Lutsen

[Ozz]

Hi Guys.....

Nice forum you guys have here.
I'm up in Winnipeg and in July some friends of mine and a group from my LBS went to Lutsen to do some riding......man was I dissapointed, expensive, unknowledgable staff, unchallenging trails...I just wasn't impressed.
Listen up, believe it or not...we have a couple of real beauties up here in the flatlands of Canada. One is Ingolf and the other is Minaki, maybe you heard of the Minaki Lodge burning down just recently? that was a favorite spot for a lot of Americans to come and fish.
Check out www.minaki.ca, for Ingolf there is no website but it is in the Whiteshell Prov. Park.
A good trip is to do Falcon Lake (which is a gem itself) on one day, Ingolf on another and then Minaki (Minaki is my personal favorite) and they're not far from you guys, definitely worth the drive.
Lemme know if you want more info....I'd be happy to tell you all I can.

Sta Bene (be well)

[Mateo]

Yes, details details...

How far would the drive be from Lutsen? Directions maybe?

And any more info on the trails themselves would be much appreciated as well! Is it too late in the year up there to go? When would you guess in the Spring would be late enough to come up?

Thanks for the info!


Mateo

[Ozz]

Mateo

I would be more than happy to give you directions. Whereabouts are you coming from?

[Ozz]

Mateo

I guess you'd be coming from St.Paul Huh?

It would be quite a drive for you from St.Paul, maybe 10 hours....well worth it if you were to come for a few days....accomodations are relatively inexpensive in Kenora which is kind of close to all of them, especially with the exchange rate and all that.
Check out where Kenora, Ontario is on the map, that will give you a reference....if it's not to far let me know and I will give you accurate directions. If you don't mind riding in the cool weather by all means these are still rideable.

[Mateo]

man, that's tempting... any guess on the actual mileage from Lutsen? I can't find anything on the web... Is there such thing as a Mapquest for Canada? :)

[Ozz]

Mateo

I live in Winnipeg and it took us about 8 hours to get to Lutsen.
The area I am talking about is aprox. 2 hours east of Winnipeg, all three trails are on or around Hwy. # 1, which is the trans Canada Hwy. and all are within an hour from each other. All trails are a good days worth of riding as well.....

So you live in Lutsen ? or St.Paul?

[Mateo]

I live in Saint Paul, I just thought you might have remembered the milage, I drive like crazy, so I am hoping I could cut that time down some....

I also have a place to crash in International Falls, which is nice...

When would you guess the snow would be gone and the trails rideable in the spring?


Again, thanks for the info!

[Ozz]

I'm guessing the mileage would be roughly 425 miles from St.Paul to Winnipeg and then from Winnipeg to Falcon Lake is about 90 miles, Ingolf is about 20-30 miles from Falcon. Minaki is approx. 1/2 an hour north of Kenora, and Kenora is about 30 minutes East of Falcon Lake.
I would say the best time to ride these trails would be early summer, they are for the most part, are on Canadian shield. Canadian shield is rocky, slickrock....just like Moab, but we get a little more moisture than Moab does so it holds the water like a bathtub. Usually by June, depending on the amount of snow and spring showers we have had, the water is pretty well dried up...besides a little water can make it that much more challenging.
If you plan on coming up...we should keep in touch, I usually ride out there with some very good groups ranging in all skill levels, ages, male and FEMALE !!!! I'd be happy to show you the goods....

[Ozz]

What are you riding ?

[Ozz]

hey ....checked out your homepage.....nice stuff!

[Rocky Mountain]

The ride time from St. Paul to Lutsen is 5 hrs and then add 8 hrs to get to Winnepeg which would equal 13 hrs of total drive time.

For reference sake it takes 9-10 hrs to get to the Maah Dey Hey Trail which is on the West side of North Dakota and it is about
10 hrs to get to the Berryman Trail in Missouri.

What was not challenging about the Lutsen trails? I did not have 5 inches of suspension the last time I rode there but it was still really fun.

