Headwaters to Hills Highlights

 

Camping/Hotel Information

Day 1 – Pine Ridge Campground, 2 tents/site – Itasca State Park (Showers are in the campground)

Day 2 – City Park – Walker, swimming beach (Showers are 4 blocks away at the Community Center)

Day 3 – Crow Wing State Park Campground, 2 tents/site– just south of Brainerd, on the Mississippi River (Showers in the campground)

Day 4 – Clearwater RV Park and Campground – Clearwater – outdoor heated pool, game room, horseshoes, volleyball court, groceries, and laundromat

Day 5 – Hotel 340 – St. Paul – Mid Tour Rejuvenate!! Downtown location, walk to restaurants, bars, hotel has indoor pool/health club = $10 fee

Day 6 – Bay Point Park – Red Wing, on the Mississippi River with easy walk to downtown (Showers are in the park)

Day 7 – Prairie Island Campground – Winona, swimming beach on the Mississippi, canoe rental, general store, (Showers in camp)

If you are interested in hotels in the area, please contact us for recommendations. There is no credit if you choose to stay at hotels along the tour.

The Route Highlights

Please be prepared for and comfortable with the below mileage.

Highlights in Itasca – canoe and paddleboard rentals, hike to the fire tower, tour the Brower Visitor Center to learn about the CCC or the Douglas Lodge built in 1905, pedal the 10 mile Wilderness Loop, just relax and listen for loons, local historian and Mississippi naturalist Terry Larson will speak after dinner. Itasca State Park

• Oldest State Park established in 1891 • Schoolcraft discovered the headwaters is 1832 • Some of the oldest stands of Norway and white pine in MN • The 4,600 mile North Country Trail cuts through Itasca from NY to ND

Day 1 – Itasca to Walker – 64 miles • Highlights today – Participate in the MRT ribbon-cutting ceremony at the

Headwaters, enjoy pedaling in the Northwoods, visit Paul Bunyan and Babe and adjoining Visitor Center, Beltrami Museum at the Depot, purchase locally harvested wild rice, enjoy the Paul Bunyan State Trail into Walker, relax on Leech Lake, the 3rd largest lake in MN.

Bemidji - The first city on the Mississippi River was established in 1896. Shaynowishkung, Chief Bemidji was the first to greet settlers in 1888. Lake Bemidji means “lake with cross waters” as the Mississippi River cut through the lake

• Paul Bunyan and Babe, the Blue Ox were built in 1937 • Home to Bemidji State University with 5,000 students • Notice the locally made art sculptures as you pedal through town

Walker – With a current population of 928, Walker was named after logging giant Thomas Walker in 1896. Torn down in 2010, the Ah-Gwah-Ching (Ojibway for out-of-doors) Center was built in 1907 and served 14,000 tuberculosis patients before it closed in 1962.

• A summer resort location and home to the Paul Bunyan, Heartland, and Shingobe Trails • Walk to town and enjoy the unique shops • Home to Leech Lake Brewing – “because paradise requires a brewery” • International Eelpout Festival every February

Day 2 – Walker to Crow Wing State Park – 76 miles Highlights today – Pedal the new Shingobe trail, visit the Pine River Depot and Museum, or take your picture wearing Paul Bunyan’s baby boots at the Information Center, stop at Jack Pine Brewing or Northland Arboretum in Brainerd Pine River - The founder, George Barclay, was owner of Barclay’s Trading Post. As home to many white pines, the Pine River, and the Norway Brook – it was a hub of trading, travel, and logging. Pequot Lakes - Home of the famous fishing bobber water tower Brainerd - Population 14,000 and Crow Wing County Seat, founded by Zebulon Pike of Pike’s Peak fame in 1805. and named after the Northern Pacific RR president’s wife, Anne Brainerd

• In 1933, the First National Bank of Brainerd became famous when held up by Baby Face Nelson and his gang

• Famous for the Brainerd International Raceway built in 1968 Crow Wing State Park is the remains of an 1800’s town at the confluence of the Mississippi and Crow Rivers which was popular for fur traders. Crow Wing slowly declined, when James J Hill moved the RR to Brainerd.

• Canoe rentals are available • Visit Clement Beaulieu’s home, owner of the American Fur Company in the area

Day 3 – Crow Wing State Park to Clearwater – 78 miles Highlights today – Camp Ripley Gate and Walls, Lindberg State Park, the Graves Family History at Bend in River Regional Park near Rice, Munsinger Park and Clemens Gardens in St. Cloud Little Falls – Established in 1848 with a current population of about 8,500 people this town is known for being the boyhood home of aviator Charles Lindberg. The falls on the Mississippi were used to power saw mills, but now a dam creates hydroelectric power for the city and surrounding area. Near Little Falls is the Lake Wobegon Trail that celebrates Garrison Keillor’s imaginary town.

