From the Overlook: A Look Back on 40 Years
Updated April 27, 2026
“Superior Hiking Trail 40th Anniversary Logo” by Kris Kiel.
This year the Superior Hiking Trail turns 40. We are celebrating by looking back at the events of the past forty years that brought us to today. The stories below trace the Trail’s journey from a bold idea to the current 300-mile footpath that winds along the rocky ridgeline of the North Shore. These reminiscences and retrospectives detail how the Trail is truly more than a path, it is a living link between people, place, and purpose.
1993-1995: The Secret is Out
In 1995, Paul Hlina completed the first known thru-hike of the Superior Hiking Trail—from Two Harbors to the Canadian border—using arm crutches following a spinal cord injury. Hiking nearly 200 miles while raising funds for the Superior Hiking Trail Association and Wilderness Inquiry, his journey inspired others and helped establish the Trail as a true destination for long-distance hikers.
By 1993, word about the Superior Hiking Trail was spreading far beyond Minnesota’s North Shore. The first Guide to the Superior Hiking Trail transformed the footpath into a true destination, selling thousands of copies and introducing hikers nationwide to nearly 200 miles of ridgeline adventure. National recognition followed, including praise from Backpacker Magazine, signaling the SHT’s arrival among America’s premier long-distance hikes.
As construction funding ended, the Association shifted toward stewardship. Volunteers and members became the Trail’s backbone, supporting maintenance, fundraising, and growing programming. In 1994, the Trail received official designation as a National Recreation Trail, while guidebooks appeared in major bookstores and a public headquarters opened in Two Harbors.
The Trail’s legitimacy was cemented in 1995 when Paul Hlina completed the first known thru-hike demonstrating both the continuity of the Trail and its power to inspire. The secret was out: the Superior Hiking Trail had become a nationally recognized destination.
1990-1992: Coming of Age
Cindy Johnson Groh holds the Superior Hiking Trail Halfway celebration cake, honoring the 16 hikers who completed some or all of the 140-mile journey from Grand Marais to Gooseberry Falls in 12 days. Photo courtesy of Rudi Hargesheimer.
By 1990, the SHTA was nearly halfway to linking Duluth with the Canadian border, though the hardest miles still lay ahead. The Trail expanded from the center outward—northeast and southwest—despite reduced funding and stubborn easements. Sixteen hikers marked the Halfway Hike by trekking some or all of the 140 miles from Grand Marais to Gooseberry Falls. Materials were flown in by helicopter to install the first major bridge over the Baptism River. A new shuttle service launched, Highway 61 gained SHT signage, and membership continued to grow.
In 1991, the organization entered a new phase. Tricia Ryan became the first paid staff member, signaling a shift toward a more structured nonprofit. More than 100 supporters gathered at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center for the Annual Meeting. The inaugural Superior 100 ultramarathon drew national attention, while lodge-to-lodge hikes and growing winter use reflected a trail coming into its own.
By 1993, crews raced to finish priority segments before LCMR funding expired, relying increasingly on member support to sustain momentum and maintain progress. What began as an ambitious idea was steadily hardening into reality—mile by mile, bridge by bridge, and with every volunteer hour, the Superior Hiking Trail was claiming its place along the North Shore.
1986-1987: The First 100 Miles
1987 Opening ceremony log-cutting at Britton Peak in Tofte. 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.
On July 1, 1987, a $390,000 grant from the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources launched major construction of the Trail, aiming to build 80–90 miles in two years. The funding covered construction, but not long-term maintenance, making active membership essential from the start. Volunteers poured in with such enthusiasm that organizing them often lagged behind their energy.
Just days later, on July 5, supporters and state representatives gathered at Britton Peak for a ceremonial log cutting, complete with trail songs, celebrating the first steps toward a ridgeline trail above Lake Superior.
Trail Coordinator Tom Peterson flagged routes with topo map, compass, and pencil, while crews from the Minnesota Conservation Corps, Youth Conservation Corps, and laid-off Silver Bay miners built tread by hand. By 1989, 100 miles were complete, signs began to mark the way, hikers from around the Nation arrived, and membership grew—proof that vision and many boots on the ground could create a lasting trail.
1986: The Big Idea
Volunteers promote the Superior Hiking Trail at Winterfest in 1988.
In 1986, Leland (Lee) Scharr, Superior National Forest Tofte District Ranger, prepared a student project to fulfill the professional development requirement for the Outdoor Recreation Management program at Clemson University. This project would study the demand for a hiking trail, determine capacity of northeastern Minnesota to provide access, identify use projections, estimate the cost of construction, and gauge local interest and support for the project. This document became the guiding framework for what we now know as the Superior Hiking Trail.
At the time Lee was writing his paper, the concept of a long distance hiking trail along the North Shore was already developed and parts were even being built. The trail was included in the 1979 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) as well as a 1973 Forest Service trail plan for the Tofte Ranger District. Like many great ideas, there is no one originator for the Trail. It was a collective development by many thought partners. However, Scharr’s feasibility study gave teeth to these concepts and built agency amongst local land managers, resort and business owners, and community members.
In a July 2012 letter from Lee, he reflects on on the beginning of the Superior Hiking Trail Association, “In January 1986 (the day the Challenger space shuttle exploded) we had our first meeting with local resorters and interested people to see if there was support needed to go after funding based on the demand data I found for the feasibility study.”
With a strong partnership and shared vision between the Superior National Forest and the Minnesota DNR, alongside the communities and business owners of the North Shore, the Superior Hiking Trail Association was created.