North Country Trail

North Country Trail
A segment of the North Country Trail passing through the Brule Bog in Wisconsin's Brule River State Forest
Length	4600 mi (7403 km)
Location	New York / Pennsylvania / Ohio / Michigan / Wisconsin / Minnesota / North Dakota
Trailheads	Lake Sakakawea State Park, North Dakota Crown Point State Historic Site, New York
Use	Hiking
Trail difficulty	Varies from location to location
Sights	Diverse environmental features of the northern and midwestern United States

The North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT), which stretches approximately 4,600 miles (7,400 km) from Crown Point in eastern New York to Lake Sakakawea in central North Dakota in the United States, is the longest of the eleven National Scenic Trails authorized by Congress. Like its sister trails, it was designed to provide peaceful recreational opportunities in some of the America's outstanding landscapes. As of 2010, over 2,100 miles have been certified.

The NCT is administered by the National Park Service, managed by federal, state, and local agencies, and built and maintained primarily by the volunteers of the North Country Trail Association (NCTA) and its partners. The 28 chapters of the NCTA, its 3,200+ members and each affiliate organization have assumed responsibility for trail construction and maintenance of a specific section of the NCT.

Route

The trail passes by Wren Falls in Iron County, Wisconsin

Passing through the seven states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan (where it traverses the Lower Peninsula from the Ohio border to Mackinaw City and the Upper Peninsula from St. Ignace to Ironwood),^[1] Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota, the NCT connects more than 160 public land units, including parks, forests, scenic attractions, wildlife refuges, game areas, and historic sites. The list includes:

• Ten National Forest areas (Finger Lakes in New York, Allegheny in Pennsylvania, Wayne in Ohio, Manistee, Hiawatha, and Ottawa in Michigan, Chequamegon in Wisconsin, Superior and Chippewa in Minnesota and Sheyenne National Grassland in North Dakota)
• Four areas of the National Park Service (Michigan's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Wisconsin's St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, New York's Fort Stanwix National Monument, and Ohio's Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park)

Other federal facilities along the NCT include:

• Two National Wildlife Refuges (Minnesota's Tamarac and North Dakota's Audubon)
• Two Bureau of Reclamation projects (North Dakota's Garrison Diversion Unit's New Rockford and McCluskey Canals) and,
• Six Army Corps of Engineers impoundments (Baldhill Dam at Lake Ashtabula, North Dakota, Tom Jenkins Dam and Burr Oak Lake, William H. Harsha Lake [also known as East Fork Lake], Ohio, Tionesta Lake, the Kinzua Dam, and Allegheny Reservoir, Pennsylvania)

The NCT also threads its way through 57 state parks and state historic areas, 47 state forests, 22 state game areas, seven state water conservation districts and at least ten county forests and parks. Several hundred miles of trail eventually will also cross private land thanks to owners who have granted easements across their property.

The center point of the trail is located near the NCTA headquarters in Lowell, Michigan.

History

When the Trail was established in 1980, portions of it were designed to follow the already existing Finger Lakes (New York), Baker (Pennsylvania), and Buckeye (Ohio) Trails. Their sponsoring organizations became affiliates of the North Country Trail Association and agreed to maintain those portions of their trails to be used by the North Country National Scenic Trail. The Northwestern Ohio Rails-to-Trails Association joined later to help create a link between the Buckeye Trail in Ohio and newly-constructed trail in Michigan; the Superior Hiking Trail Association and the Kekekabic Trail Club joined when it was proposed that the North Country National Scenic Trail route through Minnesota be changed to include an already-completed section of the Superior Hiking Trail along Lake Superior, and the Kekekabic and Border Route Trails along the Canadian border in Minnesota's arrowhead region.

Use

Existing and new sections of the NCT are generally limited to foot travel, including hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Other non-motorized uses, such as bicycling and horseback riding are generally limited to areas specifically designed to withstand such use.

About 10,000 people are involved with the NCT in one way or another, either through membership in the North Country Trail Association or membership in one of eight organizations affiliated with the NCTA: the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, the Buckeye Trail Association, the Superior Hiking Trail Association, the Kekekabic Trail Club, the Northwestern Ohio Rails-to-Trails Association, the Butler Outdoor Club, the Rachael Carson Trails Conservancy and the Friends of the Jordan River National Fish Hatchery.

End-to-Enders

Persons who have followed the entire route of the trail ^[2] include:
1. Carolyn Hoffman was the first person to attempt to follow the trail. In 1978, before it was actually authorized, she hiked and bicycled the approximate route
2. Peter Wolfe was the first hiker, completing it in sections from 1974–1980
3. Chet Fromm hiked the trail in sections from 1992–1995
4. Ed Talone completed the first thru-hike in 1994
5. Andrew Skurka did the second thru-hike, notably in the winter, 2004–2005
6. Don Beattie- section hikes from 1980–2005
7. Allen Shoup- section hikes from 1995–2005
8. Bart Smith- section hikes completed in 2007
9. Eb Eberhard (Nimblewill Nomad)- thru-hike in 2009 (he has written Trekking The North Country Trail documenting his trek)
10. Joan H. Young (the first woman to hike the entire trail) - section hikes 1991-2010 (she has written North Country Cache highlighting 2300 miles of her hike. North Country Quest is scheduled as a sequel)
11. Judy Geisler - hiking and biking of the route completed 2011

Gallery

• 

  A trail post that includes the trail's official logo

• 

  Blue blazes, where allowed, mark the path of the North Country Trail

Notes

1. ^ Michigan North Country Trail.
2. ^ List collected by the Long-Distance Hiker Committee of the North Country Trail Association

External links

• North Country Trail Association
• The North Country Trail on the National Park Service's website

See also

• Michigan Shore-to-Shore Trail
• List of hiking trails in Wisconsin
• Ohio River Trail

Coordinates: 42°56′04″N 85°20′16″W / 42.93446°N 85.33783°W / 42.93446; -85.33783