Tag Archives: Road bike Minnesota

Enjoy Minnesota’s forest and lake features on the Heartland Trail

by Hayley Spalding

In the heart of Minnesota’s lake country is the Heartland Trail that never lacks when it comes to fun outdoor recreational activities. Throughout the seasons, spending time visiting family and friends in the Park Rapids area I have had many fond memories. In the spring, you will find a color dash of trail riding as our feathered friends return. Then as the weather warms making it comfortable the wear shorts, pedal to many outdoor festival scheduled throughout the summer. In the fall you will find many gravel road riding opportunities. Before the season turns once again to winter’s prime activities, including cross country skiing and fat biking. It’s always fun here in the Heartland.

Riding the Heartland Trail out of Park Rapids in the fall is a picturesque experience

Exploring Park Rapids

Each year people spend time on the beach, pedal the Heartland Trail or discover Itasca State Park. If shopping is your thing a stroll downtown on their quaint Main Street is another option. It’s fun to window shop through the old fashioned stores fronts, where parking is never an issue. Cars are allowed to park in the middle of the street and getting downtown by bike is easy. What I find most appealing, is the community itself. It has small town charm and little quirks that makes it appealing to people of all ages, whether they are into riding a bike or not.

Where to Bike

The Park Rapids area, offers fun opportunities for both the recreation trail rider and the touring cyclist, with:

The Heartland State Trail

This 49 mile paved trail system starts in Park Rapids on the west side. Then connects with the Paul Bunyan Trail as it passes through Walker, before ending in Cass Lake. A multi-recreational trail system the Heartland Trail is open for biking, hiking and other trail uses. Parts of the trail also has a parallel grass track alongside for runners. Heartland trail, meandering past shaded pathways that pass alongside several lakes, offers cyclists plenty to see.

Shorter rides on the Heartland

A mileage marker on the Heartland Trail

The Heartland trail is used by a variety of people from serious cyclists to leisurely riders and everyone in between. For those who prefer a shorter distance rather than the full 49 miles. consider biking to Dorset, the “Restaurant Capital of the World. Its about five miles out-and-back from Park Rapids. Riding from Park Rapids to Nevis and back is around 15 miles. This will allow you a chance to see the World’s Largest Tiger Muskie. No matter how far you bike on this State Trail, you will find a welcoming community and a Loon calling out to greet you.

Stopping in Nevis for a selfie

Bike Itasca State Park

About ten miles up the highway from Park Rapids is another place for trail riding. This State Park, known for the Headwaters of the Mississippi River and Historic Douglas Lodge offers 16 miles of paved bike trails. The rolling trails in the park winds through virgin pine forests that meander around a couple lakes, fun for the whole family. For a full bicycle tour of the park the Wilderness Drive, shared with motorists, adds an additional 10 miles to your ride. For those into road riding, at the Headwaters parking lot, the Mississippi River Trail (MRT) begins its journey to New Orleans.

Start your journey at the Headwaters of the Mississippi River, in Itasca State Park.

Gravel and road touring options

Besides a road trip out of Itasca State Park on the MRT, the Park Rapids area also offers a network of bike-friendly roads so you can explore the Heartlands countryside. See more with MnDOT’s county bike map, of Hubbard County.

For more information on visiting the Park Rapids Area see our HaveFunBiking At-A-Glance article on Park Rapids. Also check out our information and maps for mountain biking in the Walker Area.

Bike Park Rapids and enjoy Minnesota’s forest and lake features

by Hayley Spalding

In the heart of Minnesota’s lake country, Park Rapids never lacks when it comes to outdoor recreational activities. Throughout the seasons, spending time visiting family and friends in the area I have had many fond memories. In the fall you will find many hunting and gravel road riding opportunities. Through the winter cross country skiing and fat biking are prime. Then in the spring, a color dash of trail riding as our feathered friends return. Before pedaling to many outdoor festival scheduled throughout the summer. It’s always fun here in the Heartland.

Riding the Heartland Trail out of Park Rapids

Exploring Park Rapids

Where to Bike

The Park Rapids area, offers fun opportunities for both the recreation trail rider and the touring cyclist, with:

The Heartland State Trail

This 49 mile paved trail system starts in Park Rapids on the west side. Then connecting with the Paul Bunyan Trail as it passes through Walker, before ending in Cass Lake. A multi-recreational trail system the Heartland Trail is open for biking, hiking and other trail uses. Parts of the trail also has a parallel grass track alongside for runners. This unpaved path is also available to mountain bikers, horseback riding and snowmobilers. The Heartland trail, meandering past shaded pathways that pass alongside several lakes, offers cyclists plenty to see.

Shorter rides on the Heartland

A mileage marker on the Heartland Trail

Stopping in Nevis for a selfie

Bike Itasca State Park

At the Headwaters of the Mississippi River, in Itasca State Park.

Gravel and road touring options

For more information on visiting the park Rapids Area see our HaveFunBiking At-A-Glance article on Park Rapids.

Bike Pic Feb. 8, only 76 days until the MN Ironman Bike Ride

In 76 days this cyclist will be on her bike enjoying the first ride of the season, the 50th Anniversary on the Minnesota Ironman Bicycle Ride. With no running or swimming required, this annual bike ride offers several scenic St. Croix River Valley routes starting in Stillwater, MN. Register today and save!

