Trail Reports

[Macgyver55]

Round trip is about 310 miles if you stay on the Taconite the whole time.

[kdawg]

Well, I guess I should have been a little more specific. If the trails are OK, my brother in law asked me to do a overnighter with him, leaving his house (GR) around 3ish on Sunday, and then heading back on Monday. If it were just me going, I would love to have the company as the majority of the riding I've done this year has been by myself, and I'd much prefer to ride with others.

Give me a shout if you are planning any other rides in the coming weeks. I know my daughter will be home from college the following weekend (entire week), so I think I'll be staying home then, however, if she has plans for the weekend, I would be able to go.

[Xplorer]

I talked to a group that had rode from GR to Vermilion and they said the trail was smoother than the highway on the drive over (they had a large group and a trail vehicle/trailer). Not sure what the weather will do to the trails this week, open areas will lose snow for sure, but how much is a guess at this point.

I say go for it, but that has gotten me in trouble in the past at times

[FishHawk11]

Anyone have any insight as to what the trails in the arrowhead are like. We were supposed to head up to Duluth this weekend for some riding. Im curious what the weather last week did to the trails and if your getting any of this snow today.

[311Hemi]

Just got home from the Detroit Lakes area.

Saturday: Rode from south of Two Inlets to the north side of Two Inlets, then over to Walker to have lunch and check out Eel Pout Festival and back. Trails around Two inlets were hard and crusty, some areas of dirt showing....and ice. The trails between Two Inlets and Paul Bunyan State Forest were in decent shape, hard with some bare spots, but rideable. A few trails in the state forest were in rough shape, but most were decent. The active logging roads were dirt...so you need to watch for those. Lots of tree down over the trails so be careful, we moved five off the trails ourselves. Overall a decent day of riding and no overheating. 140 miles for the day.

Sunday: Trailered down to Fergus Fall in the morning....then back up to Park Rapids. Waste of a morning there. Thought we might catch the storm...but it was no where to be seen. Anyways, we took off from Park Rapids and rode to Paul Bunyan State forest. Pretty decent ride for the afternoon. Trails were loosening up from traffic so that was good. Trails were is decent shape with a little ice here and there, but not a ton of dirt spots. Ended up going through Itasca State Park on the way home, stay out of there as the trails in really rough shape. 80 miles for the afternoon.

Monday: Trailered up to White Earth State Forest and found that the storm had dropped a couple inches overnight. Made the ride a little better but it was light fluffy snow...so you still felt the dirty and crusty snow. Trails were decent in the area, but same story here.....areas of ice and dirt under the new snow in some areas. Put on 60 miles this morning before coming home.

Overall, trails were rideable and we had a good time. Obviously dealing with areas of dirt/snirt/ice, but we did ride plenty of trails that were in decent shape. Until there is more snow...be prepared for your carbides to get a little worn down with all the bare areas. And watch the corners...most were icy. Trails were pretty flat....but no grooming has happened since things froze up again.

[PiedmontAngler]

Fish hawk the trails I could see in passing looked quite icy. I understand the north shore trail has a few thin spots but the base was pretty thick to start with. Exposed areas are bound to be thin and icy (tops of hills, trail crossings). If I get out this week, I'll report back. We're planning a ride from Duluth toward Two Harbors maybe Thursday up the state trail.

[leech~~]

Mite be hitting the Brainard area this coming weekend with a few relatives, did you get any of this snow up there? I'd rather do some eye fishing instead but we have been holding out all winter and it's now or never.

[MNUser]

Rode tonight for about 15 minutes. Ended up going home. Trails were really icy and not worth riding on. We thought they were borderline dangerous. The lake rough too. We need about a foot and for it to settle down before the brainerd lakes area is ridable again.

[leech~~]

Rode tonight for about 15 minutes. Ended up going home. Trails were really icy and not worth riding on. We thought they were borderline dangerous. The lake rough too. We need about a foot and for it to settle down before the brainerd lakes area is ridable again.

Sleding!

Walleye fishing!

Thanks.

[kdawg]

Went from Grand Rapids to Ely and back. The Taconite trail is in great shape. The further North and East you go, the better it gets. There were a couple active logging roads on the way and a few trees down as well, a couple were too big to move without a chainsaw, so if you're night riding, keep that in mind. From Side Lake going East, the trails were in awesome shape, going west to Rapids, they were very nice with a few dirty corners and isolated bad spots. For those considering up North, we stayed at the Grand Ely Lodge. It's basically a smaller resort-type motel with a bar and restaurant, pool, sauna and jacuzzi - very nice. I will definitely stay there again.

