A1 Trails
Hiking in Minnesota

Hiking the Kekekabic Trail

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Trails: 40-mile linear trail through the Boundary Water Canoe Area northeast of Ely to near the west end of the Border Route Trail. Trail surface has lots of rock, mud and roots; some gravel and sand.
Difficulty rating: lots of challenging and intermediate sections, some easy sections.
Access fee: BWCAW permit $16 per adult per trip or $40 per season (2008) available from the outlets listed on the BCAW website
Nearest town: Ely, MN
Trail map: Available on the Kek website
Web site: Kekekabic Trail | Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness | Superior National Forest
Points of interest: Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Other activities: Canoeing
Lodging: Several lodges are located in the Ely area
Camping: Backcountry camping at designated campsites (no charge), frontcountry campgrounds in the Superior National Forest (fee charged)
Weather forecast: Ely
Tourism info: Ely Chamber | Gunflint Trail Association
Getting to the trail: Eastern trailhead is on the Gunflint Trail (Co. Rd. 12) 40 miles from Grand Marais. Western trailhead is on Co Rd 18 near Ely.
Map of local region: Ely
User comments: This was a great trail. Lots of vistas, burned forest, and blow down sections...not to mention that you are hiking among many BWCAW lakes.
Directions: Head to Ely, MN and take CR 1 out of town about 15 miles to Snowbank Lake. We stay the night at Smitty's on Snowbank and they gave us a ride to the trailhead on the Gunflint (180 miles one way). We got our permit at Tuscarora on the Gunflint next to the Round Lake entry point. I would not recommend going there... they didn't really appreciate our business in any way. It was almost like they were annoyed with us because we weren't canoeing. Hike the 40 miles back to the vehicle at Smitty's. Their lodge is a couple blocks from the trailhead on the Ely side.

Submitted by: Tony Klein
from:
Date submitted: July 3, 2008

Rate these trails

Number of ratings: 1
Average rating: 0.50

Trail Name: Kekekabic Trail
I have hiked there: Once
I last hiked there in: May, 2005
Trails that I hiked: Kekekabic Trail
Favorite trails:
Best time to go: fall
Trail marking: Fair
Trail maintenance: Poor
Rating: 0.5 stars
What I liked: campsites
What I disliked: the kek was extreamly marshy from all the rain, which made hiking very slow, and parts of the trail and campsites next to rivers and lakes were flooded. the blow down was also horendous, in places it was so bad that we had to crawl under it on our hands and knees, which is rather difficult with a heavy pack. there is also some sort of bush with thorns on it that grows along side the trail that tears up your legs and arms.
Additional comments:
Submitted by: m.s
from: minnesota
Date submitted: June 2, 2005