Hike 50 Challenge - Superior Hiking Trail Association

*Hike any 40 miles of the Superior Hiking Trail to earn your annual Hike 40 Challenge patch. Each year, the challenge will feature a unique patch design. Collect them all!*

2026 Hike 40 Challenge

Celebrating 40 years of the Superior Hiking Trail!

In 2026, the Superior Hiking Trail marks its 40th Anniversary. This special Hike 40 Challenge edition (usually the Hike 50 Challenge) highlights four decades of milestones while celebrating your completion of any 40 Trail miles during the calendar year—whether you hike, walk, run, backpack, or snowshoe.

This year each featured hike showcases a defining moment in the Trail’s history that helped shape the SHT into the 300+ mile world-class trail it is today.

The challenge is designed to provide fun motivation for your SHT exploring goals:

Discover the SHT section by section.
Set a family hiking goal for the year.
Make new trail friends by getting a group of people to complete the challenge together.

Each year, we release a brand new version of our Hike 50 Challenge patch. This year’s patch features our mascot Birchy the Beaver painting a blue blaze and celebrating 40 incredible years of connecting people with nature along the North Shore.

Volunteer Chris Nelson painting a Superior Hiking Trail blue blaze along the path in the early days. This image is the inspiration for the 2026 Hike 40 Challenge patch. Complete your Hike Challenge to receive your collectors patch!

Learn more about the history of the Superior Hiking Trail

The Superior Hiking Trail was founded in 1986 when a small group of outdoor enthusiasts envisioned a continuous footpath along the rocky ridges above Lake Superior’s North Shore. Construction began in 1987 with the help of state funding, conservation crews, and hundreds of volunteers who built the early miles by hand. Today, the Trail stretches more than 300 miles from the Minnesota–Wisconsin border near Jay Cooke State Park to the Canadian border.

In 1990, just three years after the beginning of construction, the Superior Hiking Trail was halfway to completing its original goal of 250+ miles linking Duluth with the Canadian border. Sixteen hikers marked the Halfway Hike by trekking some or all of the 140 miles from Grand Marais to Gooseberry Falls, which ended in a grand picnic at Gooseberry Falls State Park, pictured above. Photo by Rudi Hargesheimer. *This milestone is highlighted in our Hike 40 Challenge Packet.*

The Superior Hiking Trail Association was established in December 1986. Just a few months later construction began. On July 5, 1987, supporters and state representatives gathered at Britton Peak in Tofte, Minnesota for a ceremonial log cutting, celebrating the first steps toward a ridgeline trail above Lake Superior. Left to right: Steve Thorne, Deputy Commissioner of MN DNR; Marlene Johnson, MN Lieutenant Governor; James Oberstar, MN 8th District US Congressman; Blaine Fenstad and Beth Blank, Resort owners. From the second SHTA Ridgeline Newsletter, July/August 1987. Photo by Jack Pichota. Learn more about this memorable gathering by visiting our list of suggested hikes.

In addition to the Hike 40 Challenge, check out the links below to learn more about the history of the Superior Hiking Trail and celebrate our 40th Anniversary.

Hike 40 Challenge Packet

Looking for suggested hikes that feature some of the SHT’s most memorable milestones? Download our Hike 40 Challenge packet. Each suggested hike includes Trail descriptions, historical milestones that helped make the Trail what it is today, and lists the corresponding Atlas and Guidebook pages. Also included is a log to help you track your challenge miles. There is no need to submit your log to qualify for your completion certificate. The Hike 40 Challenge operates on the honor system.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD PACKET

Have you completed your Hike 40 Challenge?

Once you complete and submit your 40 miles, we will mail you an official Certificate of Completion and Hike 40 Challenge patch. All submissions must be received by the SHTA prior to December 31, 2026 and packets will be mailed out by the end of January 2027. You may report you’ve completed your Hike 40 as soon as you’ve finished.

CLICK FOR COMPLETION FORM

Plan your Hike 50 Challenge with SHTA Guidebooks and Maps

Guidebook: The Superior Hiking Trail Association publishes the Superior Hiking Trail Guidebook, the best single resource for planning anything from day trips to thru-hikes, as it contains mile-by-mile descriptions of the Trail, campsite details, directions to trailheads, and more. Available as a physical book or ebook, visit the SHTA publications webpage to learn more and purchase your copy.

Maps: The Association also publishes a comprehensive Trail Atlas of the Superior Hiking Trail to use for planning and navigating the Trail. The Trail Atlas is available in physical map or digital format through the Avenza mobile app. Purchase your maps and learn more on the SHTA publications webpage.

Tracking: In addition to the Hike Challenge log, you can also track your miles using the My SHT Map.

Support and stay connected to the Superior Hiking Trail

The Superior Hiking Trail Association (SHTA) is the member-supported, volunteer-powered nonprofit responsible for maintaining the Trail. The organization coordinates construction, ongoing maintenance, and improvements while organizing volunteers, managing trailheads and campsites, and helping hikers safely experience the North Shore landscape. Its work is essential to the Trail’s continued existence and long-term stewardship.

For 40 years, the Superior Hiking Trail has connected people to the rugged landscape of Minnesota’s North Shore while inspiring stewardship and outdoor adventure. Click the links below to learn more and find ways to support.

Other area hiking challenges

Your Hike 50 Challenge miles could also count toward other hiking challenges in the area. Our Hike 50 Challenge is an homage to the North Country Trail Association’s Hike 100 Challenge.

In 2019, the Superior Hiking Trail officially became part of the North Country National Scenic Trail’s route, a 4,800-mile trail that runs from North Dakota to Vermont. The SHT makes up about one-third of the NCT’s Minnesota miles. Each year, the NCTA hosts their Hike 100 Challenge. Our Hike 50 Challenge miles will also count toward their hiking challenge. Hike 50 miles on the SHT for our challenge, then go explore other sections of the NCT in Minnesota and Wisconsin, or one of the other eight other states the NCT crosses.

Your Hike 50 Challenge miles could also count toward Trailfitters’s annual Trail Challenge, which runs for six weeks each summer. Each year, Trailfitters selects nine hikes ranging from easy to difficult, and the Superior Hiking Trail usually makes the list. People who complete this challenge can also earn prizes.

Hike 50 Challenge End-2-End

Complete a Hike 50 Challenge each year until you complete all 300 miles of the Superior Hiking Trail, making you an official End-2-Ender, another accomplishment we love to recognize through our End-2-Ender Program.