[kdawg]

Just wanted to add as a side note, that purely by chance, we stopped at Bimbo's in Side Lake - wow, great pizza. I know this comes as no surprise to the locals and those who frequent this area, but just thought I'd put it out there for everyone else. Driving by, it doesn't look like much, and to some, it might even look a little "scary". Given the name, I thought it was going to be more of a bar/hangout kind of place, but it appears to be a local favorite from what I was able to gather in a short period of time. Trust me, the pizza was fan-freakin'-tastic.

[PiedmontAngler]

We did a day trip up the north shore trail today 115 miles round trip. Duluth to NS to Yukon trail, around the Brimson, pequaywan loop and back. The trails were fair to very good. The north shore trail was traveled, but smooth as it appeared to have been groomed recently. Many of the side trails had a inch layer of fresh snow. There were icy spots in some places and some worn spots. Traffic was light, but this weekend if it stays cold I suspect that there will be quite a few people out. All trails from Duluth north were very ridable.

[MNUser]

Anybody have info on the Soo Line Trail? Was looking at going on Soo Line from north of Royalton and taking it down to Albany than over to St. Rosa and Upsala and back to the truck. anybody have some info on those trails? Icy???? They got some snow this week but not sure of the trails were before that snowfall event. Anybody?????

[DTro]

Heads up, the MN river valley trail is closed due to high water. we must have missed the "trail closed" sign and came upon some open water.

I think it might be closed for the season now....

[MNUser]

We rode south of the Brainerd lakes area and the trails were perfect. Not on bump. More snow would be nice but that is always the case in Brainerd.

[tcwin]

I was looking to run down the Luce line out of Orono this weekend with my son. Is there trailer parking near the trail? Is the trail still in relatively good shape?

Thanks for any input.

[jiggleit]

Holdingford to Upsala decent. Upsala to near Swanville and Burtrum Hills area, Excellent. Some of the best in Central MN. Wobegon out of Holdingford looked decent too. Areas around Opole and Holdingford got a foot of snow with the last storm where it didnt blow away. Icy in corners as the base is solid ice, bit there was not one bare spot in the trail. Get it before the sun does!!!

[FishHawk11]

tcwin- There is a parking lot near Stubs Bay that I have always parked in when riding the Luce Line, I know there are many others as you head west as well. From my experience last weekend on the Luce Line I wouldn't ride it till we get more snow. We were on it from Winsted to Hutchinson and it was marginal at best. Many bare spots and it hadn't been groomed. We left from a bar in Cologne near Chaska and the trails west of there were excellent. I would go southwest of the cities, as the trails were much better that direction.

[tcwin]

Thanks FishHawk - Appreciate the advice.

[NAGORSKI]

Thinking about going to a buddies cabin in outing. How are the trails in the Brainerd area? Any direction better than the other from outing? Thanks in advance.

[leech~~]

Thinking about going to a buddies cabin in outing. How are the trails in the Brainerd area? Any direction better than the other from outing? Thanks in advance.

Right now everthing is a little beat up, up there. But give it a shot. I would head towards Long Ville maybe. Down by Brainard was worse other then bangen in the ditches or hard lakes.

[BoxMN]

I went for a bit from Crosslake and up to Emily on Sat morn. The farther north and east I went the better. I went for a short stint down towards Crosby and it was horrible. I know they got a bit of snow on Sunday, but I don't think much. I was hoping to be able to get another couple weekends, but not looking good with warmer weather. Let us know what you find! I will be at the St. Patty's parade in Crosslake on Sat afternoon, hopefully a bit of ridding or fishing Sat morn.

[barebackjack]

Ran out of Emabarass this past weekend over 300 miles. Yukon, Taconite, Stony Spur, Hoyt Lakes, Moose, Tomahawk and Lucerne off the top of my head, everything WAS in great shape as of Saturday. Couldn't have asked for better trails.

[NAGORSKI]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to bring the portable fishouse also and may fish more than ride depending on the conditions. How about lake travel? can I drive the Tahoe on say, Rosevelt or Lawrence? I will post what i find when I get back. Thanks

[toughguy]

I took what will probably be my final ride of the winter today. Went from Lakeville to Randolph. The trails were surprisingly good. It was nice and cold last night so everything was frozen. A nice firm base with an inch or so of new snow on top. Cruised along at 70, errr I mean 50 easily. It was a great year in these parts and I hate to see it end. Oh well time to get the boat out. See ya next year sled. miss ya already.