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!