Trail Conditions - this weekend

[22x]

Looking for decent trails to ride on this weekend........

Anbody know of any that are in good riding condition w/in an hour or so of the metro?

Rochester, Zumbrota, Lake City areas?

OR ??

I've heard the Becker & Pine City areas aren't very good....

I'm fairly new to this, so looking for any & all suggestions!

Thanks!

[GoggleEye]

22X, I am in the same boat as you. I live in the metro and want to find some decent trails to ride on within a resonable drive because I am usually on my own and gas is expensive by yourself! Anyways, I just talked to a trails coordinator with the DNR in the southeast portion of the state and she said that the trails are deteriorating pretty fast in the Goodhue, Wabasha, Olmstead, and dodge county areas and are rated as fair. The trails in the Winona, Fillmore and Houston county areas are still in good condition, but there are some icy corners and bare spots here and there. The portions in the woods are still very good. Kind of more than what I wanted to drive, but I may try it this weekend for a full day. We'll see. Hope this helps.

GoggleEye

[22x]

GoogleEye - thanks for the info!

I was afraid of that.....maybe we'll have to try the trails in the Winona, Fillmore and Houston county as well...although it's suppose to be really cold & windy, at least on Saturday.....

Seems like a guy needs to go way up north or head over the Sconi....I've been looking at the Hayward area....they've gotten a lot more snow than we have & I think their trails are in good shape.....

Thanks again!

[22x]

Hey GoogleEye - We went to Fountain yesterday(Saturday) & rode from the trail head parking lot.....what a blast!! And an adventure..... The only map we had was one I printed from the DNR web site, which wasn't very detailed......we ended up getting off the trail to Fountain on our way back, but managed to find our way via the ditch..

The trails were in really good shape, except for some areas in the open across fields they were a little rough. What beautiful country....the trails wind thru the woods & back country, we evern crossed a small creek, which was part of the adventure...

Also, early in the afternoon going across some of the fields it was white out conditions & we had a bit of a time following some of the trail maarkers....then the snow let up & the sun came out & the rest of the day was beautiful, but it got a little chilly as well....

We did make it into Preston a well......we are already planning on going again.......

I'm hoping I can find a more detailed trail map that shows more of the back county gravel roads.......we just jumped on a trail & kept riding, but I know from Fountain you should be able to get to Lanesboro, Whalen, Peterson, etc & most of the trails appear to connect & you should be able to loop back to your starting point.....

I would recommend this area to everyone!! I called a couple of trail contacts before we left as well......very nice people & they were good about giving details about their trails & conditions!!

[GoggleEye]

22x, thanks for the update on trail conditions. Appreciate that. I will be looking to ride next week after work maybe somewhere somewhat close to the metro. I heard that the trails in the Albert Lea area are in very good condition, at least that is what I have been reading on the net. I also know that Wabasha and winona county are getting more fresh snow and the conditions are improving. I guess that is not that far of a drive from the south metro area if you want to hook up and ride sometime. I am usually riding by myself and I would like to find some people to ride with for safety purposes. You can email me at [email protected] if your interested. Thanks for the report!

GE