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Trail
Event: 33rd Annual EelPout Festival
The 33rd Annual International Eelpout Festival is scheduled for
February 17-18, 2012. This "all-weather" angling event is held on
Leech Lake in Walker, MN. In addition to the fishing contest, this
uniquely Minnesota festival includes fun winter events such as the
Polar Pout Plunge and the Eel Pout 500 "on Ice" Auto Race.
Get more details.
Trail
Event: Back to Hack
Hackensack, MN is the place to be for winter fun January 27-29,
2012. Join us for Back to Hack, our annual snowmobile days
celebration. This year's theme is Winter Fun with Paul & Lucette.
Events include our Snowmobile Parade, Family Ice Fishing Paul
Bunyan Contest, PAMDA Penguin Plunge, Snow Sculptures and more!
Get more details.
Trail
Event: Antique Snowmobile Rendezvous
The Antique Snowmobile Rendezvous will take place January 20-22,
2012. The snowmobile show, trail ride and competitions take place at
Trailside Park in Pequot Lakes, MN. In addition to the trail ride,
vintage snowmobile show and rally, there is a Social Hour & bonfire
Friday evening as well as a Social Hour, Dinner and Style show on
Saturday Evening. An omlette breakfast will be held Sunday morning.
Visit
Brainerd.com for more details.
Trail
Event: Step Out - Walk to Stop Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association will be hosting its signature
fundraising event, Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes at the Paul
Bunyan Trailhead on Saturday, October 1st. There are 25.8 million
Americans living with diabetes, a disease that is outpacing heart
disease, cancer and AIDS. The cause of diabetes continues to be a
mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors appear to
play roles.
This event has a 1 mile walk or 3 mile walk that begins between
8:00am - 9:00am. Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes is filled with fun
for the entire family including: facepainting, the Pine Grove Zoo’s
Outreach Program, Goodie Bags, Door Prize Drawings, a light
breakfast and much more!
To pre-register for the event visit
www.diabetes.org/stepout or call 1-888-DIABETES x 6783. Day of
event registration is welcome. See you October 1st and thank you for
helping us Stop Diabetes!”
Trail Repairs: Partial Trail Closures
Fall 2011
The portion of the Paul Bunyan Trail from No Name Avenue on the
south side of Hackensack, north 7.8 miles to the Adirondack Shelter
in Chippewa National Forest, will be temporarily closed for asphalt
resurfacing. The trail closure will be in effect from Monday,
September 26, 2011 through the remainder of the fall. No alternate
route is available.
Trail Event: Ride with Jim 2011
Ride the Paul Bunyan Trail with Jim Oberstar Saturday, September
10, 2011.
Hosted by the Paul Bunyan Trail Association and
Brainerd Community Action, this year's ride will showcase the
original 50 miles that started the Paul Bunyan Trail.
The
ride will start at 8 a.m. at the Baxter/Brainerd trail head with
coffee, rolls and juice. From 8:30 -9:00 a.m. there will be a 15th
Anniversary Program with keynote speaker Oberstar, former Eight
District congressman.
Riders will leave the trail head at 9:00 a.m. There
will be a short program at 10:30 a.m. in Nisswa and at 11:15 a.m. in
Pequot Lakes. Lunch featuring hobo stew compliments fo the Pine
River Chamber of Commerce will be at noon in pine River. The ride
will end at 3:00 p.m. in Hackensack.
This is an informal, casual ride. No registration
fee is required. Riders are on their own. No sag wagon or shuttle
service is provided.
Trail Event: Terry's Ride
The Paul Bunyan Cyclists Bike Club invites others to enjoy any part
of the Paul Bunyan Trail this coming Saturday, August 27, 2011, in
honor of Terry McGaughey, founder of the trail.
There is no cost and no formal organization for Terry's Ride.
Participants can choose any section of the trail to ride.
Bikers interested in riding the northern portion of
the Paul Bunyan Trail from Walker to Bemidji, around Lake Bemidji
and back to Walker (Approx 80 miles) can find additional information
on the
Paul Bunyan Cyclists website.
