Last weekend we took advantage of a special room rate at the Chase Resort in Walker MN and rode the Heartland Trail for the day. NOTE: You will have to ride down the street next to the American Inn for about a half mile to find the trail head on the Walker side. It is poorly marked once you are off the main road but follow your nose and it will show up on the left.

The trail is in excellent shape, very fast, very flat and when we rode it was more or less empty until just outside of Park Rapids. Both ends of the trail are beautiful, wooded hills, small lakes, numerous birds etc. The middle section is a little dull and is within sight of HWY 34 for about 10 miles but you do get the chance to sit in Paul Bunyan's hand for a photo so that is a fun break.

If you are having lunch in Park Rapids do yourself a favor and eat at the Good Life Cafe, order the home made pretzels you will not be sorry... plus you have to carb up for the ride back.

On the way back we took the Paul Bunyan Trail detour through Paul Bunyan State Park. It is a VERY hilly trek. We are on recumbents so it was a challenge to say the least. But every hill has it's down hill side and the ups and downs with high speed twists and turns were fun and the trail is in great shape. Just keep in mind it is about 6.5 miles and it will feel like 15 when your are done. Again watch for the intersection leading you back to Walker. IT IS NOT MARKED. We would have missed it completely if not for a woman coming the other direction who pointed it out. You will head back to Walker on the PB trail and there will be some brief HWY riding on the side of the road. Our total for the day was 68 miles and it was a really good time.

The trail from Park Rapids northeast to Walker is superb. It's smooth & almost all the small towns have some amenities (picnic tables, benches, restrooms, etc.). The tiny town of Dorset has half a dozen good restaurants & touristy attractions. The scenery is great & the trail pretty much flat & smooth. Definately worth a ride.

Once you get past Walker the quality of the trail (not the scenery) diminishes. The trail cris-crosses Hwy 371 a couple of times & disappears onto a road shoulder for several miles with poor signage. It gets very bumpy & chopped up. No amenities north of Walker. You can go into Cass Lake & then take city streets to get to the MiGiZi trail which is hilly & curvy with some nice scenery. North of Walker this trail will eventually fork off to Bemidji as the Paul Bunyan. Much of it is already done on the Bemidji end.

This trail starts at a nice park in Park Rapids. Much of this aphalt trail is in the woods and runs far enough away from the highway to be very quiet and peaceful. The trail is mostly flat from Park Rapids until going slightly downhill into Walker. There are several small towns right on the trail from Park Rapids to Walker that have places to get a bite to eat or an ice cream cone. From Walker the trail runs near Leech Lake giving occasional views of the lake and lake homes around the lake before following along beside Hwy 371 into Cass Lake. The trail dead ends a couple of blocks short of Hwy 2. There isn't any sign to say you have reached the end of the trail, it just ends and there isn't any parking nearby, except along residential streets. I hope that someday they extend this trail to more of a distination, such as the nearby Norway Beach Recreation Area in Chippewa National Forest.

"The scenery is great and the trail surface is fair, but don't expect any of the state run bike rest stops to have any services. No picnic tables, no water no trash cans. Shame on you Minnesota"

"The MiGiZee, Paul Bunyan and Heartland Trails are all connected. This is the perfect place to take a vacation and ride! There are over 100 miles of paved trail that is connected.

I recommend staying in Walker Minnesota. It is a small resort community with something for everyone on Leech Lake. "

"This trail is now paved (summer 2002) from Walker to Cass Lake. The best scenery is north of Walker along Leech Lake and west from Walker to Akeley. Between Akeley and Park Rapids are small towns that have nice shops to browse in.

The trail head in Cass Lake is connected to another trail that loops Pike Bay and is in the ""north woods"" Chippewa National Forest. (Paved Fall of 2002) Approxinately 9 miles."