North Country National Scenic Trail

North Country National Scenic Trail
Length: 4,000 miles
Completion: 45 percent
Terrain: Woods, wilderness and rural communities
Highlights: When completed, the longest hiking trail in the U.S.
For more information: North Country Trail Association, 229 East Main Street, Lowell, Michigan, 49331, (866) 445-3628, (616) 897-5987 www.northcountrytrail.org

From New York’s Adirondack Mountains to North Dakota’s tall grass prairies, North Country Trail offers a grand seven-state tour across the northern U.S. From its eastern trailhead at Crown Point State Historic Park on the Vermont-New York border, the path extends westward through Pennsylvania’s hardwood forests and the quiet Ohio countryside, traces the shores of the Great Lakes, explores the lakes and forests of northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and finally the plains of North Dakota.

Hikers like the diversity of landscapes en route—the great north woods, bogs, lakes, sand dunes and tall-grass prairies. NCT also offers an array of historical and cultural experiences including Revolutionary War forts, 19th century rail lines and canals.

In New York, North Country Trail proceeds in tandem with Finger Lakes Trail across the state into Pennsylvania. The Finger Lakes Trail crosses fields and forests, gorges and mountains and of course visits plenty of streams and lakes.

In Ohio, much of the NCT hitchhikes along with the pride-of-the-state Buckeye Trail. One of the longest continuous trails in a single state, it passes through major urban centers as well as isolated rural areas. The northern half of the state features mostly flat terrain and rolling hills, while the south offers thick forests and mountainous land. One 50-mile segment follows the Miami & Erie Canal.

Michigan boasts nearly 600 miles of completed NCT, more than any other state. Upper Peninsula highlights include Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and Hiawatha National Forest. Many North Country Trail hikers consider the 43-mile segment through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore to be the most scenic part of the National Scenic Trail. NCT crosses the beaches and towering sandstone bluffs on the shore of Lake Superior, offering grand vistas across–and into–its deep waters.

Wisconsin and Minnesota offer modest segments of completed trail, as well as the opportunity to fish in a generous number of lakes and streams. Two lengths of the trail across North Dakota are particularly memorable. Hikers observe great flocks of ducks, geese and sandhill cranes as they cross the Sheyenne National Grassland and the Lone Tree Wildlife Management Area. The path traverses the lonely prairie, home to the sharptail grouse and the prairie chicken, and to not very many humans, to its western terminus at Lake Sakakawea State Park in west-central North Dakota, where it joins the route of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

The North Country Trail Association, in partnership with the National Park Service is dedicated to championing, developing and maintaining the North Country National Scenic Trail. NCT national headquarters, is located in Lowell, Michigan, which just happens to be near the exact geographic center of the trail; the organization’s office is but a block’s walk to the trail, where it meanders along with the Flat River.