Willard Munger State Trail
The Willard Munger State Trail is a system of recreational trails between Hinckley and Duluth, Minnesota. The trail's three segments are the Hinckley to Duluth Segment, Alex Laveau Memorial Trail, and Matthew Lourey State Trail.
Hinckley to Duluth Segment
The most well-known trail is a paved trail that starts in Hinckley and goes northeast to Duluth. With a length of, it is the fifth-longest paved trail in the U.S. It passes through Willow River, Moose Lake, Barnum, and Carlton before terminating in Duluth. Along the way, it goes through Jay Cooke State Park and close to Banning State Park. The segment between Carlton and Duluth is particularly scenic, as it passes through forested areas and rock cuts before opening up to scenic views of the Lake Superior harbor and downtown Duluth.The trail was originally part of the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad, originally built as the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad and later part of the Northern Pacific Railway.
The trail is named after Willard Munger, a Minnesota state legislator who devoted his legislative career to trail development and environmental protection from 1954 until his death in 1999. The Munger family owns the Willard Munger Inn near the end of the trail in Duluth.