#FindYourNextAdventure

Thanks for viewing the Bike Pic of the Day here at HaveFunBiking (HFB).

Now, rolling into our 10th year as a bicycle media, our goal is to continue to encourage more people to bike, while showcasing unforgettable places to ride. As we search and present more fun photos worth a grin, scroll through the information and stories we have posted to help you find your next adventure. Then, while out there if you see us along a paved or mountain bike trail, next to the route you regularly commute on, or at an event you plan to attend with your bike, be prepared to smile. You never know where our camera’s will be and what we will post next!

Do you have a fun photo of yourself or someone you know that you would like to see us publish? If so, please send it our way and we may use it. Send your picture(s) to [email protected] with a brief caption (of each), including who is in the photo (if you know?) and where it was taken. Photo(s) should be at least 620 pixels wide for us to use them. If we use your photo, you will receive photo credit and an acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

As HaveFunBiking continues to encourage more people to ride, please reference our blog and the annual print and quarterly digital Bike/Hike Guide to find your next adventure. We are proud of the updated – At-a-Glance information and maps we are known for in the HFB Destination section on our website and in the guide. Now, as the Bike/Hike Guide goes into its seventh year of production, we are adding a whole new dimension of bicycle tourism information available for mobile devices where you may see some additional bike pics – maybe of yourself so.

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com and find your next adventure – we may capture you in one of the next photos we post.

Have a great day!

Bike tour intersects scenic bluff roads with the Root River Trail

Want to explore the bike friendly bluff roads that crisscross the Root River trail system, while enjoying the local foods & history of Southeast Minnesota’s ‘Driftless’ area?

Starting in Whalan, Friday, July 8th through Sunday, the 10^th the eight towns of the Root River Trail will host the Bluff & Valley Bicycle Tour, a 3-day bike ride that showcases many of the hidden gems that you won’t see from the trail. With a scenic route that traverses the country side on quite roadways and byways, intertwining with the popular trail system, discover the magic of Bluff Country. Limited to the first 150 cyclist who registered, here is an overview of the three day bike adventure of a life time.

Two riders cruising the Root River bluffs, in Southeast Minnesota, training for RAGBRAI, in Iowa.

Two bike riders cruising the Root River bluffs, in Southeast Minnesota, training for RAGBRAI, in Iowa.

After a hearty Bluff Country breakfast the tour leaves out of Whalan, on the root River Trail visiting Lanesboro, then out into the bluffs. Now up, out of the valley the tour circles through some of the areas contoured farmlands making a stop in Fountain (the Sinkhole Capitol of the World) for some refreshments. Then it’s on to Preston for lunch. After visiting the National Trout Center here the tour heads south to Harmony, your overnight hosts for Friday evening. Arriving before the evening fun begins cool off with an afternoon tour of the Niagara Caves and enjoy the Amish culture in and around town.

Here cyclists are enjoying the many delicious delicacies available near many of the Root River trail towns.

Here on bike, many enjoy the delicious home-town delicacies available near many of the Root River trail towns.

Saturday morning, after breakfast, the tour heads east on the Amish Buggy Byway. On this stretch of the Bluff & Valley Tour riders will pass though farmlands still cultivated by horses and roadside signs, near farmsteads, offering honey and other whole-food Amish delicacies. At the halfway point, for lunch the tour will enter Minnesota’s first Norwegian settlement where many Selfie opportunities exist. Back on the road again the tour rolls through another scenic valley before arriving in Houston your host town for Saturday evening. After checking out the National Owl Center and bike art there, tour riders will take part in a dinner party and evening of fun and music.

A group riding the scenic roads out of Houston, one of the Root River Trail Towns in Minnesota.

A group riding bike on the scenic roads out of Houston, one of the Root River Trail Towns in Minnesota.

Sunday morning, after enjoying a little bit more of Houston’s hospitality the meandering Bluff & Valley Bicycle Tour visits a town of the past, named because a settler lost his money in a creek there. The tour now turns west, up Vinegar Hill, making its way back along the Root River’s north-face bluffs. When you see a clearing in the hills with the name Rushford etched in white, you will be coasting into town for lunch and more Selfie opportunities around the historic depot while there. Then, it’s one more (gradual) climb and you are coasting back down to the Root River Trail, in Peterson. Here, explore their Norwegian Museum and taste some of the best desserts on the Root River Trail before returning back to Whalan.

The Root River Bluff & Valley Bicycle Tour is best suited for cyclists of intermediate ability and above. Daily mileage will range from 50 – 68 miles (century options are available upon request) on paved roads, with some riding on the famous Root River Trail. The terrain in this area very rolling with a few long, 8+ grade climbs. For more information and registration forms click here.

Bike Pic Dec. 24, Root River Bluff & Valley Bike Tour

Here in this photo a group of cyclist discover the magic of riding their bikes in and out of the many carved river valley bluffs of Southeast Minnesota’s “driftless” area. Find out more the three-day weekend Root River Bluff & Valley Bike Tour planned for July 8-10, 2016. Participants on this bike tour will enjoy the food and fun of the eight Root River Trail Towns; as they pedal the Amish Buggy Byway and meander in and out of valleys edged on both sides by sheer wooded limestone and sandstone bluffs.

Thanks for viewing the Bike Pic of the Day here at HaveFunBiking (HFB).

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com and find your next adventure – we may capture you in one of the next photos we post.

Have a great day!

#FindYourNextAdventure