scenic / fun rides in MN ?

[Walleyehooker]

Planning a few rides this summer. One will be up along the north shore and Ely area. What are some other nice rides in MN ? Maybe along the river towards Red Wing ? Any other suggestions ?

[Dave S]

You could also try out the roads from Carver to Henderson (scenic byway). Skip over to Le Sueur and ride to Mankato, over to New Ulm and down the Harkin Store Road. Not a bad run and follows the MN River valley.

I'll try to Mapquest it for you later.

[CANOPY SAM]

I've done that one Dave. That's a nice ride.

Another nice area to ride is almost anywhere north of Grand Rapids on 38, toward Blackduck, 71 north of Bemidji to Big Falls, then south into Deer River, or 169 toward Ely, then 53 toward I-Falls.

All of that area up in the Chippewa is really nice, but ya' gotta keep a sharp eye out for critters.

[upnorth]

Grand Rapids up hwy 38 then across hwy 1 to 53 is pretty nice too. A bit windy on hwy 1 but still nice. Could also continue up hwy 1 to Ely or cut down and hwy 135 at Tower over to the Aurora/Hoyt Lakes area.

[leech~~]

I know you need to keep tar under you. But if you had a Daul Sport bike the hills-bluffs down by Rushford-Houston are nice and windy!

[Whoaru99]

I know you need to keep tar under you. But if you had a Daul Sport bike the hills-bluffs down by Rushford-Houston are nice and windy!

While it's not a long ride in and of itself, Hwy 16 from say Lanesboro to La Crescent is pretty nice. If you include some along the river up or down you can make a pretty good ride of it, all on pavement.

[RebelSS]

I always get Minnesota Explorer; they have lots of ideas in there.I'll also vote for the trip along the river thru the Red Wing area...and down along Lanesboro, like Whoaru99 said...Cherry Grove area, Niagra cave, Harmony area...

[Dave S]

Here's a video I took for a 5 minute stretch of HWY 16 between Preston and Houston. No sound. Taken with an earlier version of a Go-Pro.

[leech~~]

Well, I will say for those that like the carve roads any thing with tar on it down in that area will be fun! The road from Houston down to Caledonia gets nerve racking at 5:00am in a truck when Turkey hunting but I'm sure on a bike it would be fun!

[Dave S]

this road was terrible the day we rode it. I think it's been resurfaced since then.