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As others have noted, this trail has wonderful scenery of lakes, farm fields, hamlets, marsh, etc. and is very wide and flat. Some town trail heads lack a biff and most lack water. Most have shade & picnic tables or benches. Small towns have convenience stores and restaurants. There are some swimming spots along the way e.g. Alexandria. I stayed at a nice campground near Ashby which is right across from the trail.
However, this trail desperately needs some TLC. There are big cracks from side to side which have filled in with weeds growing up; you'll have a "clunkity-bump" every 20-30 feet on many parts of the trail. Somebody needs to spray Round-Up on the weeds, pull them out & then fill the cracks in again with asphalt.
Nice ride from Ashby to Dalton. Open views of rolling prairie, wetlands and farm fields. Head (right) to downtown Dalton and take the paved county road east for 2 miles, then south on a less traveled paved county road with rolling hills past several lakes and wetlands, a beautiful country church on top of a hill with an outstanding view of the countryside and to the trail for the return to Ashby. This is about a 17 mile loop and makes the ride more interesting than out and back on the trail.
This trail is a beautiful ride through the edge of Praire Pothole Region of Minnesota.
You'll see plenty of potholes and prairies with lots of wildlife along the way. Watch out for the deer and Sandhill Cranes! You should see lots of water fowl along the way too.
Check out the Prairie Wetland Learning Center just outside of Fergus Falls MN. For more info go to http://www.friendsofprairiewetlands.com/
If you ride the trail in late summer to see the those "amber waves of grain" that are part of the great American folk song "America the Beautiful!"
The trail weaves through the land dotted with woods, prairies, lots of large and small lakes and the many small towns that dot the country side evoking memories of a Norman Rockwell painting. Truly a wonderful experience of small town America from a cycling perspective.
The east end of the trail merges with that other icon of America... "Lake Wobegon" ... in the form of the Lake Wobegon Trails. The combination of trails creates 100+ miles of paved rail trail to enjoy from Fergus Falls MN on the west to St Joseph at the east end ... a really wonderful ride across Central Minnesota.
This route is also a favorite of many of the cross country cyclists following the northern tier route of the Adventure Cycling Association. (http://www.adventurecycling.org/)
Happy Tails! Cliff
Cliff Borgerding
Lake Wobegon Trails Association
33504 Shorewood Drive
Avon MN 56310
320-293-9364
Cliff@lwtrails.com
www.lakewobegontrails.com
www.lwtrails.com
My wife and I rode a portion of the trail from Evansville to Osakis, September 21. Although cool, it was calm and clear. The gentle grades make for an easy work out. Every few miles one comes chugging into a little town, past the great grain elevators.....just like the trains used to. Our only dissapointment came as the info center/trailhead in Osakis was closed on Saturdays. Sort of wanted to pick up a memento of this GREAT trail.
All in all, a truly wonderful experience.
We rode just a short portion of this trail in mid-September: Alexandria to Garfield. It's a really nice trail, and we'll probably go back for more. We started at the statue of Big Oley in Alexandria, on the shores of lovely Green Lake. We first went east, but lost the trail at a pretty lakeside picnic spot. So we turned around and rode back the other way. This section of the trail threads its way from one scenic lake to another. The trail is flat and smoothly paved and most of this section is well away from noisy roads. There's not a lot of shade, but some spectacular fall color with all the sumac and wild flowers. Very pretty, easy ride.
First of all, the whole Central Lakes trail is a huge wonderful surprise. If one expects boring farmland-only scenery, one is in for a nice awakening! Lakes, ponds, swamps, woods, thick greenery, a wide variety of waterfowl, and yes even farmland greet the happy cyclist.
Evansville has some "hidden" wonders just a few feet from the trail. Just across Hwy 82 is a historical site with buildings and at certain times of year events commemorating the varied history of this area. Two blocks away is also a wonderful art gallery with an always changing show of regional artists. The Evansville Historical Foundation and the Evansville Arts Coalition are very active and welcoming to cyclists, so get hold of them for a tour!
This fall (2007) the last 2 mile segment was paved to connect the Central Lakes and Lake Wobegon trails. It is now fully paved from St. Joseph, MN (next to St. Cloud) all the way to Fergus Falls, MN (~110 miles). It's an excellent trail - flat, scenic, mostly protected from the wind, lots of lakes, etc.
There is a large bike shop in Alexandria (Bike & Fitness Company) that is right on the trail, rents bikes and is very friendly.
If you get the chance - don't miss this trail. It is both a fast ride and beautiful.
I live in San Antonio and when I came back to Fergus Falls I brought my bike so I could ride this trail and I'm glad I did. The ride takes you through the central lakes area and the scenery and wildlife are magnificant. A great trail to ride. Thanks MN.
The trail has been paved from Garfield to Ashby as of early June 2004 so it is now paved from Osakis to Fergus Falls. A shelter is also being built in Garfield.
"This is a good, quiet trail with limited services available. All the towns had food and places to stay. The trail's flat -- really flat. "
"The trail is nicely paved from Osakis to Garfield (about half the distance). The paved distance includes the Alexandria area. From Garfield to Fergus Falls, the trail is packed well but unpaved.
The trail is very flat and sheltered from the wind by trees and manmade burms for about half the overall distance.
The Alexandria portion of the trail is great as it cuts along several lakes and is frequented by locals for fishing (right off the trial!)."
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