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where to go in Minn. for good trail network



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 1st 03, 05:32 PM
Mark Eastman
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Default where to go in Minn. for good trail network

I am thinking of giving Minnesota a look during the first week in January
for groomed cross country trail networks. Several years ago I tried the
Gunflint area....it was pretty good...but I am looking for something
different. I have heard some people mention the Lutsen area....would that
be worth checking out? I am guessing that the Upper Midwest might be looked
at favorably by the snow gods this year....based on some early weather
forecasts.

I live in California, but make it a yearly tradition to go some place out of
state for a week of skiing. Any suggestions?

Mark


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  #2  
Old November 1st 03, 11:33 PM
Jay Tegeder
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Default where to go in Minn. for good trail network

The North Shore Nordic Trail System at Lutsen and Tofte has over 100
kilometers of skiing so that would be a good choice. If you want
backcountry, there are tons of forest roads in the area too since it
is right in the Superior National Forest.

Giant's Ridge at Biwabik on the Iron Range, 1 hour north of Duluth,
would be another great spot. They held a World Cup race there in '85.
The place has over 60 kilometers of great skiing.

North of the Border, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada offers lots of great
skiing choices such as Lappe and Kamview. Your dollar will go a long
way there too.

A trip you might consider if you have time is to start in Duluth,
Minnesota and ski Snowflake and a few other local areas. Then cruise
down to Telemark in Cable, Wisconsin and ski the World Class Trails
(55Ks) plus the Bikrie Trail 50 kilometers. Then, drive over to the
Western U.P of Michigan and ski ABR and Wolverine in Ironwood. I think
you can get to Ironwood in 2 hours from Duluth by car. You could try
out the Penokee Range, Montreal and Ullr (?) trails in Wisconsin
between Ironwood and Telemark.

Jay Tegeder
"Keep training, lycra never lies!" JT


"Mark Eastman" wrote in message nk.net...
I am thinking of giving Minnesota a look during the first week in January
for groomed cross country trail networks. Several years ago I tried the
Gunflint area....it was pretty good...but I am looking for something
different. I have heard some people mention the Lutsen area....would that
be worth checking out? I am guessing that the Upper Midwest might be looked
at favorably by the snow gods this year....based on some early weather
forecasts.

I live in California, but make it a yearly tradition to go some place out of
state for a week of skiing. Any suggestions?

Mark

  #3  
Old November 1st 03, 11:44 PM
Greg Fangel
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Default where to go in Minn. for good trail network

"Mark Eastman" wrote in message nk.net...
I am thinking of giving Minnesota a look during the first week in January
for groomed cross country trail networks. Several years ago I tried the
Gunflint area....it was pretty good...but I am looking for something
different. I have heard some people mention the Lutsen area....would that


Mark,

You've picked the best area of Minnesota to check out. Over 300km of
groomed trails available on the North Shore of Lake Superior and up
the Gunflint Trail.
In the Tofte/Lutsen area we have some great trails. Check out the 65km
Sugarbush Trails network near Tofte/Lusten. www.sugarbushtrail.org
Click on "trail map" on the left side of the page.

The Pincusion Trails near Grand Marais are great. They have about 25k
or so. http://www.pincushionbb.com/skiing.htm

The trails at Cascade Lodge state park are some of the better ones
also. 65k of trails in that system.

Contact me if you need more detailed information. My wife and I have a
place near Tofte, right next to the 65k of trails at Sugarbush.

Most trails are groomed for skating and classical and the trails on
the North Shore have Pisten Bully grooming for the deep snow and
snowmobile grooming for low snow.

Greg Fangel
  #4  
Old November 1st 03, 11:49 PM
Chequama Mama
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Default where to go in Minn. for good trail network


A trip you might consider if you have time is to start in Duluth,
Minnesota and ski Snowflake and a few other local areas. Then cruise
down to Telemark in Cable, Wisconsin and ski the World Class Trails
(55Ks) plus the Bikrie Trail 50 kilometers. Then, drive over to the
Western U.P of Michigan and ski ABR and Wolverine in Ironwood. I think
you can get to Ironwood in 2 hours from Duluth by car. You could try
out the Penokee Range, Montreal and Ullr (?) trails in Wisconsin
between Ironwood and Telemark.

Ironwood is probably close to 2.5 hours from Duluth, but you crazy
minnesota drivers...

Duluth to Cable (telemark) is probably around 1-1.5 hours. Telemark to
Valhalla (by washburn and worth checking out) is another 1-1.5.
Finally, valhalla to ironwood would be another 1.5 hours or so. If
you're going through Ashland (between cable and ironwood) at all. I'd
reccomend eating at either the Deepwater Grille or the Black Cat Coffee
House. If you do look into swinging through northern wisconsin, let me
know. I can definitely help you out with more places to try out. Other
probably know more about minnesota than I do though.

paul

  #5  
Old November 2nd 03, 12:20 AM
Lew Lasher
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Default where to go in Minn. for good trail network

Jay Tegeder wrote:

North of the Border, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada offers lots of great
skiing choices such as Lappe and Kamview. Your dollar will go a long
way there too.


At the risk of moving this thread off the topic of Minnesota (although the answers so far seem to have done an excellent job
of answering Mark's question), are there other good places to ski in Ontario east of the Thunder Bay area. Recently I have
been fantasizing about someday circumnavigating Lake Superior, and there seem to be lots of great places to ski in
Michigan's UP, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, but it looks like a long, long way between Thunder Bay and Sault Sainte Marie.

Lew Lasher
Cambridge, Massachusetts and Stowe, Vermont


  #6  
Old November 2nd 03, 02:58 PM
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Default where to go in Minn. for good trail network

It's 440 miles between Thunder Bay and S.S. Marie. I assume you weren't
planning to ski it! I'd like to get the time to bike it. The paved
shoulders on the highway look pretty reasonable. Has anyone on this
newsgroup biked any of that part of the transcanada?

Best, Peter




  #7  
Old November 2nd 03, 04:32 PM
Lew Lasher
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Default where to go in Minn. for good trail network

It's 440 miles between Thunder Bay and S.S. Marie. I assume you weren't
planning to ski it!


No, I meant as part of a ski+drive vacation: stopping off somewhere and
enjoying the skiing for a day or two, then driving for, say, 2-3 hours to
some other place that's worth staying over for the skiing. The shore of
Lake Superior, clockwise from SSM to TB seems to lend itself to this sort
of vacation, but then I can't think of what to do next after Thunder Bay.

Lew Lasher
Cambridge, Massachusetts and Stowe, Vermont


  #9  
Old November 3rd 03, 12:08 PM
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Default Biking TCH ; was: where to go in Minn. for good trail network

Thanks for the reply, David. We were up there this summer, not biking,
but only from S.S. Marie to White River (just a bit more than the
part you missed), so it may be stil pretty poor cycling west of
there. The northern route of TCH has less traffic I think, but
narrower shoulders on Kapuskasing--Cochrane--etc. part, and less
interesting scenery I think.

Best, Peter
 




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