Outdoor athletes have always been drawn to Duluth. The historic port city on the western tip of Lake Superior has a network of hiking, nordic skiing, and mountain biking trails within five minutes of nearly every house in the city.
Twenty years ago, however, if a cyclist wanted to ride the 150 miles northeast to the Canadian border, they would have had to take U.S. Highway 61. For decades, it was a narrow two-lane road that followed the contours of the massive inland sea on one side and thick, rolling boreal forest on the other. It was drop-dead gorgeous and, thanks to nearly nonexistent shoulders, it was also potentially deadly.
Highway 61 has since improved, with passing lanes and the creation of the paved Gitchi-Gami State Trail, which runs 86 miles from Two Harbors to Grand Marais. But why ride near speeding cars when there are hundreds of miles of unpaved gravel roads hidden in that rolling wood?
This web of mostly one- and two-lane Forest Service tracts in Superior National Forest was largely undiscovered by cyclists until Jeremy Kershaw. A self-described “graveleer” and emergency room nurse in Duluth, Kershaw first explored the region in the early aughts while developing a race he hoped would be on par with the Almanzo 100, a nowiconic event that helped introduce the gravel craze to the masses. Seventeen years later, Kershaw’s 105-mile “Heck of the North” is an icon in its own right, and it’s just one of four races that he and his wife, Avesa Rockwell, now put on through their company, Heck of the North Productions.
“Our mantra is to get as many people on bikes up there as we can,” Kershaw says. “It’s still a relatively undiscovered bikepacking area in the state. There are gorgeous sections of road that nobody knows about.”
BEGINNER/DAY TRIP
Route: Donald D. Ferguson Demonstration Forest to Indian Lake Campground and back
Distance: 27 miles
Elevation Gain: 886 feet
This straightforward shot will test your mettle for bikepacking more of the rugged Minnesota backcountry, where bugs can be mean, the temperatures hypothermic even in summer, and a rain jacket essential no matter the forecast. Plus, there’s a history lesson involved. The route starts in the Donald D. Ferguson Demonstration Forest, where two 1800-era railroads once hauled out loads of iron ore and timber.
Today, the 400-acre working forest, eight miles from Two Harbors and 35 miles north of Duluth, is threaded with hiking and mountain biking trails. This route follows Drummond Grade, a wide, well-maintained gravel byway traveled by the occasional pickup. Farther north, a few mellow hills rise and fall, punctuated by tamarack-filled bogs and small, spruce-rimmed lakes.
Eventually, you’ll head north on County Highway 44 toward Hugo’s Bar, a watering hole favored by hunters and anglers that doubled as the command center during the peak of the spring 2025 wildfire season. The fires are out, so stop in and refuel with beer-battered onion rings, chicken wings, or crinkle-cut fries. Wash it all down with a cold beer or a cold plunge at nearby Indian Lake Campground’s sandy beach before setting up camp for the night or turning back around.
INTERMEDIATE/MULTIDAY
Route: The Fox Bikepacking Route
Distance: 132 miles
Elevation Gain: 6,416 feet
This route begins in Finland, a one-time logging town 66 miles north of Duluth homesteaded by Scandinavians in the 1890s. It follows the hilly topography of the Sawtooth Mountains, the ancient peaks of which rise hundreds of feet above Lake Superior. The route’s northernmost point is the town of Grand Marais, a beloved cultural hub that buzzes in summer with tourists preoccupied by skipping stones across Lake Superior during annual tournaments.
With single-lane gravel roads canopied by robust maple trees, views of the Big Lake, and two historic communities acting as bookends, the figure-eight loop is Jeremy Kershaw’s favorite North Shore ride — even considering its handful of mile-plus climbs, some with ten percent grades.
One of the more notorious ascents is the aptly named Heartbreak Hill on Forest Road 166 between County Highway 7 and the Sawbill Trail. The relentless three-mile incline was named by early 20th-century loggers who would attempt to haul their pine-loaded sleds along the snowy hill. Some succeeded. Others lost their cargo (and a big payday) when the draft horses gave up under the heavy strain. Now, it’s equally harrowing for cyclists.
For the most part, the climbs are manageable, but 6,000 feet of elevation gain over 132 miles isn’t bad for the Midwest. Those climbs are worth it to see forests almost as pristine as those in the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness without having to portage a boat. While these woods may not be as famous, their campgrounds are more luxurious, with designated Forest Service sites that offer vault toilets and running water.
The Fox Route
Map by Sean Parsons
ARTS & CULTURE
There’s a thriving live music scene centered on Duluth’s Bayfront Festival Park where homegrown bands like Trampled by Turtles draw happy crowds throughout the summer. For a smaller-town experience, head to Grand Marais, two hours up Highway 61. Visitors can browse original artwork from around Lake Superior at Sivertson Gallery and sign up for day-long classes such as Beekeeping Basics and Bean Cuisines from Around the World at the famed North House Folk School. Or do as the locals do and book a sauna at Grand Marais’ Sisu and Löyly or Duluth’s Cedar and Stone.
GO & STAY
Duluth is a 2.5-hour drive from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. To minimize mosquito and black fly bites, plan to visit between late May and early June, or September and early October. There are seven state parks with campgrounds along Highway 61 between Duluth and Grand Marais, but their campsites are coveted in the summer, so book well in advance or try lesser-known National Forest or DNR campgrounds such as Indian Lake near Brimson. There are also more than a dozen resorts on Lake Superior between Duluth and Grand Marais. Choose one with a hot sauna such as Larsmont Cottages at Two Harbors.
GROCERIES & FOOD
With a selection of hot sammies and a robust tea and coffee menu, Two Harbors’ Cedar Coffee Company is an ideal pre- or post-ride hang. Next door, Spokengear Cyclery & Outdoor has a bike shop and a fleet of Salsa Fargos equipped for bikepacking. It also offers bikepacking trips from the store to Indian Lake Campground throughout the summer. At 113 years old, Finland Cooperative, near the start of the Fox route, is the longest continually operating cooperative in Minnesota and sells everything from organic food to duct tape. If you can find a table inside the old fishing shanty it calls home, Angry Trout Café in Grand Marais has a delectable fish chowder.