The Fiero Truck Trail is a DNR system forest road running 12.57 miles through the heart of Pine Island State Forest in Koochiching County. As a system road it’s generally passable for ordinary low-clearance, highway-licensed vehicles — though the DNR posts seasonal weight restrictions (the road was signed for vehicles under 10,000 pounds this spring) and updates state forest road conditions weekly, so it pays to check before hauling a trailer in.
The gravel route carries travelers deep into one of the largest of Minnesota’s state forests — 900,153 acres of boreal forest, peatlands, and bogs named for the “islands” of pine that rise from the surrounding wetlands, remnants of glacial Lake Agassiz. Pine Island is a “managed” forest for motor vehicles: highway-licensed vehicles are allowed on all roads unless posted closed, and ATVs may ride the roads, routes, and designated trails, though off-trail travel is prohibited. Dispersed camping is free on state forest land at least one mile outside developed campgrounds — 14-day limit in summer, leave no trace, pack out what you pack in.
Along the way the road passes the signed junction at Phone Box Corner and crosses the tea-colored Black River on the timber-deck Black River Bridge, and the Big Fork State Water Trail threads the same forest. In late May into early June, the forest’s famous orchids come into bloom.
Rules for this place
Camping away from a developed campground in a state forest is allowed under the DNR’s dispersed camping rules, which set how far from water, from a designated site and for how long. In a state forest the DNR’s state forest rules apply: firearms unloaded and cased near campgrounds, picnic areas and parking lots, and forest roads open to off-highway vehicles unless they are posted closed. This is public land open to hunting in season under the Minnesota hunting and trapping regulations.
Verified 2026-09-07. Rules change; check the official page before you go.
