Heartland State Trail - Park Rapids to Walker (MN)

Heartland Trailhead at Red Bridge Park in Park Rapids, MN

 We left Wildwedge RV Park around 9 am Tuesday with Dennis and Rita who would be our lunch companions and "shuttle service" today as we ride the Heartland Trail from Park Rapids to Walker, a 27 mile ride.

 The drive from Pequot Lakes to Park Rapids was just over an hour.  We arrived at Red Bridge Park around 10:15am, unloaded bikes, and were on the trail by 10:30am.  We had clear skies and lots of sunshine.  While we biked Dennis and Rita took in the sights of Park Rapids.  They found many little shops and remarked that they could have spent the entire day exploring this town.  Maybe another day because today the plan was to meet us for lunch in an hour and a half at the little town of Nevis.

 The Heartland Trail is a 49 mile paved trail from Park Rapids to Cass Lake.  It is one of the first rail trails in the country.   The portion of the trail that we rode has a second parallel trail (natural surface) for horseback riding, mountain biking, and hiking.

 Along the trail we enjoyed numerous trees, many of which were towering pines, lush farmland, marshes, and beautiful lakes.
(Click on the individual pictures to enlarge)


 The first town we biked through, Dorset, offered a trailhead and restaurants.  The sign in front of the building on the left says
"Eat - Shop - Sleep" then below that it says "Restaurant Capital of the World".  That phrase is interesting as the population of Dorset is 22 and there are 4 restaurants in a town that spans 2 blocks.  This is also the town which elected a 4-year-old mayor in 2012 and then re-elected the child in 2013!  The town has mini golf and an ice cream shop.  So how can the town boast of being the restaurant capital?  There is approximately 1 restaurant per 5 people of this unique trailside town!  The things we learn when riding trails and writing a blog!

 From Dorset it is 5.3 miles to Nevis.  The trail offers more lakes, trees, and a bridge.
The bridge crosses between Shallow Lake on the north and Lake Belle Taine on the south.

Because the skies were clear and the sun was brilliant the pics of the lakes and marsh areas were vibrant with color.

It was around 11:45 am and 64 degrees when we arrived in Nevis, MN.

Iron Horse Bar and Grill

 Just after we parked our bikes in Nevis we were joined for lunch by Dennis and Rita who had thoroughly enjoyed their morning in Park Rapids.  The Iron Horse menu revealed a wide range of lunch choices.  Chris and I each ordered a quarter rack of ribs with a side.  This was the lunch special and was $8.  The ribs were delicious!

After lunch we walked outside and observed the building next door.  Low and behold if it wasn't an ice cream shop!  Who in their right mind could pass up an opportunity like this?  Well, not us!  I got the Brownie S'more flavor and let me tell you it was AMAZING!

Inside the ice cream parlor

 After that indulgence I was really glad we had opted for a 27 mile ride as opposed to anything shorter.  Maybe I'll burn off a tablespoon or two of the creamy treat!
 It was close to 1:00 pm when we were on the trail again and the temp was 67 F.
All along the trail we noticed bird houses had been placed in pairs.  We did a little research and cannot say for sure, but believe the reason for the pairs of bird houses was to attract bluebirds.  We observed a bluebird in one of the houses and read that it is common to place 2 houses as bluebirds are territorial and will take one of the houses and another variety of bird will take the other house.
 The town of Akeley is next on our trail.  There is a trailhead here with a large covered picnic area next to the Paul Bunyan Museum.  Out front is a giant Paul Bunyan statue.  Chris is standing near the axe head to give perspective.
From Akeley we are 9.4 miles to the Walker trailhead.

 About 5 miles out of Akeley we find where the Paul Bunyan Trail and the Heartland Trail merge for a few miles.  In the pic on the right you can see both trails.  Heartland on the right.  Paul Bunyan on the left.


 Pictures here are more trail and marshes as we approach the town of Walker.

Trailhead at Walker

We reached the trailhead southwest of Walker around 2:45 pm where there is parking, a "rustic" restroom, and a covered picnic table.  After a 5 minute rest we saw our ride pull into the parking lot. How fun it is to have Dennis and Rita drop us off, meet us for lunch, and then pick us up at the end of the ride.  We've covered twice as much trail and enjoyed our outing even more with their company!

