SHTA Executive Director asking for volunteers to help with trail clearing

The Superior Hiking Trail Association is hosting a series of events for volunteers to help with trail work this summer.  Two trail-clearing events still need volunteers for this month as the trails dry out from the warm weather.

The SHTA will host trail-clearing weekends on May 17 and 18 in Schroeder and on May 31 and June 1 in Grand Marais.

Volunteers will be asked to help clear the trail of downed trees and brush using loppers and handsaws. Certified sawyers will help with chainsaw work, but volunteers can accompany them as swampers and help remove the debris.

There are still slots available for the Schroeder weekend, but spots are going quickly for the Grand Marais event. Group meals will be provided for volunteers.

“If you’ve never been a volunteer, this is a great entry opportunity for you. Get out and check out the trail and see the conditions yourself,” SHTA Executive Director Lisa Luokkala told WTIP.

Unruly Women Collaboration

The SHTA is collaborating with Unruly Women to host two all-femme trail work events this summer: one at the Cascade River Loop and another to complete a reroute at the Bean and Bear Loop.

“We know sometimes the outdoors are not an experience that everyone has grown up with or feel comfortable with, and we know the same to be true with trail work, and it can often sometimes be more comfortable for female folks or female identified folks to come into the trail world being led and guided by other females,” Luokkala said.

No experience is necessary to participate in these events. Camping and dinner will be provided to volunteers.

Those interested in trail-clearing or the all-femme events can learn more and register at superiorhiking.org.

Air Quality

The SHTA expects the Camp House fire near Brimson, MN, to create air quality issues. They are urging people with sensitivities to stay alert.

“There’s a lot of ozone right now, kind of hanging really low in the atmosphere,” Luokkala said.

Superior Hiking Trail Association Executive Director Lisa Luokkala was a guest on North Shore Morning. You can find the audio of that conversation below.

Josh Hinke May 13, 2025