Up the hill
Back to the Zoo 3.2 miles to Haines Forward to the Silos
https://superiorhiking.org/trail-section/mnwi-border-to-duluth/#section_8
https://superiorhiking.org/trail-section/mnwi-border-to-duluth/#section_9
Non-SHT lodging is available right on Westgate Blvd.
This is a steep climb, rising a few hundred feet, and many gorges going back
down so you end up climbing nearly 1,500 ft. Rocky, with many stream crossings.
Duluth closes these trails sometimes during rainy periods.
Lots of quaking aspens of all ages. Scattered cedar and maple and occasional
oak. Some city noise.
2021 in the middle of a drought turned out to be not such a
bad time to take a hike. We picked up where we left off at the end of Greene
St. after it crosses N. 64th Av W. Take the path north following Interstate
35, avoiding any of the turns to the left. You will have to cross Cody St,
which has some high-speed traffic, and walk along Westgate Blvd. for two
blocks. Signage is very good throughout this hike. When we came to the loop
near Haines Rd we could not miss the intersection. You will be constantly
reminded of a bike trail that parallels you, it is not intrusive or confusing.
After a few blocks in the neighborhood near the highway, you
are back into the woods and join up with Keene Creek where you start climbing.
Rocks in the creek were easy to find as we crisscrossed, but we were in a dry
period. A trailhead with a nicer parking
lot than Greene Street is not far up, on W Skyline Pkwy. This is the Highland
St trailhead on SHT maps.
Follow the creek a little longer and you’ll see steps and
even wires to help you climb the steep section that lies between a switchback
in Skyline Pkwy. You will cross the Pkwy, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. There
is no way to safely park here and start a hike! Things flatten out a little at
this point. If you have the Duluth Trails Map, you will see quite a few rock-climbing
icons around this area. You stay above them, which lends the one nice scenic
vista on this hike. It is on the official SHT part of Brewer’s Loop. The north
part of that loop is still nice and it’s shorter if you want to get to Haines
Rd trailhead.
Lots to offer on this little section.
