One of the most-visited areas on the Superior Hiking Trail on Minnesota's North Shore will reopen Friday.
Work that began in mid-May to rehabilitate the Bean and Bear Lakes Loop Trail is complete, according to the Superior Hiking Trail Association. The trail includes stunning views of the inlands lakes — scenes that fill up visitors' social feeds, especially in autumn.
More than 2 miles of the loop was closed last spring to shore up troublesome and eroded hiking areas diminished by weather and heavy traffic. Crews improved drainage on parts of the path, added a boardwalk and completed stone work with materials sourced from the trail area, said Lisa Luokkala, executive director of the trail association.
"We are really satisfied with the work," she said.
The Penn Creek and Bear Lake campsites also will reopen Friday. Some improvements on the back side of the loop and the Bear Lake campsite are planned.
The reopening overlaps this weekend with the Superior Fall Trail Races, including the 100-mile ultramarathon race from Gooseberry Falls to Lutsen.
While the association is excited to reopen the trail loop, Luokkala cautioned against overuse of the Bean and Bear Lakes Loop — or any popular section of trail — and encouraged hikers to try new locations, too. Trail sections and maps can be found at the association's website, shta.org.
As part of its master planning, the trail association collected trail-use data for the first time in 2023. Last year, the trail had more than 407,000 visits during peak hiking season from May to November. Among other findings, the group reported that day hiking accounted for the majority of use.
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