Beautiful Minnesota Spot Named The Best Hiking Trail In America

For outdoor enthusiasts, there seems to be endless hiking trails throughout the United States. The U.S. National Trails System alone includes over 1,300 designated National Recreation Trails, spanning over 86,000 miles, along with 11 National Scenic Trails and 19 National Historic Trails.

Once you combine these trails with other trails, such as the over 21,000 miles of trails within national parks, the 2,100 rail-trails across the 50 states, and more, it can be a daunting task trying to isolate hiking trails that you should visit.

That's when national surveys, like one that was recently completed, can come in handy because they do a lot of research for you.

One category in the USA TODAY 10Best, which finds a variety of the best things in America, is 'hiking trails for a scenic and casual day hike', and it turns out that the best trail in the country can be found in Minnesota.

Minnesota Is Home To The Best Hiking Trail In America

It's important to note that all the trails that finished in the Top 10 on this list are places just about everyone could enjoy, as they provide not only a lot of beauty, but they are suitable for most casual hikers, however, some are more challenging than others.

To find the top trails, editors created an expert panel and asked them to nominate their top picks for scenic trails that are perfect for leisurely day hikes. The panel came up with a total of 19 nominees.

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Then, over four weeks, people across the nation cast votes for the nominees in the category. When all the votes were tallied, the winner was a gorgeous trail located in Minnesota's Cook County.

Devil’s Kettle Trail, located in Judge C.R. Magney State Park in Grand Marais, Minnesota, was crowned the winner of the Best Scenic Hiking Trail in America.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources boasts that the two-mile round-trip hike winds through a forest landscape, following the rushing Brule River. Along the way, hikers climb nearly 400 feet and tackle around 175 steps.

Hikers climb nearly 400 feet and tackle around 175 steps, but it's all worth it once you get a view of the two waterfalls, including the park’s crown jewel, Devil’s Kettle. Here, the river splits, with the east side plunging into a pool like a traditional waterfall, while the west side vanishes into a deep, swirling hole in the rock.

The spectacular view of Devil’s Kettle waterfall is what makes this trail special. The DNR says that for years, no one knew where the water in the kettle went. People speculated that the water traveled underground to Lake Superior or other locations.

Objects put into the hole disappeared without reemerging elsewhere. In 2017, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that hydrologists found nearly identical volumes of water flowing both above the Devil's Kettle waterfall and below it, showing the water is likely rejoining the stream below the waterfall.

SEE NOW: Safety Warning Now Issued For Hikers In Minnesota

The plunge pool below the kettle is a powerful system of recirculating currents, capable of breaking down material and holding it underwater until it resurfaces at some point downstream.

If you're looking to visit Devil's Kettle Trail, keep in mind that due to rocky terrain, this moderately challenging hike takes around an hour to complete, but there are benches along the route where you can take a breather.

Here are the hiking trails that finished in the Top 10 in the USA TODAY survey: