Trail: Congdon Creek Park
National Park: Duluth Parks and Recreation Department
Miles: .8 miles

Trail: Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park
National Park: Washington County Parks

Trail: Cut Foot Sioux NRT
National Park: Chippewa National Forest
Features: Beach(es)
Creek(s)
Lake(s)/pond(s)/reservoir(s)
Swimming area(s)
Waterfall(s)
Activities: Bicycling (any)
Bicycling - Mountain
Camping
Camping - Backpacking
Dogs - Mushing
Dogs - On leash
Equestrian - riding
Equestrian - pack trips
Equestrian - other stock
Motorized vehicles - ATV riding
Motorized vehicles - Motorcycling
Pedestrian - Walking/Hiking/Running
Shooting - Archery
Shooting - Skeet
Shooting - Target
Snow - Skiing, cross-country
Snow - Showshoeing
Swimming
Swimming - Diving/snorkeling
Wildlife observation - Birds
Wildlife observation - Mammals
Hunting (any)
Hunting - Archery
Hunting - Big game
Hunting - Bird
Hunting - Small game
Snow - Snow play, general
Elevation: 1350 ft
Miles: 22.0 miles
Desc: The Cut Foot Sioux National recreation Trail is located in the heart of the Chippewa National Forest. The trail provides 22 miles of outstanding hiking and equestrian riding opportunities as it winds through mature stands of white and red pine, as well as many lakes, streams and wetlands indicative of Northern Minnesota. Connecting to the Cut Foot Sioux NRT is over 120 miles of equestrian trails, and the Cut Foot Sioux Horse Camp. This combination of trails and equestrian possibilities makes for a premier horseback riding destination.
The major partners involved with the development of the Cut Foot Horse Camp include the Minnesota Horse Council, the North Central Research Station, Grand Rapids and the Chippewa National Forest. Many local trail riding clubs and individuals also volunteered their time with contributions by the Minnesota Trail Riders Association.

18 miles NW of Deer River on Hwy. 46.

Trail: Gateway State Trail
National Park: MN. Dept. of Natural Resources
Activities: Bicycling (any)
Dogs - On leash
Equestrian - riding
Pedestrian - Walking/Hiking/Running
Roller/Inline Skating
Snow - Skiing, cross-country
Snow - Showshoeing
Wildlife observation - Birds
Wildlife observation - Mammals

Miles: 18 miles
Desc: The Gateway State Trail is an 18 mile trail which runs from St. Paul to Pine Point County Park, MN. This paved trail cuts through a cross section of urban areas, parks, lakes wetlands, and fields in Ramsey and Washington Counties. It is used year-round by bikers, skaters, walkers, runners, persons in wheelchairs, horseback riders, and skiers. Many trail users are surprised to find these rural landscapes so close to the metro area; while others appreciate the access it provides to downtown St. Paul and the State Capital complex. The Gateway also provides connections to many local and regional trails.

The Gateway Trail is the most heavily used non-motorized state trail in MN. Located on a former Soo Line Railroad grade, the trail is generally level and wheelchair accessible. Along the eastern 10 miles of the Gateway, an adjacent non-asphalt trail is available for horseback riding or carriage driving. Motorized vehicles including snowmobiles, motorized scooters and motorbikes are not allowed.

Trail: Heartland State
National Park: Trails and Waterways Unit
Features: Creek(s)
Grove(s)
River(s)
Meadow(s)
Lake(s)/pond(s)/reservoir(s)
Archeo/paleo/historical
Activities: Dogs - On leash
Camping - Backpacking
Pedestrian - Walking/Hiking/Running
Bicycling (any)
Roller/Inline Skating
Equestrian - riding
Snow - Skiing, cross-country
Motorized vehicles - Snowmobiling
Wildlife observation - Birds
Swimming

Difficulty: Easy
Miles: 28 miles

Trail: Lake Wobegon Trail
National Park: Stearns County Parks
Features: Beach(es)
Creek(s)
Lake(s)/pond(s)/reservoir(s)
Swimming area(s)
Wetland(s)
Activities: Bicycling (any)
Bicycling - Mountain
Dogs - On leash
Fishing
Motorized vehicles - Snowmobiling
Pedestrian - Walking/Hiking/Running
Roller/Inline Skating
Skateboarding
Snow - Showshoeing
Snow - Skiing, cross-country
Swimming
Swimming - Diving/snorkeling
Wildlife observation - Birds
Wildlife observation - Mammals

