Troll's Way

Troll's Way is an easy cross-country ski route of about a mile in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, within the Kawishiwi Ranger District of Superior National Forest and Burntside State Forest in northern Minnesota. The State Department of Natural Resources manages the land, and the trip is short enough to fit into a few minutes of skiing or a longer outing on the surrounding trail network. The route is an out-and-back with a total climb of 66 feet, about half of it on the way up and half on the way back. The climb is front-loaded, with the steepest stretch, about a 5% grade, coming within the first fifth of the route. The high point reaches about 1,638 feet, and the low point is around 1,596 feet, so the route stays flat for most of the trip. Winter is the natural season for cross-country skiing here. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Ely run from highs around 15°F and lows around -7°F in January to highs near 23°F in February. Summer is much warmer, with July highs near 79°F and lows around 53°F. Several other ski routes lie close by. North Star Run and Druid Pines Trail are each about 0.1 mile away, and Barren Ridge is about 0.3 mile away. For a change from skiing, the Lost Lake North hike is about half a mile away.