We Did the Research, This Is Officially the Strangest Hiking Trail Name in Minnesota

The Land of 10,000 Lakes is laced with thousands of miles of wonderful hiking trails, some showcasing the rolling beauty of our western tallgrass prairies, others skirting the high bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River or Lake Superior, and many, many in between. With so many trails—as with Minnesota's lakes—the folks in charge of naming them had to get pretty creative. I mean, how many Shoreline Trails can there be before unsuspecting hikers start to get confused? This, of course, has resulted in some pretty interesting trail names in Minnesota: Kekekabic Trail, Sioux Hustler Trail, Dead Man's Trail, Magnetic Rock Trail, and countless others. Of the trail names that I've heard, though, the one that stands out as the strangest is the Angleworm Trail.

As the namesake of the lake it leads to and circumnavigates, this hike is alternatively referred to as the Angleworm Lake Trail. You'll find the trailhead off the Ely-Buyck Road/Echo Trail north of Ely. It's a Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness entry point, so anyone hiking this 13.1-mile loop should expect wilderness conditions. The trail's length, rugged conditions, and more than 1,500 feet of elevation gain earn it a "hard" rating on AllTrails. There's also no cell service, so be sure to plan ahead with downloaded trail maps from AllTrails Plus or Peak.

The hike involves a 2-mile approach trail with a boardwalk over an area that can be flooded by beaver dams, which means the boardwalk, itself, may be submerged. The 9-mile loop leads you through pristine Northwoods wilderness, offers views out over sky-blue lakes, and at night, provides dark skies for endless stargazing. Moose, black bear, wolves, and fox are common in the area. For these reasons, the Angleworm Trail is one of the state's premier wilderness hikes.

Even so, it's still an unusual name to me. An angleworm is an earthworm of the type that's often used for fishing. In fact, the prefix "angle-" actually refers to fishing. Angleworm Lake, the trail's eponym, is long and skinny, and I suppose you could say that it resembles a worm. But I still think it's an awfully strange name for either a trail or a lake—especially in an area of glacially-formed lakes in northern Minnesota.

Not only does it sound funny, but earthworms are not native to Minnesota—or any place that was glaciated during the last ice age. It's believed that earthworms arrived in the state in the late 1800s or early 1900s along with plants imported by European settlers. As they became widely used for fishing bait, anglers helped earthworms spread throughout the state. The presence of earthworms has done considerable damage to native forests throughout Minnesota, but especially to hardwood forests that rely on decaying leaf debris to thrive. So, naming a lake in the pristine Boundary Waters wilderness after a destructive invasive that shouldn't be here—or even brought here—seems odd. I think the folks in charge of naming the lake and the trail could have done better.

Nevertheless, the Angleworm Trail in the Boundary Waters is definitely worth hiking; but come prepared for rugged conditions, and plan on spending an entire day (or an overnight trip) completing your hike. If you do wish to make it an overnight backpacking trip, you'll need to get a permit from the Superior National Forest Ranger Station in Ely or online at Recreation.gov before heading out. You'll want to select Boundary Waters Entry Point No. 20 for non-paddling overnight permits.

Have you hiked the Angleworm Trail? What are some other strange trail names in Minnesota? We'd love to hear your thoughts and recommendations.