Ironton, Minnesota – Cayuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trail Network

By cbatstone, September 19, 2013

 

The Trail Network in Ironton was developed in 2011 as a way to bring new commerce to the area, has been a wild success.  The well thought out trail system is built upon a foundation of Clay and Iron tailings which make an ideal, durable surface for riding.  The network has several sub-sections, and after finishing a 3 hour ride in the main area, we headed up to Yawkey Mine Lake to explore some of the most technical trails of the network.

How Vermont Mountain Biking Trails Influenced this Trail Network in Minnesota

Throughout our ride we ended up meeting several influential people on bikes that were local advocates of the trail system and whom were actively working on future trail plans and expansion and improvement of the network, as well as tending relationship with the state who owns the land.  We learned that during the initial proposal and planning phases of the trail system that was built around the lakes of the old Mine, video conferences were done with both the Barre, VT Rock of the Ages Mountain Biking Trails Committee as well as with representatives from the North East Kingdoms’ Kingdom Trails network.  They discussed how their respective areas were rehabilitated into a Mountain Biking mecca as a result of the development.  This is often a difficult concept for towns to get behind, as many do not have an understanding of mountain biking culture nor how it can help to rejuvenate the local economy in the region.  The NEK trail system discussed this point, while the Rock of the Ages folks discussed how they built their trails on top of the old granite mine.

Way to go Vermont!

We were not dissapointed, check out some of our pictures.

 

Local  Bike Club Website

Trail Map

9-17-13_Cuyuna Biking and Crow Wing Camping on the Mississippi
Youtube Videos of the Park

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