Biking through the forest

[Nickel]

I don't see much activity here so I'm not sure what to think...are there groups that ride them? ;)

I will be at Lake Itasca for a weekend in August and it seems that the closest trails are at the Chippewa National Forest. I wasn't sure if anyone knew the status of all these trails such as :
- Are they well-marked?
- Is there a way to find out if there is water at the campsites?
- General terrain? (High grasses, rocky, sandy...)

Any opinions or advice on these trails would be greatly appreciated.

[jkalla]

I've biked Cut Foot Sioux, Simpson Creek and Suomi Hills. These are all probably east of where you will be so I am not sure if this will help. I have not been up there this year so I don't know the conditions. I would recomend bringing a trail map with you so you can figure out which way to turn if you come to a crossing. Some of the intersections with forest roads aren't really well marked. Also there are loops on some of these trails so you can get lost pretty easy. The ranger station should have maps or you can request them from the USFS although they may not arrive before you need them.

[TrailPatrol]

I don't see much activity here so I'm not sure what to think...are there groups that ride them? ;)

I will be at Lake Itasca for a weekend in August and it seems that the closest trails are at the Chippewa National Forest. I wasn't sure if anyone knew the status of all these trails such as :
- Are they well-marked?
- Is there a way to find out if there is water at the campsites?
- General terrain? (High grasses, rocky, sandy...)

Any opinions or advice on these trails would be greatly appreciated.

Nicole,
You dont see much here because the webmeisters cleaned out the old stuff. There are complete trail descriptions for Simpson Creek and Trout Lake at Minnesota Backcountry Trails (http://www.wintersnowtrails.org) or in "Mountain Biking Minnesota" and there used to be a Simpson Creek page on the MORC trail section. We have patrollers in there and Suomi Hills about every other weekend.

E-mail or PM me if you need more info.

Ride safe,
:banana:
Hans

[Alden]

There are also trails in the Paul Bunyan State Forest north of Akeley/Walker. There's about 600 miles worth and mostly used for moto/ATV so if you like rough riding there's plenty of it. Otherwise Maplelag is just northeast of Detroit Lakes which is southwest of Itasca.