3 Minn. Trails Get National Designation

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officials have designated three Minnesota trails national recreation trails.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis announced Thursday that 54 trails spanning 23 states have been designated national recreation trails. The announcement adds almost 1,400 miles of trails to the National Trail System.

In Minnesota, the three trails are the Finger Lakes Canoe Trail, a 5.2-mile trail near Kellogg; the 4.7-mile Halfmoon Lake Canoe Trail, also near Kellogg; and the 11-mile Verchota Canoe Trail near Winona. All three trails are in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

Wisconsin's Nelson-Trevino Canoe Trail, a 4.8-mile trail between Nelson, Wis., and Wabasha, Minn., also was designated a national recreation trail.

The announcement comes in advance of National Trails Day on Saturday.

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