Find the top rated snowmobiling trails in Minnesota, whether you're looking for an easy short snowmobiling trail or a long snowmobiling trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a snowmobiling trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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This stretch was pretty miserable with my road bike due to the poor asphalt. My biking partners had mountain bikes and fared much better. It's an easy trail, very flat, and this stretch is pretty. But I won't bike it again until the long overdue repaving is complete.
Wide, well-maintained asphalt trail surrounded by wildflowers. Birds love this area along the river. Good signage. Great for families - pretty flat. Beware: no shade. Go early morning and bring plenty of water.
new pavement beautiful scenery very nice ride I will return to explore side trails and surrounding areas
Most of the trail is very nice. There is a section not far from the St. Paul end that is pretty industrial. Good news: it's a fairly short part of the trail. Leaving the trail to go around Lake Phalen is very nice.
Great trail, flat ride, somewhat scenic with plenty of trees. Recently moved to Edina and this trail is a quick ride to Lake Calhoun and shopping centers on Excelsior. Highly recommend taking advantage of this trail if you're in the area.
Rode the Paul Bunyan from Crow Wing State Park to Pine River in late June 2017. Agree with other comments regarding signs in Baxter/Brainerd. Poorly marked. Once you get north of Baxter and the trailhead at the Northland Arboretum (mile marker 13), the route is well marked. Problem is all the large cracks in the pavement that feel like you've just hit a 2 by 4. And there are hundreds of them! Also rode the stretch from Pine River to Hackensack last year. It was worse than the section from Baxter to Pine River. Won't ride it this year because of those nasty cracks. Pavement is much better in the Walker area where the Paul Bunyan meets the Heartland to present MANY interesting and enjoyable combinations of trail, towns, hills, flat and scenery. In fact, all of the trail north of Hackensack (all the way to Lake Bemidji State Park) is in good shape with some minor bumps here and there. Apologies to Nisswa, Jenkins, Pine River and Backus who have very nice bike-friendly towns, but their section of trail is TERRIBLE (with the exception of the four miles from mile 37 to 41 which are excellent). No, I'm not with the Walker Chamber of Commerce, just a bike enthusiast who came up here from Florida to spend the summer away from the sweltering inferno that is the Sunshine State this time of year. (Florida is great from December to February... don't work for them either.)
Take heed from others that riding the Sunrise Prairie Trail with a road bike and 120 psi in your tires will be a jarring experience. The SRPT trail was initially paved in 1996 or '97 going from memory and is about 10 years beyond the need for a repave. It is a regional asset but talking to the Chisago Cty parks folks several years ago, they haven't been able to get financing from the Legacy Fund for repaving -- I do appreciate the county's efforts to fill cracks and patch potholes, but it's lipstick on a pig. I'm not sure how Hardwood Creek was able to get repaved when that segment is several years newer. Maybe Washington Cty financed the work?
Also, the author of the trail description was incorrect when he/she wrote "Although snowmobiles are technically prohibited, you will still find them along the trail during winter." Snowmobile use is technically permitted *along* the trail where horses are also allowed during the summer, but too many ride on the asphalt and rip up the asphalt with their studs (illegal to use on this trail).
I started near Royalton on a fully loaded plus tire bike. Morrison counties portion is good trail of smaller gravel. Lots of open farmland. Mille Lacs county the trail turned nasty with bigger ballast and rough. Onamia to Isle is paved. I stayed at Father Hennepin State Park in Isle. Stocked up on snacks at the small grocery store. Farmland changed to wetlands. Carlton County the trail was good again. A couple miles of off the rail bed trail with mud and hills. A fun distraction. I stayed another night at Moose Lake State Park outside of town. There to the Wisconsin line is good trail. Wisconsin line to the end is horrible. Thick layer of ballast rock. A foot deep in places making it harder to pedal through than sand. All across the trail the road crossings, bridges and generally the trail through wetlands were very rough. I rode late June and the deer flies were out in abundance as was a wide variety of wildlife. My trip was mid week so the atv traffic was very light. The trash cans along the trail are full of beer cans and the posted speed limit is 50mph. I was on a week long ride and was loaded with gear, the plus tire was the right choice for me.
I have traveled to many major metropolitan cities throughout the United States and have biked their local trails. The Grand Rounds Scenic Byway trail network here in the Twin Cities is perhaps one of the nicest and most scenic you will ever ride on.
Trail is closed just north of Willmar - very soft trail at about 5 miles out. Trail from Spicer to Paynesville is great
The seven miles in Washington County are in great shape as of 6/2107. Many of the stop signs have been replaced with YIELD signs and the crossings are in good shape. Only one risky intersection on Hwy 8 going to I35.
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