• Visit Charles A Lindberg State Park and the adjacent museum St Cloud – was the main crossroad for the Red River Trails that were a network of ox cart routes connecting North Dakota, Canada, and St. Paul with the head of navigation being the Mississippi River from 1820 to 1870 until the RR arrived.

• Stearns History Museum • Home of St Cloud State University, the 2nd largest public university in MN • Over 30 islands on the Mississippi river here make up the Beaver Islands • The city owns a hydroelectric dam on the river that provides power to the city

Day 4 – Clearwater to St Paul – 76 miles Highlights today – we officially enter 72 miles of national park pedaling through the Twin Cities, Boom Island, Nicollet Island, the Stone Arch Bridge over the St Anthony Falls, Lock and Dam #1, Mill City Ruins, the Minnehaha Falls, Fort Snelling and Fort Snelling State Park. Dayton – at the confluence of the Mississippi River and Crow River we enter the National Park Service’s Mississippi River National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) Minneapolis – founded on the east side of the river as St. Anthony Village in 1861, it was annexed as Minneapolis in 1887. With access to the power St. Anthony falls generated, it grew due to three main industries; logging, textiles, and grain – including the infamous Gold Medal Flour.

• Now home to major league sports teams the Timberwolves and Twins • Mill City Museum Tour • Guthrie Theater – stop in and enjoy views from the cantilevered lobby known as the

Endless Bridge St Paul – Our capitol city and home now to NHL WILD hockey and the brand new CHS Field for the American Association Baseball League’s St. Paul Saints.

• MN History Center • Science Museum of MN – which houses the Mississippi River Visitor Center • State Capitol • Cathedral of St Paul

Day 5 – St. Paul to Red Wing – 55 miles

Highlights today – National Park Service ribbon cutting for the MRT within MNRRA, cross the 525 foot longest free standing, tied-arch span bridge in Hastings, the “hills” part of the trip begins as we reach the bluff country, visit Red Wing Shoes, and Red Wing Pottery. Hastings – With a current population of about 22,000, this is the county seat for Dakota County and a river town that brought many settlers via steamboats to take advantage of the logging and flours milling in the area. The name was selected by drawing a name out of a hat by the original founders.

• Home of Lock and Dam #2 • Vermillion River runs through town and into the Mississippi – official end of the MNRRA • Hastings and Allina Health have developed a new bike share system to promote a

healthy city Red Wing – The county seat for Goodhue County with a current population around 16,000, it was named after Sioux Chief, Red Wing, a friend of the United States during the War of 1812. Treasure Island Casino is nearby and part of the Prairie Island Indian Reservation.

• Home to the Cannon Valley multi-use trail that runs east/west to Cannon Falls • Red Wing Pottery founded in 1861 when the clay was discovered near Hay Creek • See the 16’ tall size 638-D boot at the Red Wing Shoe Museum • Peek into the St. James Hotel built in 1875 • Visit the Tourism Office/RR Depot/Information Center downtown – Amtrak Stop • Pass the historic Romanesque style MN Correctional Facility which was built in 1889 and

can house up to 111 juveniles. It was also the subject of a Bob Dylan song called, “Walls of Red Wing”.

Day 6 – Red Wing to Winona – 70 miles • Highlights today – the bluffs continue as we enjoy amazing views of the river and

have our hilliest day with a total of 4,727 feet of up and down elevation change. View Lock and Dam #4 and #5, sit and enjoy Lake Pepin, visit Pepin Heights Apple Orchard, watch the eagle show at the National Eagle Center, climb the 600 steps at John A. Latsch State Park for amazing views of the river valley.

Lake City • Lake Pepin is the 1922 birthplace of waterskiing • Home to the Haralson apple

Reads Landing • Home of Wabasha County History Museum • Read’s Landing Brewing Company

Wabasha • Home to the 1993 film Grumpy Old Men • National Eagle Center

Kellogg • Kellogg - Weaver Dunes Scientific and Natural Area

Day 7 – Winona to New Albin, Iowa – 58 miles. Highlights today – This is our second hilliest day with a change in elevation of 3,910. Be prepared for our biggest hill today when we turn onto County Road 3 on our way to Great

River Bluffs State Park. Visit Winona’s Historic District and the MN Marine Art Museum in Winona (open at 10am), Great River Bluffs State Park, Apple Blossom Scenic Byway, wineries, apple orchards, view Lock and Dam #6 and #7, and travel through the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife & Fish Refuge. We will celebrate the completion of our week together on the MRT! Apple Blossom Scenic Byway – a variety of wineries and apple orchards. La Crescent – known as the "Apple Capital of Minnesota" because John S. Harris planted the first apple trees in the Midwest here. Following the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Nathan Boone, youngest son of Daniel Boone was among the early surveyors of this area. New Albin – Named for the son of a RR investor, the town blossomed to a population of 683 in the 20’s after the Chicago, Dubuque, and Minnesota RR ran through this area in 1872. Milt Gantenbein, a Green Bay Packer from 1931-1940 was born in New Albin, Iowa, in 1910.