Find the top rated bike trails in Duluth, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The trail from Ely to Tower is simply the best. The smooth pavement, the beautiful forest gives the rider a wonderful experience. You feel you should expect wildlife of any kind could pop out from the trees.
Great bathroom at Tower's trail access.
The Gilbert to Chisholm ride had more 'bumps' but still provided a neat, scenic trip. Each mining town shared their proud history in some type of display.
Black Bear Bakery in Chisholm made the best donuts.
I am eager to see the new trail updates later in summer of 2025 and 2026 between Embarrass and Tower so the trail will be complete.
We rode from Hinkley to Duluth one day, stayed in Duluth 2 nights then returned back to Hinkley. This trail is very pretty and we appreciated the 2 areas with park pavilions next to the trail that included electricity and bathroom options.
Rode from Ely to Mountain Iron. Loved the scenery and the history. Towns are great! Will be back to ride the rest!
Enjoyed the trail for about 30 miles coming Grand Rapids. Loved the change in landscape and the floating bridge. The biggest issues is the signing is poor when coming into each city. Sometimes the arch is in the city and the trail goes off another way. Need better signing.
We biked the roughly 23 mile trail that connects Tower to Ely and it is absolutely spectacular! The condition of the trail is perfect and the scenery is so beautiful! I am sure the rest of the 90+ miles of this trail are amazing too! Can’t wait to explore more-I’ve bike all over the country and this trail is second to none… Biking friends-Put this trail on your bucket list! Come to NE Minnesota!
I have ridden about 80 miles on this trail, and it is through gorgeous country. That said, it is a dangerous trail for cycling. The trail is not well-maintained. There are significant cracks and blisters in the asphalt, especially in the section south of Carlton to Moose Lake State Park. Some of these problems are marked with white spray paint so you can avoid them, but some are not. It is unsafe. I’m an experienced cyclist and can handle a range of conditions- but I will not ride this trail again.
Gorgeous for walking, but to ride a bike on the Willard Munger is to risk your physical safety or damage to your bicycle.
I should have specified that the rough trail section we rode was from Gooseberry Falls State Park north to Beaver Bay.
Could be a great ride, however there are hundreds upon hundreds of tarred cross trail cracks; however none of them have tar in them anymore. Many frost heaves that aren’t marked The lighthouse is worth a visit. Some nice views of the lake but probably more views of cars as the trail parallels the highway for many miles.
We did the Virginia-to-Buhl segment over Labor Day and wished we had rented electric-assist bikes. We're used to the flatter trails AND we have not biked a lot this summer because of the heat, and I can say we were fairly disappointed in our inability to make it to Chisolm. The 95-degree weather didn't help - LOL! The trail winds past beautiful scenery, particularly the quarries. There is a section east of Buhl where the trail runs through a swamp and it was like biking over moguls. Ouch! The trail is maintained well and once we figured out how to get out of Virginia, the signage is pretty good. Finding places for water/shade within the smaller towns is a challenge (maybe because of the holiday?) so pack a lot of water/snacks if you're going to be out for the day. The ATVs alongside the trail east of Virgina were nice and polite, but the 2 sets of trails merge over the bridge (in which the view is stunning, BTW). We will do more of the trail once we get our legs back in shape and look forward to more fun!
08/23, Grand Rapids to Biwabik section. I was choosing between Paul Banyan and Mesabi Trail for bikepacking and chose the last one mainly because there are more camping options. Paul Banyan has some camping options, but our group included 7 yo girls who just switched to a geared 20" bike and we were limited by about 20-25 miles per day. Mesabi worked out for us better. Our itinerary was the following:
Day 1. A night at the trailhead in Itasca County Fairgrounds Campground in Grand Rapids. There is an ongoing reconstruction, but you can camp there, booking is not required, campground host is right there. Payment is on-site by cash, $25 or so. Avoid camping there during events, the place can be noisy.
Day 2. 21 mile ride. A night in Swan Lake Campground and Resort in Pengilly. 3 miles ride from the trail over public roads. Road shoulder is wide so it was an ok ride. We tried to workaround over ATV trails, but they were too difficult for kids and we were towing a cargo trailer. The campground has limited number of tent only sites so plan ahead. Reservation by calling the host. Payment is $30 or so cash.
Day 3. 3 + 18 miles ride. A night in Hibbing. The only night not in camping. The closest campground in Chisholm did not work for us as it adds 5 or so miles and the campground itself is terrible according to the reviews. There are very few options for staying in Hibbing. I ended up booking a house for $170 per night close to the trail.
Day 4. 19 miles ride. A night in West Two Rivers Campground. It is 1.5 miles away from the trail, but the road goes to the campground only, so there were only few cars. The only problem was to cross the hwy 169 with kids, but after some wait we did that safely. Reservation online. They have tent only sites, but they are smaller for the same rate - $35 or so. I switched to an RV one. I recommend sites 23 and 24.
Day 5. 23 + 1.5 miles ride. A night in Biwabik Vermilion Trail Campground. It is a popular campground, especially on weekends. Reservation online. Payment is $35 or so. Last section of 5 miles or so on a public road with a wide shoulder. That was not the best experience with kids, but drivers were respectful to us.
Originally we planned Day 6 riding to Heritage Park & Campground in Embarass, but shuttle guy have not responded to us quickly and we cut our route by one day planning me to ride all the way back to the car while my family is waiting in the campground. He responded last night and gave us a ride from Biwabik to Cedar Rapids for $128. It is a good price for 80 miles of 4 people with 4 bikes and backpacks. Plan ahead. I planned only one week prior to the trip.
About the trail. First of all it is a tremendous work! The shuttle driver was from the trail management. He said how much time and money they invest in it for us to be able to ride it. So please, don't forget to buy a Wheel Pass - it is a minimum to pay back for all their effort. Europe countries natively have extensive network of trails and driving culture allowing bikers and drivers to coexist. Those who promote healthy lifestyle through building bike trails in the US deserve all sorts of endorsements. The towns we passed seem to know about cyclists and drivers where very respectful to us. Don't loose your attention though, we had couple of issues in one town. Drivers made excuses to us so the great work in progress in this aspect too. As I said the trail is not 100% serenity in the woods, the trail direction is planning to build the Biwabik section, but over it was an excellent ride and we were very happy. August is a beautiful time to bikepacking. I bet Fall time will be amazing too, even though colder for bikepacking.
On three occasions we rode the Gitchi Gami trail from Gooseberry Falls to Split Rock Light house & Beaver Bay to Split Rock Light house, but the best part of the trail- for relatively flat riding & great Lake Superior views- was from Lutsen Mountain Rd to Schroeder, MN. There’s a new trail parking area off Lutsen Rd/Hwy 5 & Hwy 61. A great coffee stop was in Tofte at Coho’s Cafe with pastries & sandwiches. This stop broke the 24 mile round trip into a manageable morning ride. Another stop would be to see the falls at
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