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The North Country Trail Information
The North Country National Scenic Trail, commonly known as the North Country Trail or simply the NCT, is a footpath stretching across some 4,800 miles (7,700 km) from where the the
Long Trail in central Vermont connects with the
Appalachian Trail at the location that is called the Maine Junction (43.674771, -72.839215). The NDT, which passing through eight states, is the longest of all the eleven National Scenic Trails authorized by Congress.
The NCT is administered by the National Park Service, managed by federal, state, and local agencies, and built and maintained primarily by the volunteers of the North Country Trail Association (NCTA) and its partners. The 28 chapters of the NCTA, its 3,200+ members and each affiliate organization have assumed responsibility for local trail construction and maintenance of local sections of the NCT.
Too, the NCT connects both the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail with the commemorative route of the Lewis and Clark Trail, which is now a National Historic Trail. By early 2019, there is 3,129 miles (5,036 km) of the trail open for hiking, 2,900 miles which are off-road trail and the remainder requiring road walking, all of which are available for non-motorized uses like hiking.
The NCT traverse eight states, listed from east to west as: Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota,
North Country Trail Route
National Information:
Trail Type:
National Scenic Trail
Trail Total Length:
4,800 miles, 7,725 km
Trail Use:
Backpacking, Hiking
Trail Waymark:
Blue blazes (verticle rectangle)
Terminus Point One (West):
Location:
Lake Sakakawea State Park, North Dakota
Cordinates:
47.5196146, -101.4521533
Elevation:
1,906 feet
Terminus Point Two (East):
Location:
Long Trail, Maine Junction, Vermont
Cordinates:
43.6748108, -72.8391461
Elevation:
2,275 feet
State Information:
State Elevation:
Lowest Elevation on Trail:
Vermont:
100 feet
Lake Champlain
Highest Elevation on Trail:
Vermont:
3,366 feet (927 meters)
Gillespie Peak
Pennsylvania:
3,044 feet (927 meters)
Allegany National Forest
New York
2,635 feet (720 meters)
Adirondacks
Michigan:
1,979 feet (603 meters)
Minnesota:
1,526 feet (465 meters)
Carlton Peak
Route Information:
From East to West
State Route:
From the Maine Junction, the NCT traverses first northbound on the Long trail to what is called the Long Trail Junction (43.892929, -72.971152) for a distance of about thirty miles ,at which location, the NCT departs from the Long Trail and traverses another fifty miles in a northwest direction to Middlebury Vermont. Then from Middlebury, then NCT generally travels westward, crossing Lake Champlain at Chimney Point on the Lake Champlain Crown Point bridge (Vermont SH 15/New York SH 185)
Once in New York, the NCT enters the Adirondack Mountains and continues in a general southwesterly direction through New York.
The NCT also traverse the northwestern area of Pennsylvania from New York in a southwesterly direction.
Leaving Pennsylvania, the NCT continues southwesterly in the hilly region of Ohio, until arriving at Shawnee State Park. A somewhat short distance from this state park, the NCT begins a curve back to the northwest in Ohio, then northward through western Ohio until arriving at the Michigan state border.
The NCT travels generally northward from the hills of southeast Michigan, into the western area of lower Michigan, much of which is through the Manistee National Forest and then crosses the Mackinac Bridge to the Upper Peninsula. Once on the upper peninsula, the NCT travels north to Lake Superior at Tahquamenon Falls state park, then turns northwest and crosses the Whitefish Peninsula arriving at the north shore just west of Little Lake and then follows the north shore to Marquette, Michigan. Then, it crosses in a westerly direction below the Keweenaw Peninsula, (which projects about 65 miles into Lake Superior), until arriving in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, continuing west to the Montreal River where it crosses the river on Michigan SH 505, Lake Road Bridge into Wisconsin.
Then, the NCT continues north to Saxon Harbor campground, south west to Sturgeon Branch, then south to Copper Falls state park, then west to the Cahequamegon-Nuicolet National Forest and then generally northwest to the Minnesota state line a short distance below Duluth.
The NCT in Minnesota traverses up the Lake Superior coastline, to near Grand Portage, Minnesota and then turn west following the Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness, along the border with Canada to the Cross River, then west through Superior National Forest, southwest to Chippewa National Forest and Lake Itasca State Park, then south to Fergus Falls, Minnesota and the Delagoon Park before turning back to the northwest to Rothsay, Minnesota. From here, the NCT turns west to Kent, Minnesota and the North Dakota border.
At the Red River near Kent, Minnesota, the NCT crosses into North Dakota on ND SH 22 and enters Aber Park campground, North Dakota and continues in a general northwesterly direction to the western terminus on the south side of Lake Sakakawea (Missouri River) at Lake Sakakawea State Park in central North Dakota.
Geographic Information:
Geographical Region:
Interior Lowlands
Geographical Region:
Appalachian Mountains
(m0-maps-nct-map) North Country Trail National Map
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