Deer Lake Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Commonly Backpacked · Fall Colors · Lake · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Itasca State Park has both summer and winter maps. The description here only applies to trails shown on the summer map. Several trails are not open to hikers in the winter. Expect a lot of mosquitos and deer flies during the early and mid summer months and numerous ticks in late Spring and early summer.

From a trailhead at Douglas Lodge, this trail goes south, past a junction with the Aiton Heights Trail and the Aiton Heights Fire Tower Connector to a junction with the Red Pine Trail near backcountry campsite B10. Along the way, it passes Coffee Break, Fallstad, Myrtle, and Deer Park Lakes. In the summer, it is mostly a green tunnel, which gives you a real feel for how lush the north woods are in the warmer months. Beyond its junction with the Red Pine Trail, the Deer Lake passes a junction with the McKay Lake Crossover Trail and McKay Lake and continues south to end at a junction with the NCT: MN Segment 2 - North Central Minnesota. In winter, this trail is open only to cross-country skiers between Douglas Lodge and the McKay Lake Crossover Trail.