Parks & recreation in Midway Township, Minnesota
Part of the Midway Township neighborhood guide. Back to the full guide.
For a township with no parks department, Midway has an unusually strong recreation offer, because of what surrounds it.
Jay Cooke State Park is immediately south and is the headline. The St. Louis River gorge, the swinging bridge, a large hiking system, camping and cross-country skiing, with the southern section of the Superior Hiking Trail running through it. Having a state park of that size as a township boundary is the defining recreational fact here.
The Willard Munger State Trail is the nearest long-distance paved riding: 70 miles from Hinckley to Duluth per the Minnesota DNR, with the Carlton to Duluth section passing through Jay Cooke and finishing on a rock-cut descent with views over the harbor.
Northeast toward Duluth, Spirit Mountain offers lift-served skiing and snowboarding in winter and downhill mountain biking and an adventure park in summer, about six miles away. Along West Skyline Parkway, Magney-Snively holds one of the largest remaining tracts of old-growth hardwood in the region and Bardon Peak gives one of the best overlooks in the county. The Mission Creek trails run singletrack in the creek corridor southeast toward Fond du Lac.
West and south, Fond du Lac State Forest carries forest roads, hunting, snowmobiling and dispersed recreation across Carlton and St. Louis counties.
What the township does not have is organized recreation. There are no municipal ballfields, no rink and no community center inside the boundary. Proctor city parks cover that about ten minutes east, and that is where township children play.
Winter: alpine skiing and snowboarding at Spirit Mountain, cross-country skiing in Jay Cooke State Park, snowmobiling on the county and state forest trail network, fat biking at Mission Creek, snowshoeing on your own acreage, which is the point for most people here.
Water access: Mission, Sargent and Stewart creeks within the township; The Midway River along the northwestern corner; The St. Louis River in Jay Cooke State Park immediately south; No lake frontage: this is an upland township, and buyers wanting water frontage should look north to Canosia and Pike Lake.
Parks
The big one, immediately south of the township. River gorge, the swinging bridge over the St. Louis River, and a large trail system.
Duluth's ski hill on the ridge east toward the city, with lift-served skiing in winter and downhill mountain biking in summer.
One of the largest tracts of old-growth hardwood left in the region, on Skyline Parkway west of Spirit Mountain.
The ridge overlook above the St. Louis River valley on West Skyline Parkway, with one of the best views in the region.
The far-west Duluth trail network in the Mission Creek corridor, southeast of the township toward Fond du Lac.
State forest land across Carlton and St. Louis counties west and south of the township.
The organized recreation the township does not have, about ten minutes east in Proctor, where most township children play.
Trails
The paved Hinckley to Duluth state trail, 70 miles per the Minnesota DNR. The Carlton to Duluth section passes through Jay Cooke State Park and runs a rock-cut descent with harbor views, and it is the nearest long-distance paved riding to the township.
Access: Carlton and the west Duluth trailheads
Singletrack and hiking in the Mission Creek corridor southeast of the township.
Access: Mission Creek trailhead off Highway 23 in far west Duluth
The southern end of the Superior Hiking Trail runs through Jay Cooke, which is the township's back fence.
Access: Jay Cooke State Park, immediately south
The city-spanning singletrack spine, reachable at its western end about fifteen minutes northeast.
Access: Spirit Mountain and Mission Creek trailheads
Parks & recreation next door
The township's service town about ten minutes east, with the schools, the groceries and the restaurants.
Canosia Township and Pike LakeNorth of Hermantown in the same school district, the other rural township in this guide, with lake frontage this one does not have.
HermantownThe suburban city immediately north, with new construction, municipal services and the region's highest price per square foot.
Gary-New DuluthSoutheast into far-west Duluth, city services and much lower prices along the St. Louis River.
EskoWest about fifteen minutes into Carlton County, a small unincorporated community with a strong school district of its own.