Duluth SHT Closed for Fall Freeze Cycle

November 10, 2022

As of November 10, all sections of the Superior Hiking Trail in Duluth are closed for the Fall freeze/thaw cycle from 131st Avenue West to Martin Road until further notice. Check the open/closed status for the Trail in Duluth by visiting our Trail Conditions page.

The City of Duluth Parks and Recreation, in collaboration with the Superior Hiking Trail Association (SHTA) and the Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores (COGGS), decides when to close Duluth’s natural surface (dirt) trails due to the annual fall freeze-thaw cycle.

Overnight below-freezing temperatures combined with daytime above-freezing temperatures create wet and vulnerable soil conditions that can damage trails with continued use.

“Until everything is frozen solid, the trails are highly vulnerable to damage, which could create erosion on the trails when the snow melts next spring,” said Matt Andrews, Parks and Recreation Trails Coordinator in a press release.

Trails that are safe to hike during Fall freeze/thaw cycle include: the Campus Connector Trail between St. Scholastica and UMD along Tischer Creek, Cross-City Trail from Bayfront Park through Lincoln Park, Duluth Lakewalk, the Duluth Winnipeg and Pacific Railway (DWP) Trail and Waabizheshikana (formerly known as the Western Waterfront Trail).

If you’re interested in learning more about why hiking on freezing or thawing Trails is more damaging that at any other time of the year, check out our blog post from this spring.

The City of Duluth will reopen natural surface trails once surface conditions allow and the ground has completely frozen.