Paul Bunyan Trail Receives
National Honor:
Rail-to-Trails Conservancy names Paul Bunyan State Trail to
Hall of Fame
February 25, 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This February,
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) announced the Paul Bunyan State
Trail as the newest member of the
Rail-Trail Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was established in
2007 to honor 25 outstanding rail-trails around the country. Out of
1,600 open rail-trails, and approximately 750 more in development,
Hall of Fame inductees are selected based on merits such as scenic
value, trail and trailside amenities, historical significance,
excellence in management and maintenance of facility, community
connections and geographic distribution.
The Paul Bunyan State Trail passes through 15 communities in
north-central Minnesota and extends 112 miles from the northern end
in Lake Bemidji State Park south to Brainerd's Northland Arboretum.
An extension on the southern end to Crow Wing State Park is set for
construction in 2012, and plans are under way to create an off-road
route through Bemidji. When these projects are completed, the Paul
Bunyan State Trail will become the longest continuously paved
rail-trail in the country. Currently, it is visited by more than
650,000 users a year and has become one of the premier state trails
in Minnesota.
"It's an awesome privilege to have a Hall of Fame trail here in
Minnesota. [The honor] will bring national attention, and bikers
from all over the country can come enjoy it," says Forrest Boe,
deputy director for the Division of Parks and Trails in the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which owns and
manages the trail.
The idea for the trail emerged in 1983 when the county lost its
90-year-old Burlington Northern rail line. The late Terry McGaughey,
a long-time trail advocate, saw the potential of a trail along the
corridor and committed himself to rallying local communities in
support of the project. Thanks in large part to the patience and
perseverance of McGaughey—who is seen as the "Father of the
Trail"—the Paul Bunyan State Trail has initiated a new sense of
community and tourism since the first section opened in 1988.
"When I think of the Paul Bunyan State Trail, I think of time and
space," says Jeff Ciabotti, vice president of trail development for
RTC. "While riding along this iconic rail-trail, time seems to slow
down and space seems ever expanding. From the start, Terry McGaughey
understood this allure and used it to help create an unforgettable
trail experience."
Twenty-one trails have been named to the Hall of Fame thus far. The
program will conclude on Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's 25th
Anniversary celebration on National Trails Day, June 4, 2011. For a
complete list of the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame designations and
stories, including a Trail of the Month feature on the Paul Bunyan
State Trail, visit RTC's website at
www.railstotrails.org.
Trail Event: Memorial Ride for Terry
Congressman Jim Oberstar and the Brainerd Community Action are
inviting everyone to join them for a Memorial Ride for Terry
McGaughey on the Paul Bunyan Trail October 16, 2010.
Terry was key in transforming the unused railroad bed into the
longest paved bike trail in Minnesota. Terry had a clear vision and
volunteered his efforts during the past 30 years to help make this
recreational trail available for everyone to enjoy. Everyone is
welcome to have lunch at the trail head in Baxter from 12-1:30 p.m.
The ride will go from Baxter to Nisswa for a short program (15-20
minutes) and then on to Pequot Lakes. Congressman Jim Oberstar will
speak at the Pequot Lakes Chamber office.
Trail Repairs: Trail Spot Repairs
Project to Cause Temporary, Partial Trail Closures
Segments of the Paul Bunyan Trail between Brainerd and Pine
River will be closed temporarily for repairs during all or part of
the period between Sept. 15 and Oct. 22, 2010, according to the
Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The first phase of the project consists of spot repairs in the
following locations:
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from the Baxter parking lot trail entrance to
Beaver Dam Road (two miles)
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from Smith Road to North Long Lake Road
(three-and-a-half miles)
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from CSAH 13 (Lake Hubert Road) to Clark Lake
Road (one mile).
The second phase of the project involves resurfacing
a four-mile stretch from Rosewood Lane, just south of Jenkins to
CSAH 115, two miles south of Pine River.
There is no short, safe, bike-friendly way around the project, so no
detour route has been designated.
Trail Event: Legislative Bike Ride
August 21, 2010
Celebrate the most recently paved section of the Paul Bunyan Trail
and
help raise legislative awareness about on-going Trail needs.
The bike ride will take place on the Paul Bunyan Trail segment from
Guthrie to Walker.
Trail Project:
Paving of the trail from Guthrie to Walker (completed in May 2010)
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