Minnesota Trails

By Pamela Eyden - Outdoor Writer

Couples have their differences.  But Sid and Sig Scheurle share one big passion — exploring new and familiar places by bicycle.

The Winona couple met on the RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) 10 years ago. Sid had done the tour with her friends many times. Sig was a first-timer. They married the next December with their grown children gathered around and have been riding together ever since. Together they bike 3,000 to 3,500 miles every year.

“Biking is how we met, and it’s most of our recreation together,” Sid said.

A centennial.  One hundred years.  A benchmark unreached by many nonprofits, or for that matter any business.  Yet, in 2011 the St. Croix River Association celebrates one hundred years of attention and service to the waterway that defines this region of northwest Wisconsin and east central Minnesota.

The woodlands of north-central Minnesota have a mythical appeal. Legendary lumberjacks loom large around here. The forests are full of wildlife. It's the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," that look like ink spills on a map. 

Tucked away among the timbers is the long-striding Paul Bunyan State Trail, which rolls 112 miles from Lake Bemidji State Park on the northern end to Crow Wing State Park.

We have known this for a long time and now it is official.

         Last weeks wonderful little snow storm and a few dustings have officially started the 2010-2011 Nordic ski season.

 Much of the eastern park of the state from Winona to the Gunflint Trail has enough snow to ski.

Ken Pentel believes if you are going to run an ecological campaign for governor you should at least spend some of your campaign time traveling on a bike or in a canoe.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has obtained the exclusive right and option to purchase the former Minnesota Zephyr railroad line. The department intends to convert the line to a 6.5-mile recreational trail that would connect downtown Stillwater to the Gateway State Trail.

The riverside trail, linking the Mill Towns Trail to downtown Northfield, was dedicated to Maggie Lee, who cut the purple ribbon officially opening the trail.  

A long-awaited overlay of new asphalt is the focus of maintenance work on the Root River Trail this summer. Parts of the original trail are being rehabilitated between Fountain Lanesboro.