While spending last week at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, I got the chance to check out Minnesota's trail systems a little. I found a large newsprint brochure which detailed Minnesota's ATV, OHV and 4x4 trail availability.
Here's a link to the Minnesota DRN trail system:
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ohv/trails/index.html
Basically, there are mainly ATV/OHV shared trails. It looks like the northern half of Minnesota is set up like the Upper Penninsula of Michigan in that state and county forest areas are open unless posted closed. There are also some high-quality riding areas like in Gilbert Minnesota that are set up for a wide variety of recreational riding. The terrain varies in Minnesota from pretty flat to nice rolling hills. If heading west with a bike, it would be worth checking out.
I also got to see some trail systems in Wisconsin on Highway 54 east of Winona. For road bikers, Highway 54 would be a great ride! Nice tight twisty hilly sections would be a hoot on anything from a cruiser to a pocket rocket.
The trails abound along that route, and are easily accessible. We ate at the Orange Moose in Black River Falls, which was right on a main trailhead. The trail there was nicely groomed, but as wide as a road and basically set up for ATV's. I walked the trail a little, got around a bend, and could see straight down the trail for a good 5 miles or so, all featureless and fast. But other sections we came upon while on 54 looked similar to road crossings in Michigan.
Here's a link to the Minnesota DRN trail system:
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ohv/trails/index.html
Basically, there are mainly ATV/OHV shared trails. It looks like the northern half of Minnesota is set up like the Upper Penninsula of Michigan in that state and county forest areas are open unless posted closed. There are also some high-quality riding areas like in Gilbert Minnesota that are set up for a wide variety of recreational riding. The terrain varies in Minnesota from pretty flat to nice rolling hills. If heading west with a bike, it would be worth checking out.
I also got to see some trail systems in Wisconsin on Highway 54 east of Winona. For road bikers, Highway 54 would be a great ride! Nice tight twisty hilly sections would be a hoot on anything from a cruiser to a pocket rocket.
The trails abound along that route, and are easily accessible. We ate at the Orange Moose in Black River Falls, which was right on a main trailhead. The trail there was nicely groomed, but as wide as a road and basically set up for ATV's. I walked the trail a little, got around a bend, and could see straight down the trail for a good 5 miles or so, all featureless and fast. But other sections we came upon while on 54 looked similar to road crossings in Michigan.
