National Scenic Trails are an elite category of 11 hiking paths — and the Midwest has 2 of

Thanks to a dearth of mountainous terrain, the Midwest typically isn’t viewed as a prime hiking locale. The highest elevation in Illinois is a mere 1,235 feet above sea level, while Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin’s tallest peaks top out around 2,000 feet.

Yet the nation’s heartland is actually home to nearly 5,000 miles of National Scenic Trail, an elite category of hiking paths. And many of those miles are easily accessible from Chicago.

The United States has just 11 National Scenic Trails, which collectively total more than 18,000 miles. Congress created this prestigious designation in 1968 through passage of the National Trail Systems Act — and it’s not an easy designation to obtain. A National Scenic Trail must be at least 100 miles long, of superlative quality and physical challenge, and traverse impressive terrain, all while connecting communities, landmarks and public lands. Congress also needs to approve every such trail designation.

The first two paths to be named National Scenic Trails were the famous Appalachian Trail and the now-well-known Pacific Crest Trail, both of which received the designation in 1968. The Continental Divide Trail, which runs atop the Continental Divide, joined them in 1978. These three paths traverse some of America’s most famous mountain ranges, including the Appalachians, Cascades and Rockies, and constitute what’s known as the Triple Crown of hiking.

In 1980, just two years after the Triple Crown trails debuted, Congress added two more long-distance trails to the group: the North Country and Ice Age trails. Located almost exclusively in the Midwest, these two paths unspool along land that is more hilly than mountainous, yet every bit as impressive.

(The remaining six National Scenic Trails are the Florida Trail, Potomac Heritage Trail and Natchez Trace — established in 1983 — and the Arizona, New England and Pacific Northwest trails — established in 2009.)

The North Country Trail stretches some 4,800 miles from North Dakota’s Lake Sakakawea State Park to Vermont’s Green Mountain National Forest, passing through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York en route. The 1,200-mile Ice Age Trail is coiled entirely within Wisconsin, where it traces the terminal moraine of the last North American glacial ice sheet, which melted some 10,000 to 14,000 years ago.

In two hours, you can be in Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine State Forest, which contains more than 80 miles of Ice Age Trail. The state forest, created in 1937, takes its name from the wealth of superlative glacial remains nestled within its acreage — features such as eskers, which are tall, serpentine ridges of sand and gravel that were once on the bottom of streams flowing beneath the glacier; kettles, which are pot-shaped depressions that formed when large blocks of buried glacial ice melted; and erratics, which are rocks the glacier dragged from one spot and dropped in another, nonnative area.

One of the main highlights of an Ice Age Trail trek here is a stroll atop the world-famous Parnell Esker, which stretches for four miles and reaches a height of 30 feet. In the trail’s Eagle segment, which lies in Kettle Moraine’s southern unit, a side trail leads to Brady’s Rocks. These 8-foot-tall rocky outcroppings are a portion of the Niagara Escarpment, an ancient layer of often-buried dolomite that stretches westward from Niagara Falls to the Wisconsin-Illinois border. The Blue Spring Lake segment, also in the forest’s southern unit, is known for its giant granite erratic, a longtime tourist attraction that early settlers nicknamed the Stone Elephant.

Lake Michigan aficionados should check out the Ice Age Trail segments that run along the Great Lake’s shore, such as City of Manitowoc and Point Beach. The urban City of Manitowoc segment winds through town largely along a lakeshore path, at one point passing the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, home to the USS Cobia submarine. Point Beach leads you two miles along the sandy lakeshore before dipping you into the gently undulating paths that predominate in Point Beach State Forest.

Over in Michigan, which contains nearly 1,200 miles of the North Country Trail — the most of the trail’s eight states — the Manistee National Forest north of Grand Rapids boasts equally impressive hiking. Here, you’ll often be trekking upon soft, sandy soil through thick stands of hardwood and pine, in places treated to picturesque, horseshoe-shaped bends in the Manistee River. Farther south, the 200-mile stretch from the Hodenpyl Dam to Seidman Park, just east of Grand Rapids, is a lovely mix of forest, marshland and grassland dotted with sapphire lakes and extensive boardwalks. In one spot, a short walk off trail leads you to the Fallasburg Covered Bridge, built in 1871 for $1,500.

Both the North Country and Ice Age trails offer hikes suitable for beginners through veterans. If a not-too-remote hike is your preference, head to Janesville, Wisconsin. This city of 64,000 hosts the Arbor Ridge, Devil’s Staircase and Janesville segments of the Ice Age Trail.

The Arbor Ridge segment, just west of town, weaves 2.1 miles through the Robert Cook Memorial Arboretum, and is an easy stroll. The adjacent 1.8-mile Devil’s Staircase segment entails a rocky descent along a narrow path to the Rock River. In one section, the stone steps you’ll take date to the 1920s.

The 10.3-mile Janesville segment meanders along the Rock River through the city of Janesville, piggybacking on numerous paved recreational trails. This is the southernmost section of the Ice Age Trail, which means it’s also roughly the southernmost spot reached by the last North American ice sheet.

Over in Michigan, the relatively urban stretch of the North Country Trail between Battle Creek and Albion features many scenic spots, plus some notable sites. As the path meanders through downtown Battle Creek along its namesake river, for example, you can spy the towering Battle Creek Sanitarium. Opened in 1903, it was once a world-renowned health resort run by cornflake magnate Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. Heading out of town, the Ott Biological Preserve offers a chance to enjoy a peaceful, 300-acre nature preserve with three small lakes.

Those who want more of a challenge should head north. The Ice Age Trail’s Harrison Hills segment south of Rhinelander pitches up and down thickly forested hills, passing several sparkling lakes along the way. Its peak is Lookout Mountain, the tallest point on the Ice Age Trail at 1,920 feet. The Northern and Southern Blue Hills, north of Eau Claire, offer nearly 17 miles of remote, rugged topography that will get your heart pumping. Be on the lookout for black bears, beavers and other wildlife.

In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, which many veteran hikers consider the toughest section of the entire NCT, test your mettle by trekking through the unforgiving McCormick Wilderness or the Porcupine Mountains. Be prepared for steep climbs and descents, flooded trail due to beaver activity, little cellphone reception and few other human beings. The reward: unspoiled terrain and many incredible views.

The Ice Age Trail Association (iceagetrail.org) and North Country Trail Association (northcountrytrail.org) are invaluable trip-planning resources. They offer maps, guidebooks, trail alerts, local guided hikes and more. The associations also can put you in contact with volunteers, aka “trail angels,” who are willing to assist with shuttles, lodging and other services.

Melanie Radzicki McManus is a freelance writer.