Miles: 37 miles
Desc: This 28-mile multi-use trail provides year-round recreational opportunities including hiking, fishing and snow shoeing. In addition, the trail acts as a link between the cities of Avon, Albany, Freeport, Melrose, and Sauk Centre. A product of a joint effort by Stearns County Parks, Minnesota Department of Transportation, seven cities, and local citizen groups, this trail is an example of what is possible through a successful partnership
Remarks by Garrison Keillor, September 30, 1998, Trails Dedication
‘I dont know how I am going to carry this plaque on my bicycle, for I did not bring a nap sack. I have come to Albany by bicycle, and I do not have a bicycle lock. I hope that is not going to be a problem.
Congratulations to all of the people, the Jaycees, members of the County Board, Mayors, and township officials all up and down the line who have worked so hard to accomplish this beautiful trail. I have only seen about six and a half miles of it; but I saw it on a bicycle that has no low gear, and a bicycle that has a flat tire, and riding into a northwesterly wind. So, I feel that I have paid the price for the little bit of it that I have seen.
Its an auspicious occasion to open up this new slower link between Avon and Albany and to include the other towns along the line - Freeport and Melrose and Sauk Centre and St Joseph; and I guess eventually, if they can raise the money, St Cloud. We need slow means of communication as well as rapid ones, you could get from Albany to Avon by freeway of course if you had to, but you would get there too fast and you wouldnt meet anybody along the way, youd hope not to anyway.
As I have bicycled six and a half miles from Avon and I have just in the course of that time, peddling hard, into a northwesterly wind on a flat tire, I have met a man whose great grandfathers wifes brother was the first man to teach a course at St. Johns University when it was opened in November of 1855. He has another ancestor, his great great grandfather as a matter of fact, who was a deserter on the union side in the civil war. So, he has this great honor and this great blight in his family history. These are the sorts of things that people will tell you if they sit next to you in a tavern, or, they will tell it to you on a bike trail. I think it is interesting to have a great great grandfather who was a deserter and to realize that, for many of us, the fact is we would not exist had it not been for a lack of principle on our ancestors part.
These bike trails are absolutely popular and people love them once theyre completed and once people get on their bikes and go ride them. But of course, in the public hearing stage that is a different matter. People come out and oppose them ferociously, as we all know. People are afraid of bicycle trails mainly because statistics show that there is a preponderance of college educated liberals who ride bicycles and they are afraid of bringing these people out into rural Minnesota and the effect that it may have on everybody. You may get a lot of Unitarians up here in Stearns County and not know how to deal with them. People who believe that Moses came down from the Mount with the stone tablet upon which god had given him the ten suggestions, people who send vigilantes out into Catholic communities and burn question marks on peoples front lawns. But, we liberals are valued members of society so long as we stay in the minority, and we liberals have ways of remaining in the minority when we threaten to become a majority.
This is a great asset to you and I hope that you all enjoy it. The people of Lake Wobegon are honored, in a way, to have you use their name. They do want it understood they are not responsible for any of the expenses or any of the liabilities, and they dont want it assumed that they are in favor of bicycle trails. But, in principle, they are for it so long as they are not connected to it. I was glad to give permission for the use of the name Lake Wobegon because the name really does belong to the people of this area. I chose Central Minnesota as the site of Lake Wobegon because I was writing fiction, and I wanted to choose a part of Minnesota that nobody ever went to so that I could say whatever I wanted to about it. So I think that for what youve had to put up with from me over the years, you ought to be able to use the name anytime that you want to. A couple of months ago National Geographic magazine asked me if I would write an article for them about Stearns County, and I said of course I would be happy to. The National Geographic, to my knowledge, never asked anybody to write about a work of fictional geography before, and they were interested to know about the part of the country that Lake Wobegon comes from. So, in some fashion, I will have to try now to start to write the truth about you, if thats what you want, Im not sure.
Well, I wish you many, many years of pleasure on this beautiful trail. Life gets hard sometimes, even in a place as beautiful as this, and on a day as beautiful as this, and a month as gorgeous as October is. Life can be confusing, and be depressing. It can be boring. People are desperate at times, and whatever you do, there is a number of different things you can do about it, and one thing is to get on a bicycle and head off on the trail, and a lot of answers will come to you in the course of just the six miles between here and Avon; more than you might ever want. No matter how depressed or confused or desperate we may be at different times, the world always offers itself to our imaginations when we take the trouble to go out and to look at it and to listen to it. I hope that you get great pleasure from seeing the world from this trail, thank you.’

Trail: Mahnomen Wildlife
National Park: Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge
Activities: Dogs - On leash
Pedestrian - Walking/Hiking/Running
Camping - Backpacking
Snow - Skiing, cross-country
Snow - Showshoeing
Wildlife observation - Birds

Difficulty: Easy
Desc: Divided into 3 loops that cover a total of 3 miles of flat, rolling terrain. Mahnomen is the Ojibwa word for wild rice which grows profusely in nearby Rice Lake. Passes through variety of habitats - oak savanna, prairies and small sections of wetland.
On County Road 9, 5 miles west of Hwy 169.

Trail: North Fork Crow River Trail
National Park: Koronis Hills Snowmobile Club
Activities: Motorized vehicles - Snowmobiling

Miles: 29 miles

Trail: Oakdale Park Nature
National Park: Oakdale Recreation Department/Nature Center
Features: Lake(s)/pond(s)/reservoir(s)
Meadow(s)
Activities: Dogs - On leash
Pedestrian - Walking/Hiking/Running
Bicycling (any)
Roller/Inline Skating
Snow - Showshoeing
Snow - Skiing, cross-country
Wildlife observation - Birds

Difficulty: Easy
Desc: Trails running through park with 28 acre lake, natural prairie land, wetland, forests
From I-36 take Hadley Ave/50th Street East 0.5 mile. Turn right onto Upper 44th St.

Trail: Ritter Farm Park
National Park: Lakeville Park and Rec. Dept.
Miles: 15 miles