No doubt the Mesabi Trail offers a unique experience that's hard to beat. Like the best of the rail trails, but with hills and curves added. I rode 106 miles in two days of round-trip riding from Chisholm to Grand Rapids and had a very good time doing so. Very nice scenery, not too many road crossings, an excellent surface.

The trail stops at the edge of most cities and takes to the road until the other end of town. Most of these segments were pretty well signed, but coming into Nashwauk from the east I encountered conflicting signs posted next to the road and painted on it, followed the wrong one, and went out of my way almost a mile before backtracking.

One poorly signed road section is not a surprise. The biggest surprise (apart from the fact that I didn't at all mind the hills) was the lack of any true trailheads along the way.

The ideal trailhead has a dedicated parking lot for trail users, picnic tables, water, toilet facilities, and the gold standard: shade and showers. Many trailheads lack one or more amenities, but typically a trail has one or two trailheads with most of them.

Many towns along the trail had little to no off-road adjacent parking, there were few bathrooms, and not one trailside place with water to fill my bottles.

Another quirk which is not so unusual was the mileposts. They were spotty for the first 10 miles, then much more prevalent. There were 3 places between 0 and 48 where I found unaccounted gaps of up to 1/2 mile between two mileposts, so by the time you reach 48 you've gone 49. And I went several miles further by riding the "official" (i.e., noted on the map) side trails at Pengilly and Chisholm. Add that to my off-trail adventure, and that's how it took 106 miles to do 48 miles out and back.

We rode from Grand Rapids to Virginia. the trail currently ends in Virginia due to road construction. The trail was in great shape. Any bad spots were spray painted white so you could see them.Yes, there are some hills. Nothing anyone who rides much would worry about.All in all this is an amazing trail. Go now.One downside... restrooms and water almost non-existent.

My husband and I did 53 miles of this trail on the Mesabi Bike Tour in July 2015. It was a well supported and organized ride. We really enjoyed the cooler up north temps and beautiful scenery. The hills are long and challenging but lots of nice downhills too. I had enough after 53 miles. Would love to go again next year!

My wife and I stay at the Hidden Haven Resort in Cohasset, about 10 to 15 miles NW of Grand Rapids. Bob and Katie are the owners, and great people, and the fishing is very good! I usually come in from fishing around 1:30-2:00 grab a snack,and my road bike and head to Grand Rapids to ride the Mesabi. Great trail and scenery! I have road all of it now except the area south out of Ely that's not all completed yet. We go the last week of Sep. for peak color. Awesome ride!
Mark

The Mesabi is a very unique trail for MN. Most midwest rail trails are flat & somewhat boring. The Mesabi has numerous hills (many pretty steep) and curves. The scenery is spectacular even though much of it is obscured by small trees & shrubs close to the trail. Amenities are few & far between but most of the small towns have restaurants, bars, stores for the basics.

My main complaint is that the trail disappears as you pass through the numerous small towns; you have to be hyper aware. It is replaced by sidewalks, narrow roadways, road shoulders which are often poorly marked & in poor condition, hence dangerous. It's hard to enjoy a continuous, flowing ride. The worst town on this count was Virginia (fairly big town) as the trail jogged on & off roads & sidewalks, through parks, across busy streets, etc. I took an alternate route upon returning on another rough road & got a flat a mile from the end. There was also a bridge construction detour between Hibbing & Chisholm which is supposed to be done by this Oct. If you're tired of boring farm-country trails, give this one a try.

My husband and I biked 3 sections of this trail during and just after Labor Day weekend. It's a beautiful trail, wide and smooth and remarkably scenic. Not a lot of facilities at the trail heads, but all the little towns have pit stops of one sort or another. It is noticeably hillier than the other rail trails we've ridden in Minnesota. Bring lots of water and be prepared for some long climbs with occasional steep grades. We found the signage at the trail itself to be very good, although it is still a little confusing trying to find some of the trail heads. Trail usage was surprisingly light considering how beautiful the weather was. Maybe this trail just hasn't been discovered yet.

Virginia -> Mountain Iron (4.5 miles)
We rode this trail segment just before sunset and thoroughly enjoyed it. Getting out of Virginia was a little messy, but after about a mile of crossing and re-crossing the same busy street we found ourselves on a beautiful wooded trail that occasionally opened out to breathtaking fields of wildflowers. Just before you get to Mountain Iron there is a long dip down, then a longer hill up past the Wacootah Ore Pit, which is full of deep blue-green water. Mountain Iron itself is worth a quick tour. It's the site of the first mine on the Mesabi Range, and fiercely proud of the fact. This would be a great ride on a hot day, since the trail has lots of shade. On the other hand, coming into Mountain Iron just at sunset was a beautiful sight, with the sunset glinting off the historic town hall, the town founder, and the little steam shovel in the park.

Chisholm -> Hibbing (10 miles)
If you can only ride one segment of the trail, this is the one to pick, especially if you're interested in the local history and culture. The town of Chisholm is big enough to have a hotel and some places to eat but small enough to be charming. And the Hull Rust Mine at the Hibbing end of the trail is absolutely jaw-dropping. You can skip Iron World, but you don't want to skip the World's Largest Open Pit Iron Mine. The trail in between is scenic, including a perfect photo op of the beautiful gorge between Chisholm and Hibbing. The trail is far enough from the highway to be very quiet, and the ore dumps are overgrown with wild flowers from May through September. There is one big hill; the rest is gently rolling. There is, however, no shade. We rode on a perfect autumn day with temps in the 60's so this wasn't a problem. If you're riding in the summertime, I'd recommend this segment as an early morning or evening ride.

Here's how to find the downtown Chisholm trail head. The main street of Chisholm is called Lake Street, and is easy to find - just keep driving towards the water tower until you come to the street with all the storefronts. Go downhill on Lake Street until you come to the town lake. Right where the Bridge of Flags starts is the trail head kiosk. If you start at this trail head and ride to the Hull-Rust mine the trip is 10 miles each way, not 7. If you're staying at the Chisholm Inn, ride east and north on the frontage road and pick up the trail at the south end of the lake, right where it crosses the busy north-south street.

Chisholm -> Buhl (4-5 miles)
Perfectly nice ride, but not as pleasant as the other two segments we rode. The trail was wide and smooth, but ran close enough to the road so that the traffic noise was noticeable. Several long, steep hills, including one back-breaker close to the Chisholm end. And there's no shade at all. The one redeeming feature of this stretch of trail is the view of Chisholm from the top of the big hill.

I think there's an error on the last review of this trail. This trail is paved, it is smooth. The surface isn't broken up at all. There is no need for a mountain bike on this trail. I think he's talking about the wrong trail. I last rode this trail in July 07 and there are constant improvements. There was two very short unpaved sections due to road construction but that was it. I wonder what section he rode?

"This trail holds promises of granduer when in fact is poorly laid out and even worse when it comes to finding services needed for touring cyclists. The map I recieved from the web site is horribly inaccurate and the trail surface is rough and poorly maintained. Unless you are day riding with a mountain bike, stay clear of this one."