[Ozz]

Hmmmm....let me see....$$$$ for starters, I think it was around $40.00 U.S. to ride the lift. I don't think they know what trail maintenance means. The trails are short and unchallenging, aside from some neat little downhill stretches were you can get some speed up, my buddies computer clocked us at 71 kms/hour.
I just found it to be way to predictable and repetitive. Just flat outright flat!
I would love to do the Maah daah hey one day, I hear it's fabulous.
The trails I have mentioned above are by far more interesting, challenging and just plain better than Lutsen. They don't have the downhill speed of Lutsen but they do have a lot of technically challenging sections.
Minaki is my first choice, well worth driving to and spending a few days at. They have a really neat bed and breakfast there, as well as some fairly reasonable lodging not too far away.
www.minaki.ca

[ryno lite]

I come up with about 460 miles to Winnipeg from Minneapolis. It's been a couple years, but it seems like it only took me 7 maybe 8 hours to get there. Of course we would never go via Lutsen, too slow of roads and too far out of the way. So count on 7 if you're fast maybe 8 if your slow to Winnipeg. Sounds like an interesting extended weekend trip (5 days). Looks kind of nice up that way. What kind of trails are we talking about? Single track, fire road or wide trails? How many miles (or should I say kilometers) of trails are you talking about? Anyway you've peaked my interest also. I'll have to look into it!

[ryno lite]

Maybe I shouldn't talk about drive times, I seem to be make pretty good time and I never leave the vehicle except for gas so I can make good time. I usually make Medora, ND in about 8-8.5 hours. Still, I think it's safe to say you can make Winnipeg in 8 hours pretty easy.

It is really tempting cause I always have a great time in your great country and as you mentioned before, the exchange rate doesn't hurt either!

[ryno lite]

Checked out the Minaki website, looks like about 25 Km or 15.5 miles of trails on their maps. Kind of hard to see, so I could be missing some.

[Ozz]

Minaki is really cool.
It's run by Jordy and Nadene, two people who became sick of the rat race in the city, sold all thier wordly possesions and opened up what is now the Minaki Yurt Adventures.
They have lodging on the premises but it is crude, no electricity, no running water, back to basics so to speak. You can see pictures of the yurts on thier website. There is other lodging available in the area, a little more $ but not anything unreasonable. You can always stay in Kenora, about 1/2 hour drive, there you have all the conveniences (its a small city)
The trails, although not a great length, i think somewhere in the 15 to 20 mile range are very technical, very rooty and rocky....log bridges, ladders etc.a ton of good riding. The whole trail system in Minaki would be a very long, enjoyable day of riding, probably a good 7 or 8 hours, including a few breaks. I should also mention that the scenery is beautifull, both Jordy and Nadene are level 2 Mountain Bike coaches.
The beautifull thing is that if you do Minaki first....then on to Falcon Lake.....then on to Ingolf, that is one sweet mountain biking adventure week. You may want to give yourself a little rest after doing the first two rides.
If you people want anymore info on Falcon or Ingolf....just ask, Id be more than happy....

If you're coming next year maybe my gang and I will meet up with a few of you for some riding and a few refreshments....Ingolf is a place where you may want a guide to experience it fully.

What type of bikes are you guys riding? I spent this season on a Stumpjumper Full-Suspension, Going to buy the 2004 Rocky Mountain Switch SL for next season.

[Ozz]

Sorry......its definitly all singletrack, I hate fireroads and refuse to go out of my way to ride em. Some of the trails get wide enough at times to pass, not to ride two abreast for very long.
I think I can safely say if you took 5 days to come and ride the three trails I mentioned.......you'd be back next year with twice as many riders doing it
again.

[Kingbozo]

Still, I think it's safe to say you can make Winnipeg in 8 hours pretty easy.

7 1/2 tops. 94 to Fargo and then straight north from there.

[Ozz]

When my son played soccer in Blaine,Minn. I think I made it there in about 8 1/2 hours....safely!