Paul Bunyan State Trail - Brainerd to Pequot Lakes (MN)

The weather forecast for Pequot Lakes suggested that Friday would be our best riding day.  And so it was.  Because we are camping with Dennis and Rita we have the perfect "shuttle service" to take us to the Brainerd/Baxter trailhead and drop us (and bikes) off. This way we don't have to backtrack and can see more of the trail.  After dropping us off at the trailhead located on Beaver Dam Road, Dennis drove our car with the bike rack back to the Pequot Lakes trailhead and left it for us for our afternoon arrival and transportation back to our campground.


On the left Chris is unloading our bikes as Dennis, Rita, and I supervise the procedure.
On the right Chris and I are ready for our 22 mile ride.

This grouping of pics shows the beauty around the trail as well as a picnic table and shelter if someone happens to be caught in rain/snow, etc.  The only motorized vehicles allowed on the trail are snowmobiles.

Rest area on the trail

This is the trailhead at Merrifield. All trailheads on the route provided large paved areas to park and unload bikes.  On the right a sign indicating distances to the next 2 towns.  Our lunch destination is Nisswa.  Seven miles ahead!

We pulled into the North Long Lake public water access to check out the lake.  At all lakes we have visited the DNR have people stationed to check boats and make sure everyone is taking precautions so as not to transfer Zebra Mussels from one lake to another.

Chuck and Connie

When we pulled into the parking area at North Long Lake we met this couple (pic above), Chuck and Connie.  We were friends immediately!  They had two Terra Trikes and ride trails wherever they can.  They gave us some suggestions of trails to ride in Minnesota if time and weather permitted.  They also made dining suggestions in Nisswa.  This was their lunch destination as well.

As we rode this trail, all of which was paved, we were surrounded by trees of all kinds.

Most of the time there would be a lake on our right and a lake on our left.  Pretty soon different lakes on our right and left.  Lakes or marshes were all along this trail.
Minnesota is known as the land of 10,000 lakes and on this trail we saw quite a few of those lakes.

The pic on the left had a red-winged blackbird in it. Somewhere.  He was out there but a little camera shy.

This trail is very scenic.  The pictures here were our favorites and can best be seen by clicking on them to enlarge.

The Paul Bunyan Trail is a rail trail and is the longest paved trail (120 miles) in the United States.
Most rail trails use the old train depot as part of a trailhead. Here (left pic) is the Nisswa Chamber of Commerce and trailhead.  Near the bike racks is a bike repair station.  This was new to us. Would love to see one of these at all trailheads.

Big Axe Brewing Company

The pic above is the Big Axe Brewing Company.  This is one of the places that Connie and Chuck recommended we have lunch.  They make their own root beer and cook up a mean hamburger served with home fried and seasoned potato chips.  We had all of the above items!

Our friends, Chuck and Connie, ate here as well.  After lunch we got together and discussed biking in Minnesota and trails in other states that we either have ridden or ones that are on our wish list.
Fun times!
Keep in mind that we are on the Paul Bunyan Trail, that Paul Bunyan was a lumberjack, must of had a Big Axe, and had a blue ox by the name of Babe.  Many businesses in the area capitalize on the theme as tourism is big business.  The pic on the left is a view of the shops on Main Street.
The green building (left) is called the Chocolate Ox and is where we stopped for ice cream after lunch.
The flavor I chose was "This Just Got Serious".  Oh my!!!  Off the charts!
Chris ordered "Turtle", and it was equally delicious!



After our stop for ice cream we went out to retrieve our bikes and found ourselves spectators of an exciting turtle race!  Must have been an end-of-school event because the children were called up by classes to choose a bucket and then when the announcer gave the signal the race began!  Such excitement, laughter, and fun!
To make our visit to this little community complete we found the infamous "Babe", the blue ox and companion of Paul Bunyan!

We are now on our way to our car and trailhead in Pequot Lakes.  It is 6 miles further.

On the left a beautiful marsh and the pic on the right is a bridge over a marsh.
Below is more trail and beautiful skies.  As we come close to finishing our ride temps are close to 72 F.

We began our ride around 10:15am and took our time riding from Brainerd to Pequot Lakes.  We reached the later trailhead around 2:15pm.  Along the way we made new friends, saw beautiful scenery, and enjoyed a perfect day outdoors!