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Bicycling the Bunyan

A long trail cuts through the heart of Minnesota lakes country.

It's as wide as seven axhandles and a plug of tobacco, and as smooth as a flapjack griddle.

It unfurls over a landscape dotted with lakes created, according to north-woods legend, by the tracks of a giant lumberjack and his faithful blue ox.

It's the Paul Bunyan State Trail, and it links Minnesota's main Bunyan shrines: Brainerd, where a winking, talking Paul welcomed generations of tourists to "Paul Bunyan's Playground'' until it was moved to a nearby theme park in 2003. Hackensack, where a midget Paul Jr. waves next to his behemoth mother, Lucette Diana Kensack. Bemidji, where a stern 18-foot Paul started the colossus fad in 1937.

Akeley, whose 33-foot kneeling Paul is the biggest of them all, is three miles west on the nearby Heartland Trail, which meets the Bunyan along Minnesota 34.

Some day, the Bunyan will stretch more than 100 miles, from Bemidji in the north to Crow Wing State Park, just south of Brainerd. From the northern trailhead, only 7½ miles are paved, but they're a beauty, hugging the eastern shore of Lake Bemidji and crossing the Mississippi River as it heads east.

The paved section of the trail resumes in Walker, where the Bunyan heads west, sharing the Heartland Trail, then turns south, plunging into Chippewa National Forest on a nine-mile up-and-down stretch that local bicyclists call "the Pyrenees.''

I rode it once on an organized bike tour and was just behind a rider who took one of its hairpin turns too fast, went flying off the trail into a tree and had to be air-lifted to Fargo. The next time I rode it, I kept my hand on my brakes.

One August I kept riding south through Hackensack, which has a small downtown that's missed by anyone zooming through on Minnesota 371. In Hackensack, that's a shame: There's a small beach and a fishing pier on Birch Lake, a playground and, of course, the voluptuous Lucette, Paul's sweetheart.

In late summer, the trail was thick with wildflowers: prairie thistle, gayfeather, the vivid yellows of tansy and goldenrod. On a nearby meadow, a farmer was baling hay; ahead, an in-line skater approached with the wind at his back and a blissful look on his face.

Cattails announced the wetlands around Beuber Lake, and the scent of raspberries wafted into my nostrils. Bushes were laden with ripe berries, so I popped a handful into my mouth before continuing on the sumac-lined stretch to Backus.

There was another beach in Backus, in a small city park on Pine Mountain Lake, a block west of the town's old brick storefronts. From Backus, the stretch to Pine River is the trail's least attractive; it follows the highway and is unshaded, making it hot on a summer day.

So in Pine River, I rode through town to a little sand-bottom swimming area on the river, next to a grove of red pines with a Lincoln Log pavilion. Pine River is an interesting town, with a flourishing main street that includes a bakery and cafes.

The trail continues along the highway until three miles north of Pequot Lakes, where it ducks behind sheltering trees. Pequot, famous for its fishing-bobber water tower, is split into two downtowns: the old-fashioned side where the locals shop and the tourist side of boutiques and galleries. The big log Silver Creek Traders is a tourist outpost, full of gourmet foodstuffs and upscale furnishings for vacation homes.

The stretch south to Nisswa was peaceful, though busier, and sometimes I could hear the highway on the other side of the trees. East Twin Lake appeared on my left, blue and inviting, then Lower Cullen Lake. I could see a beach on its far side, but none along the trail; as it turns out, there are no public swimming areas near the trail south of Pine River.

Then I passed a shady city park and emerged into downtown Nisswa, which was in the middle of a Crazy Days sidewalk sale. I looked around the little town in the middle of the woods — no houses, just a collection of shops shops. I didn't begrudge Nisswa its milling mob; in winter, most of the shops have to go into hibernation.

And even above the hubbub, I could hear the trill of a loon. Heading south away from the highway, I rode deep into the heart of lake country, where I got a rare glimpse at the maze of roads between the tiny mom-and-pop resorts that still draw people back year after year.

It was early evening, and the crickets were making a racket. I rode through grassy fields occupied only by power lines, then past Mollie and North Long lakes and the Train Bell Resort in Merrifield. The last stretch into Brainerd was a corridor of green, with the trail sandwiched between a golf course and Northland Arboretum.

A pack of women passed me, riding hard. In the draft, I heard one of them say, "Seeing that Mile 1 marker makes the whole trip worth it.''

Trip Tips: Paul Bunyan State Trail

Bicycling: The trail starts in Baxter at Northland Arboretum, along Excelsior Road just off Minnesota 371. The 15 miles to Nisswa is the trail's quietest stretch. After Nisswa, the trail follows 371, separated by trees, until three miles north of Pequot Lakes, where it loses its tree cover until Backus. The seven miles from Backus to Hackensack and the nine up-and-down miles through national forest, nicknamed the Pyrenees, are the most scenic.

It meets the Heartland Trail on the north side of Minnesota 34, 2½ miles east of Akeley. It shares the next 7¾ miles to Walker, through woods and bogs, with the Heartland.

On the west side of Walker, the trail goes under Minnesota 371, to a short spur that deposits bicyclists in downtown Walker, a stone's throw from the municipal pier on Leech Lake. On the other side of downtown, there's a sand beach in City Park.

The trail from Baxter to Walker, including the stretch on the Heartland, is 71 miles.

At the Bunyan's northern trailhead from Lake Bemidji State Park, a 7 ½-mile paved stretch follows the eastern shore of Lake Bemidji. Bicyclists can keep riding around the lake on another 10 miles of city streets and sidewalks, a very pleasant loop.

Or they can keep riding south to a new, 11½-mile section of the Paul Bunyan State Trail. Two miles of  city streets connect with the new stretch, which winds through the woods to Guthrie.

Maps: Print out a map from the DNR web site or from www.paulbunyantrail.com.

Staying along the Bunyan: For more on lodging, dining, shopping and festivals along the trail, see Fishing in Walker and Fast times in Nisswa.

For more on fall trips in the area, see Autumn at the lake.

Last updated on August 9, 2009