Nine ways to Leave No Trace on the North Shore, MN
March 19, 2024
Looking to hike, camp, and paddle in Northern Minnesota but don’t know where to start? Check out this guide to local Leave no Trace in Northern Minnesota!
This blog post is sponsored by Upstream. Find your next way of caring for the space around you.
Nine Leave No Trace Principles to Follow on the North Shore, Minnesota
While you’ve probably heard of the 7 principles of Leave No Trace, specific best practices for Leave No Trace vary from region to region, and one of the best things that you can do to practice Leave No Trace is to research the region you plan on recreating in. Throughout this article, I’ll have resources linked to help you understand the rules, regulations, and Leave No Trace in Northern Minnesota!
First and foremost, the North Shore of Minnesota is the cultural and traditional homelands of the Anishinabee Nation. When recreating, keep in mind that all areas have potential historical, cultural, or archeological significance and remember to leave nothing behind, and take nothing with you.
1) Respect Local Closures
One of the easiest ways to follow Leave No Trace in Northern Minnesota is to follow local park rules, regulations and trail closures. You can often find this information posted right at the trailhead, so remember to read the posted information before hiking!
Sometimes social trails, or small trails branching off from the main trail made by repeated foot traffic, may be closed. You can usually tell if these are closed either because they are roped off, logs have been piled over the top of the trail, or signs say “please stay on the main trail”.
In addition, trails near Duluth and on the Superior Hiking Trail are closed in the shoulder season when muddy. This is because when it is extremely muddy out, the trails are extra vulnerable to erosion. When hiking in the spring, be aware that even though a trail might not be marked “closed”, trails that are extremely muddy are officially closed nonetheless.
Where can I find information about trail closures?
The Superior Hiking Trail Association updates their website with current trail conditions and closures!
2) Stay on Trail
One of the most important parts of Leave No Trace in Northern Minnesota is to stay on designated trails whenever possible! Staying on trail is important because…
- Going off trail and creating social trails can damage local plant life
- Damaging the plants and topsoil through foot traffic can lead to decreased habitat for animals
- Damage to topsoil changes water drainage patterns which has huge downstream (literally) effects
- Soil erosion where it shouldn’t be can change the amount of mud and debris in rivers and streams due to run off, affecting aquatic life
- While one person stepping off trail might seem to have a small impact, hundreds of people every day widens the trail and can have a very large impact
- The trails are there for your safety as well! Stay on them.
Adapted from “Top Six Reasons to Stay on the Trail”, Gooseberry Falls State Park visitors center, pictured above.
Did you know?
Boardwalks are installed on hiking trails not to keep your boots from getting muddy, but to protect the fragile muddy soil from your boots! Imagine there was no boardwalk through one of your favorite, wetter, sections of trail. As the center of the trail becomes muddy, more and more hikers move to the edge of the trail away from the mud to keep their boots clean. This loosens that soil, turning it to mud, and the end result is that the entire trail can widen significantly in one muddy season.
Stay on the designated trails and boardwalk, and when encountering a patch of mud on trail, hike through the middle and not around!
3) Come prepared for the trail you’re hiking
An important part of practicing Leave No Trace is coming prepared and looking out for your own safety. The people most likely to do damage to a trail or ecosystem by illegal camping, damaging off-trail travel, or leaving trash or waste behind are desperate people who do things they normally would not because they are tired, thirsty, hungry, hurt, or scared.
The best thing you can do to take care of yourself and the environment is come prepared! This means researching your route before hiking, packing enough food, water, and a first aid kit, and knowing how and when to call for help.
Here are a few quick tips to help you come prepared to Leave No Trace:
- Pack a physical copy of a map of where you intend to hike. Along the North Shore, the Superior Hiking Trail guidebook is a good place to start, as well as a MacKenzie Map for the region you’re recreating in.
- Pack three ways to signal for help outside of a cell phone! I recommend a SAT Phone or GPS with two-way messaging (such as a Garmin InReach), a signaling mirror, and a whistle
- Have a back up plan! If you come into your hike with a plan B, you’re more likely to be willing to abandon plan A when it becomes dangerous or uncomfortable
- Consider taking a Wilderness First Aid course if you’re a frequent hiker!
4) Pack out all trash including apple cores, banana peels, orange peels, and toilet paper
Did you know that while things like apple cores, orange peels, and toilet paper are biodegradable over time, they still take many years to decompose?
All trash, even seemingly natural items, should be packed out according to the Center for Leave no Trace.
Things like toilet paper left out on the trail are likely to “decorate” that section of trail for months or years to come, and things like banana peels or apple cores are likely to attract animals. In Northern Minnesota, that can mean black bears, and black bear frequenting can mean trail closures, and sometimes even can spell trouble for habituated black bears.
Pack out your apple cores! Spill trail mix? Pick up every piece off the ground, or you may wake up to an unwelcome surprise!
5) Secure the appropriate permit before hiking
One of the most important parts of Leave No Trace is to make sure you have secured the right permit before hiking or paddling. Permits are not required in the Superior National Forest for hiking and paddling, however in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness both to paddle and to hike, permits are required.
Learn more about Boundary Waters permits here.
In addition, a State Parks pass is required in Minnesota state parks. To camp within the boundaries of state parks, you’ll need to reserve a campsite in advance online.
Permit fees help contribute to the cost of maintaining campsites, portages, education projects and trails and are a very important part of keeping our park ecosystems healthy!
6) Respect Lake Superior
When recreating on the Minnesota North Shore, it is extra important to respect the power of Lake Superior!
Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake by surface area in the world, and capable of producing waves up to 30ft in height. Guided tours are strongly recommended for kayaking on Lake Superior, and the only recommended kayak type on Lake Superior as per the National Parks Service is a sea kayak— a kayak greater than 16 ft in length with sealed bulkheads, or pockets of air on each end to prevent the boat from sinking if capsized.
Lake Superior also creates rip currents in large waves, and there are multiple cases of hypothermia in swimmers and capsized boaters alike every year.
Children should be kept close in hand around Lake Superior cliffs as they can be extremely slippery, and swimming in Lake Superior should be done only with the utmost care!
7) Keep our freshwater clean (all soaps and washing must be done at least 200ft from lakes and streams)
According to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Regulations, all washing of yourself and your dishes should be done at least 200 ft from shore.
Soaps should be used sparingly and biodegradable soaps are recommended. Do not wash directly in lakes and rivers in Northern Minnesota.
Did you know? While soap can be helpful for cutting grease on your camp dishes, you can often use dirt to cut grease and wash dishes with just water and dirt! This is good for minimal impact, small group camping trips where everyone has brought their own dish.
8) Be Wildfire Wise
Did you know people cause 90% of Minnesota Fires according to the MN DNR? To help prevent wildfires this season remember…
- Local burning restrictions before starting your campfire.
- Campfires must be in a designated fire ring on most state and federal land; fires must be less than three feet in diameter and not more than three feet in height. Clear the area of overhead branches, dry grass, and logs near the fire.
- Have a means to extinguish the fire (water and a shovel) nearby at all times; be sure to supervise the campfire at all times.
- Extinguish a campfire completely before abandoning. A campfire is not out until it is cold to the touch.