've gone 49. And I went several miles further by riding the "official" (i.e., noted on the map) side trails at Pengilly and Chisholm. Add that to my off-trail adventure, and that's how it took 106 miles to do 48 miles out and back.
We rode from Grand Rapids to Virginia. the trail currently ends in Virginia due to road construction. The trail was in great shape. Any bad spots were spray painted white so you could see them.Yes, there are some hills. Nothing anyone who rides much would worry about.All in all this is an amazing trail. Go now.One downside... restrooms and water almost non-existent.
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