The Minnesota DNR’s ambitious vision for the 86-mile Gitchi-Gami trail along Lake Superior reached a major milestone this week with a prestigious nomination for the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Recreational Trail. Nominations are selected by a panel of experts and USA Today 10 Best editors. Currently sitting in the top 20 nationwide, the GitchiGami now enters a four-week public voting window. To help put our regional landmark on the national map, cast your vote for the Gitchi-Gami trail. Voting is open until Monday, April 6, and you can vote once daily at https://10best.usatoday.com/awards/gitchi-gami-state-trail-minnesota/.
The story of the Gitchi-Gami didn’t start with state planners, but with a group of North Shore resort owners in the late 1980s. At the time, if guests wanted to bike between communities, they had to navigate the narrow, often treacherous shoulders of Highway 61.
In the late 1980s, a group of local business owners began lobbying for a safe, separate, paved, multiuse path that they initially called the North Shore Touring Trail. The group was officially incorporated as a non-profit in 1997. In 1999, they successfully lobbied the Minnesota Legislature to designate it an official State Trail, renaming it the Gitchi-Gami. In 2001, after years of advocacy and the late Congressman Jim Oberstar’s support, the first mile of trail was paved at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.
Because of the rugged North Shore terrain—where solid rock meets steep cliffs—the trail has been built in segments rather than as a single continuous line. This so-called “pearl necklace” approach has now grown to over 36 miles of completed trail. It crosses multiple state parks along Minnesota’s North Shore, offers splendid views of Lake Superior, and provides an easy connection to the communities of Silver Bay, Schroeder, Lutsen, and Grand Marais. Efforts to complete additional segments continue, and the trail will reach an impressive 86 miles when finished, spanning from Two Harbors to Grand Marais.
The Silver Creek Cliff segment of the trail follows the old “Scenic 61” roadbed that was abandoned when the tunnel was completed in 1994. It offers one of the only places in Minnesota where you can bike on the edge of a 100-foot cliff overlooking Lake Superior.
Because of the North Shore’s propensity for “100-year storms” every few years, recent segments (like the new Lutsen stretch) have moved away from culverts in favor of full bridges to ensure the trail survives the Shore’s famous spring thaws.
While famous for cyclists, the trail was designed for accessibility. It is one of the premier locations for electric wheelchair users to experience the wilderness independently, with some users traveling up to 30 miles on a single charge.
The nomination process for the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards is designed to be a “handpicked” system rather than an open public submission. Unlike other awards that are either purely professional (judged only by critics) or purely popularity contests (anyone can nominate), 10Best uses a two-step hybrid model. A panel of industry experts and editors (travel writers, food critics, and subject specialists) curates a list of 20 nominees for a specific category. The power then shifts to the readers, who vote daily for four weeks to whittle those 20 down to the final top 10.
10Best is well-known in the industry for being strictly merit-based. Destinations cannot pay to be nominated; they must be selected by the expert panel based on quality and experience. The 24-hour voting cycle is designed to gauge a community’s passion and engagement. For a local trail like the Gitchi-Gami, winning is often a testament to how much the local North Shore community rallies behind it.
While the specific internal scorecard isn’t public, the 10Best program outlines several key factors they look for in a “Best Recreational Trail”. Trails that offer “more than just a walk in the park,” specifically those that showcase nature’s grandeur. The panel favors “multiuse” trails. The Gitchi-Gami fits this perfectly as it allows for biking, walking, running, and even skating.
In addition, they look for trails that connect communities and historic sites, essentially serving as a “recreational artery” for a region.
The nomination of Gitchi-Gami specifically notes that while the trail is currently 36 miles, its vision of an 86-mile continuous path makes it one of the most ambitious recreational projects in the country. Being nominated alongside heavy hitters like the Hollywood Sign trails or Yellowstone paths puts our local “Big Water” trail on a national stage.
Based on the USA Today panel’s typical 2026 criteria, the Gitchi-Gami likely secured its spot because it links five state parks, has a national reputation for trail engineering, and the DNR and local groups like the Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota have successfully “pitched” the trail’s 86-mile vision to national editors.
