Memorial Trail

From MORC Wiki

Trail Name:	Memorial Trail
Trail Maps:	(see below)
Forum Link:	Forum
Land Manager:	City of Red Wing
Length:	~6 Miles
Lap:	N/A
Singlespeed Gear:	32x16
Toilet:	N/A
Water:	None
Physically:	Moderate to Extreme (depending on your loop)
Technically	Beginner to Advanced (or advanced+ for DH trail)

1 Getting There
2 History
3 The Details
4 Land Manager
5 Overall Impression
6 Trail Maps
7 Pictures & Multimedia

Getting There

From the cities (Eagan Area) hop on MN-55/US-52 South. Take the MN-50/MN-56 ramp toward Kenyon/Farmington and turn left onto 240th St. (E/MN-50). 240th turns into US-61. (You can also take US-61 South to Redwing) Head right into downtown Redwing and hang a right on US-63/Plum Street. Turn Left onto 7th Street and the park will be on your right about a half mile down the road.

Climb up skyline drive. Be careful driving on these roads as they are all two way, and often you will find local teens racing up and down the road. There are many parking options. Locals tend to park just after the road splits to go towards the Lower Quarry. This lends easier access to the "start" of the trail and tends to be more in the open, so more secure in my mind. You can also park up by the disc golf course for on paved area parking. The lower quarry parking lot is the third option. It is Red Wing afterall, so you should be safe leaving your car there for a few hours. This is a hangout spot for local youth, so lock up the car and hide valuables just to be safe. See the maps below for more details.

Note: Early in the season the city keeps the gate shut to protect the asphalt on Skyline Drive. Most of the time there are 2-3 weeks minimum of good early season riding to be had. For these times you can either park by the Mississippi National driving range/parking lot and climb up from there. You could park in Colville Park and make the climb up the road. Or you could park downtown somewhere and climb up the "Cowpath". Either way is a great warmup to a fun ride. Good to test those winter legs. In the off season (gates closed) the local park at the golf course driving range. This give the closet access.

History

There have been cross-country ski trails that wrap all around Sorin's Bluff for a long time. Eventually a couple of young whippersnappers (Chris Gustafson and Kris Henke) decided to try and get this mountain bike thing going and approached the city. They cleared a bunch of singletrack that essentially followed deer trails and made sure they connected up with the ski trails. Viola. Most of the older trails up on the bluff were done 10-15 years ago, which was before the time of widely adopted IMBA and other standards (so there are some cupped trails, and climbs/descents down the fall line) but for the most part in recent years any new trail has been built with an eye toward sustainability, while trying to stay true to the trails true roots and feel.

more to come.... mainly about the MNSCS race and the new bike club...

The Details

Memorial Trail is definitely worth the drive south from the cities. This trail has some great technical sections if you know where to find them. There are lung busting climbs around almost every corner, but they are all well worth the effort.

Since the Memorial park trails are multi use (hiking, biking and XC skiing) they vary from singletrack to wide doubletrack. There is a belt of doubletrack that follows the north side of the bluff and then returns on the edge of the south side. The flow of the bike trails is clockwise with the entry on your left as you enter the first open area. The flow of hiking traffic is often counter to this on the double track, so you need to be cautious and courteous of hikers and their dogs.

As with many trails in the area, signage is an issue. They do have numbers along the trail (if you can find them) as well as slightly outdated trail maps along the way. The entrance to the trail itself is poorly marked - you can see two trails leading away from the parking lot. Don't take the trail that leads between the poles. You want to take the one that looks more like regular gravel doubletrack. Just a short distance down this trail you will reach a fence blocking the road. Ride around the fence to the left and you are on the trail. It is suggested that you ride the trail clockwise, and is numbered as such. This is a trail that will present a number of choices which let you build a different ride with each lap. Be sure to pick up a map at one of their local bike shops, or print out the map shown below. Unlike most trails which are severely lacking in this area, Memorial has numbers and names on it to help keep you on track. The names and numbers are also used in our review, so it is a good idea to also reference this map from this point on.

Much of the first section of trail called "Highway 61 Revisited" is just overgrown doubletrack ski trail that winds around the bluffs. You can get some good speed on these sections, but the views are mostly obscured by trees. At trail number 1 you will reach your first trail choice with the option of taking the easy "All Along The Watchtower" or the more advanced (and much more interesting) "Crazy On You".

