Cass County / surrounding area trails

[stevo]

I'm coming home to MN from Montana late this month for a wedding, we're having the bacholor's weekend at my family's cabin in Outing. I was curious if there are any trails that would be fun for a bunch of dowhill racers that aren't too incredibly picky and not afraid to pedal our 6" bikes around (well, maybe a little afraid to pedal :) ) Does anyone know of any trails around the Cass County area or within about 50 miles?

Thanks for any help!

[TML]

Steve,

Quadna Mtn in Hill City used to allow mt biking. If they still do it would be a pretty close drive for you.

Also, there is some XC riding at the Washburn lake trails just north and west of Outing on the north and south side of Cty. Rd. 48.

About 1/2 hour south of you there is the Crosby Ironton (Cuyuna) mine Area. Plenty of rocks and elevation there to play on. No official trails yet but the whole area is open to riding. There will be a tar trail crossing Hwy 6 as you're coming south from Emily. You can access parts of the mines from that trail on both sides of Hwy 6. Lots of exploring. . .

If you want to head to the northeast a bit there is a group of riders in the Grand Rapids area. Here's a link to their forum:

http://www.morcmtb.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=79

Throw a post up there or PM one of the riders from there. They could point you in the right direction.

Hope you get some riding in. Have fun!

[GearDaddy]

It's been a couple years since I've ridden up there, but I know a few places:

Washburn ski trails - This is pretty tame, flatish riding. A little bit more ups and downs on the south end of the trails.

Old Sugar Hills area - You're basically on the X-C ski trails. The trails are pretty good and very undulating. You can follow multiple paths to the top of Thunder Mtn. to get above the old downhill area. It's a 500 ft. climb with some great views too. You can really rip it on the way down. The place was basically deserted when I was there, but I actually encountered one guy on an ATV that was maintaining the trails. Not sure of its status these days.

Trails just south of Sugar Hills - There is a large region there where local dirt bikers have established trails. It's easy to get lost out there, so watch out. You can access these trails one way by going off of the "backside" of Thunder Mtn. at Sugar Hills. Apparently you can ride all the way to Quadna if you follow the right track.

North Country trail - I've ridden sections of the NCT north of Remer. Some parts are pretty good. Some parts are quite overgrown with grass. Some parts are unfortunately being poached by ATVers.

There are also some good X-C trails up by Deer River, but I haven't ridden them.

[stevo]

When you mention the Lake Washburn trails, where specifically? our family's cabin is on Big Bass, only a few miles from washburn. I did some trail work on a connector trails between Ferrs Resort Road / township rd 11 and the thunder lake trail. It could be a fun trail still, I never rode a bike on it though - I used to race XC motorcycles and did alot of training around there and on the Moose (somthing...) OHV trail system in the ben draper area. (it's been a while since i have been there, sorry if I don't remember the road names very well.) Where is the Old Sugar hills area? Thanks fo the info!

[TML]

Washburn ski trails. The parking lot is on the north side of cty Rd 48 just north and west of outing

Here's a link to a map of the area on the dnr site:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/sft00031/index.html

The ski trails are on the SW section.

[GearDaddy]

When you mention the Lake Washburn trails, where specifically? our family's cabin is on Big Bass, only a few miles from washburn. I did some trail work on a connector trails between Ferrs Resort Road / township rd 11 and the thunder lake trail. It could be a fun trail still, I never rode a bike on it though - I used to race XC motorcycles and did alot of training around there and on the Moose (somthing...) OHV trail system in the ben draper area. (it's been a while since i have been there, sorry if I don't remember the road names very well.) Where is the Old Sugar hills area? Thanks fo the info!

The Washburn ski trails are only a few miles north of Outing on Hwy 6. Those trails were kind of boring IMHO.

Here is a gmap-pedometer that shows some locations: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=447870 The start is at Outing. The first point is at the north end of Grave Lake where you can pick up a section of the North Country trail. There is a public boat landing there where you should see be able to find the trail. Some good trail but you may need to be prepared to do some route finding. The second point is at Sugar Hills. The X-C ski trails are still used in the Winter. Here is a link to some trail info: http://www.visitgrandrapids.com/vacations/winter/xcskiing.html#15.%20Sugar%20Hills Note that some other places on this link, like Soumi Hills, also have some rideable trails. As I mentioned before there are a ton of trails south of Sugar Hills if you want to explore too. The third point is at Quadna. I have no idea what the story is at this place these days. The last point is at Savanna Portage state park. I stayed there with the family last summer and discovered that they have nearly 20 miles of trails for mountain biking. It was pretty good too, with undulating terrain and a high ridge on the northeast end with an overlook over a vast tamarack forest.

[stevo]

wow, thanks a ton! I really appreciate all your info!