Carlton Trail - Carlton, MN
Carlton Trail – Dog-Friendly Hiking in Carlton, Minnesota
Discover the Carlton Trail, a top choice for dog owners seeking scenic, pet-friendly trails in Carlton, Minnesota. This out-and-back route is part of the picturesque Jay Cooke State Park network and features moderately challenging hiking through woods, ridges, and alongside the St. Louis River. The trail’s natural terrain includes roots, rocks, and occasional muddy spots—perfect for adventurous pups and their owners looking for a true Minnesota hiking experience.
Carlton Trail connects with other park trails like the Jay Cooke Trail and Munger Trail, giving you options for longer hikes. While it is quieter and less crowded than some nearby paths, parking is available at the main Jay Cooke lot. Please note that the trail is not ideal during winter unless using snowshoes, and some portions can get muddy after rainfall. If you’re seeking a memorable dog-friendly hike in Carlton, MN, this trail is a must-visit!
Frequently Asked Questions
- Are there walking or hiking trails connected to the park? Yes, Carlton Trail connects with Jay Cooke Trail and Munger Trail, offering additional hiking options.
- Is the park open year-round? The trail is accessible, but not very usable in winter except with snowshoes.
- Where is the best place to park? The main Jay Cooke parking lot is the best option for trail access.
- Is the park muddy after it rains? Yes, some parts of the trail can be muddy, especially after rain.
Reviews
The Carlton trail connects to the Jay Cooke trail that leads down to the swinging bridge and goes down to connect with the Munger Trail near the Thomson Dam. The Carlton Trail is much quieter than most of Jay Cook’s trails because it is a couple miles up from the swinging bridge and on the opposite side of the St Louis River from the road.
Unfortunately it is not very useable in the winter, but wouldn’t be too bad if you used snowshoes.
If you want a long hike using the Carlton Trail you can park at the main Jay Cooke parking lot, cross the bridge and head upriver until you hit the Munger Trail. Turn right on the Munger Trail and go for a couple miles until you come across the paved trail that leads back down towards the parking lot.
Officially an out-and-back, but I thought it’d seemed like it’d hit some of the main park trails if I’d kept going – and the previous reviewer confirms that’s the case.
Takes you through woods, ridges, riverside, repeat. Honestly a cooler trail than Silver Creek, even as an out-and-back – if you had to pick one, I’d recommend this one.
Unless you love walking 2+ miles on a flat, boring paved bike trail, plan this as an out-and-back from the swinging bridge down to the small bridge over Otter Creek at the west side. Even if out-and-back isn’t your favorite, it’s a technical and fun trail with a lot to see so it’ll be a different experience on the way back and more fun than the bike trail. The river view from the larger bike trail bridge is nice, but otherwise the paved trail felt never ending. Starting from Swinging Bridge, doing the full loop back to the bridge was 5.6 miles on the GPS. We did take several of the littel off-shoots for better river views.
The trail from the swinging bridge to Otter creek is great fun. For a state park trail it’s fairly technical with a lot of roots, rocks, logs to balance over muddy spots, and one small rock “scramble.” This is the best trial in the park if you enjoy that type of hiking. We also did Silver Creek (hiking club trail), White Pine and part of the CCC trail but I don’t prefer the ski trails for hiking. I mostly hike in the BWCA so for me, the Carlton trail is more what I am used to and much more fun than packed dirt and grass trails.
The park rates it as steep and difficult. I found it more moderate. I found the very long uphill climb on the Silver Creek trail to be harder than the Carlton trail which has some hills but they are very short and don’t feel like the slog that the SC hills do.
5 stars