You will then wind your way down "Radar Love" to trail number 2, where you are again presented with a decision: take the easy way to the right to trail number 5, or take the more difficult and challenging route down towards the golf course. You won't find this route on most new maps. Part of the land is owned by the Minnesota correctional facility and they aren't as open to bike trails as the city of Red Wing is. The deer keep the trail visible, but it is not generally maintained.

The pictures above and to the left show the "expert only" decent down to the golf course, but is well worth having to climb all the way back up. There is no alternate trail, but intermediate riders can easily walk their bike down this section of trail.

Once you reach the golf course, you will find yourself taking a paved golf cart trail back up the hill until you see singletrack to your right. Don't miss this turn-off or you will end up at the driving range! (see photo to the right) This is a long and sustained climb back up to trail number 2, with a "pay me now or pay me later" decision (immediate climb to your right, or another drop down and climb up to your left) at trail number 4.

Back at trail number 2 you will start working your way up another climb. If you opt not to take those two trails, you will find yourself with a slow climb up "Crosstown Traffic" up into an open field and back towards the road that leads to the parking lot. The trail "Southern Cross" and a super lung busting rocky climb called "Stairway to Heaven" (see photo below) will be on your left at trail number 5. (Stay sharp to avoid missing this must-ride trail, as the trail number 5 sign is hard to spot.) If you opt not to take those two trails, you will find yourself with a slow climb up "Crosstown Traffic" up into an open field and back towards the road that leads to the parking lot.

As you climb back out of "Stairway to Heaven" will find yourself in the open field area. Continue straight ahead with the woods on your left or take a loop around the meadow to the double track that disects the largest meadow on the bluff. Both routes will lead you to the trail that leads down towards the Arch bridge and the Quarry area. (One of many old sandstone quarries on the bluff) On this trail, you have many options. The first is a trail that heads to your right almost right away (Lay Down Sally). This is a beginner to Intermediate trail. If you choose to stay on the trail instead, you will soon come across the arch bridge. At the arch bridge you have 3 options. Take a right and take either of two tracks that lead up to "Lay Down Sally". Take a left and you will take a short trail that ends up in the meadow near the top of Stairway to Heaven or throw caution to the wind and go straight following the trail under the arch bridge down the gully into the Quarry. The descent into the Quarry and the two options to climb back out are probably is the most technical trails that the Memorial trail system has to offer. After winding around in the quarry, just after the high catwalk you will come to a fork in the trail. The trail to the right is called 2112 and heads west along the south side of the bluff parallel to "Lay Down Sally". The trail to the left is called "My Ding-a-ling" and climbs back up to the arch bridge where you will cross the gully and meet up with "Lay Down Sally" again.

The trail "Lay Down Sally" takes you along some winding hillside singletrack with some really great views along the way. (see photo to right) This section of trail will make you think you are out in Colorado vs. Minnesota.

You will exit this trail at number 7, at which point you can go left to the road that leads to the parking lot or take yet another "don't-miss" section of trail called "Henke's Hollow" and "Margueritaville" that contains some great twisting and turning trail with a few log piles and jumps thrown in for good measure. This fun section of trail will exit at trail number 0, where you can climb back in and do the loop all over again, or you can take a sharp left turn and head back to the parking lot to cool down before you ride it all over again.

Many thanks go out to the local trail crew for their continued efforts on this trail. They are taking what could be a fairly dull doubletrack ride and built what some may see as one of the premiere trails in the entire area. We hope to provide contact information for the trail crew in Red Wing once we get more information.

The local club is working on signage and hopes to have something in place this summer

Land Manager

The trails on Sorin Bluff are part of Soldiers Memorial Park (or just Memorial Park) and is owned by the city of Red Wing. The trail system is maintained by the Red Wing Area Mountain Bikers club.

Overall Impression

As mentioned earlier, this trail is definitely worth the trip! There is a little of everything waiting for you on this trail. The various options available allow you to build your own ride that will have you putting this trail on your list of "must ride again" trails permanently. Fast flowing trails, tight technical singletrack, breathtaking views, long climbs, great obstacles - this trail has it all and more. If you haven't ridden Memorial Trail, you are missing out on one of the premiere trails in our area. If you have ridden it, I'm sure it is already in your plans for a return visit.