Recommendations?

[genny1]

Hi - I will be spending a week or so with the family this summer in the Ely area (Johnson Lake) and Silver Bay area (Tettegouche). This will be my first trip to those areas. Any recommendations for trails, and whom to contact about the trails for info and possibly trail maps?

Thanks and take care.

-- David

[TrailPatrol]

The Arrowhead is just starting to discover mountain biking, due to the canoe-centric nature of the BWCA region. Your best bets for current info are The Bike Shop in Ely, in the alley behind Piragis Outfitters and the USFS Information Center at the International Wolf Center. The Forest Service is working on a major trails project between Ely and Babbit, but it won't be done for a couple years.

On the North Shore, the sources and most of the good riding are farther up than Tettegouche. Visit with Jeff at Sawtooth Outfitters on Hwy 61 in Tofte, who helped develop the Sugarbush Trails System north of Tofte on the Sawbill Trail. They have good maps, as does the Lutsen Tofte Tourism Center, also on Hwy 61.

In Grand Marais, Mark Spinler is supposed to know every nook and cranny of the eastern Superior. He and his wife, Melinda, run the Superior North Outfitters Bike Shop, also in an alley, this time behind Sven and Ole's Pizza.

My favorite ride up there is the Pancore Lake Loop, a trio of old fire roads where I have seen a wolf, and lots of bear and moose tracks and sign. You can do a lot of exploring up there, but most of it will not be on singletrack. There are miles and miles of miles and miles of forest and fire roads up there.

The best maps are the McKenzie North Shore (#98-105, plus 204, 203, and 304) series, which include bike trails.

Then there is always Lutsen. :shocked:

Ride safe,
:banana:
Hans

"In the incomparable splendor of long trails through the forests of the
north, I have ridden with bears, watched the eagles soar, and glimpsed the gray
wolf silently watching me ride." H. Erdman, Journal entry, May, 2005.

[genny1]

Thanks for the response and suggestions. I’ve read some of your other posts about MTB activity in NE Minnesota, and appreciate you posting on this board as someone who is extremely knowledgeable about the area. Hopefully there is enough interest to support the development of more MTB-dedicated singletrack in the Arrowhead (the Foresat Service project sounds great), as I imagine there is no shortage of terrain that makes for great riding (and will make for some great riding this summer).

Again, thanks for the info. I'll be contacting the shops you suggested. Take care.

-- David

[nord0306]

If you want to ride near Ely, I would recommend the Hidden Valley Recreation area. It is just to the East of downtown and have a number of miles of ski trails that are quite fun to ride in the summer. The surface is grass with a narrow gravel trail down the middle where the bikers ride. There is a parking lot at the trailhead. Take the main drag, Sheridan St, east out of town, turn right on Hidden Valley Rd, before the Wolf Center and go up the gravel road to the Chalet/Parking lot. There are a number of loops to ride, with some pretty impressive hills.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=ely,+mn&ll=47.904634,-91.82755&spn=0.019275,0.053902&om=1

[genny1]

Thanks Adam -- Just catching up on this thread now, and appreciate the info. Sounds like a great option!

[finnlander]

Another good riding area is the Big Aspen trails in Britt. Its a drive from Ely though. There are a lot of fire and logging roads to ride but unless you have a map to its pretty hard to make a loop. If you do ride them stick to one trail and make sure you know how to get back. Its really easy to get lost - and there are lots of bugs.

Its too bad there aren't too many trails just for mountain biking there. It could really be a draw for the area if they worked at it and it complements canoeing much more than the *@#$ing atv's.