Savanna Portage State Park

[babuhr]

Anyone ever ridden there? I'm going this week and the site says they have 10 miles of mountain bike trails.

[Shorty]

If I remember correctly, they are doubletrack ski trails. Fun for that type of riding.

Scenic State Park (to the north) has some fun trails.

[GearDaddy]

I camped there with the family and brought my mountain bike, and was glad that I did. Yes, it is doubletrack for the most part, but the terrain was quite hilly and almost completely wooded. There was enough trail to ride for a couple hours too. Not too many state parks have that much good trail open for mountain biking, so I thought it was great.

It's a good park overall. The campgrounds are within close proximity of good hiking trails and some small lakes where you can rent canoes. There is also a swimming beach. The whole family loved it.

[bigwheel]

Hi Barry,

My cabin is only about 8 miles from Savanna Portage. I've ridden pretty much everything, including the stuff I wasn't supposed to be on.

Like Pete said, most of the trail is either double-track ski trail or snowmobile trail. The park is off of the beaten trail and doesn't get the attention that other parks get. So, watch for downed trees, mud holes and stuff. The trail is probably just starting to dry out.

The area is nice and hilly, but nothing too steep to ride. The outer loop is ski trail. However, they didn't open the very outside, so it might be in questionable condition.

The Continental Divide trail is probably the nicest, because it runs along a ridge that is the high spot between Lake Superior and the Gulf of Mexico. However, the trail is only a about 2 miles long. But you can take a few detours and ride the dirt roads to Wolf lake and a few other nice spots.

When you want to get in a longer ride, there is a trail that goes out the back of the state park, and head over to Remote Lake (Savanna state forest). To get there, the trail starts at Loon Lake. Those trails don't get used much in the summer, so you'll feel like you made a wrong turn, but keep going anyway. Once in the state forest, there are several nice loops, and about 20K of trail. I haven't been back there yet this year, so some of it might be muddy. But these are not IMBA bike trails and seldom get used so the normal muddy trail rules don't apply.

For me, the most fun trail to bike is the beaver pond trail (which is not marked as a bike trail) It runs along the side of a hill, and has some natural rock obstacles to deal with. I think the trail is less than a mile long, though.

If you head over to Remote Lake, you should bring bug spray and a GPS or compass/map, because it's easy to get "turned around", and the mosquitoes can be vicious this time of year. Also, watch for poison ivy.

Here is something to get you started.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/savanna_portage/maps.html
Look at both the winter and summer maps, but beware that some of the winter trails go through swamps that are not crossable in the summer.

I plan to be up there this coming weekend. If it's cold out, I may take a morning ride from my cabin, do a loop at the park, and head home again. If so, I'll be on a brown Surly single speed. I'll make sure to take a lap around the campground if I go.

Have fun. Bob S.