Willard Munger State Trail (Matthew Lourey State Trail)

The Willard Munger State Trail is a collection of three multiple use trails roughly stretching between the towns of Hinckley and Duluth. The three trail segments include the Hinckley–Duluth, Alex Laveau Memorial Trail (which are joined in Carlton) and the Matthew Lourey State Trail, also known as the Boundary segment, and which lies to the east of the other two trails. The trails offer a total of 160 miles for hiking, bicycling, in-line skating, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. The trials pass through some of Minnesota's most scenic areas, following the route of the railroad that saved many lives during the notorious Hinckley and Cloquet fires in the 19th century.

The Matthew Lourey State Trail is 80 miles of natural surface used by snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, equestrians, hikers and mountain bikers. The trail passes through remote forests and state parks, including Chengwatana, St. Croix State Park and St. Croix and Nemadji state forests. Some areas may be impassable in summer. Use caution when traveling this remote trail.

Parking and Trail Access

Parking is available at the campgrounds in St. Croix State Park and the three state forests (Chengwatana, St. Croix and Nemadji) along the trail. Please contact Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources for more information:

DNR Information Center
500 Lafayette Rd
St. Paul, MN 55155-4040
info.dnr@state.mn.us
888-646-6367 (toll free)

Southern end

April 2022 tomeggum

It’s neat that our state buys trail right-of-way like this, but this end is rough with lots of ponded water this past Spring weekend. We gave up before we got to the the Million Dollar Bridge.

it's another free, gorgeous state park. give it the review it deserves.

May 2020 aaron.pallesen86

it's another free, gorgeous state park. give it the review it deserves.

Pretty scenery, not great for the silent sports

March 2018 william.capecchi

I ran 7.5 miles from the southern trailhead in an effort to get off the pavement and into the woods. The landscape was beautiful, but the going was tough. This was partly my fault since 95% of the trail was still covered in snow/ice, but this trail is primarily snowmobile/ATV use (I passed a couple ATV groups who nodded politely as they passed, no doubt thinking I was crazy or lost or both). The portions of trail not snow covered were rutted and uneven making even these stretches difficult.
Overall not great for trail running. I'll experiment with other sections, but unless you have a fat bike I wouldn't recommend this lower section.

Minnesota

3 Reviews