Minnesota Paul Bunyan Bike Tour

Welcome to the Northwoods of Minnesota and the land of 10,000 lakes!

The Paul Bunyan State Trail corridor travels through the boreal forests of the Northwoods, along more than 20 lakes and 10 rivers. This is also the longest continuously paved trail in the country, at just over 120 miles. You can expect mostly car-free riding along the 4 days on the Paul Bunyan State Trail.

Since lakes are the theme, we have set up some amazing lakeside hotels along your ride. You can expect to relax lakeside in the evenings and catch sunsets or even a sunrise for those early risers!

Day 1: The first part of this day will be shuttling to the northern terminus of the trail. We split that drive up by picking up guests that choose to drive to the tour and meet us at the southern terminus, Crow Wing State Park. After gathering the group, we’ll continue on to the town of Bemidji. From here we will take a ride circumnavigating Lake Bemidji, on a 16 mile ride. This will be a mix of protected lanes and road riding with views of the lake. The last few miles of this ride will take us through Lake Bemidji State Park and the first few miles of the Paul Bunyan State Trail. Upon finishing the ride, we’ll end up back at our lodging for the evening, Doubletree by Hilton Bemidji.  

Day 2:  After a tasty breakfast at the hotel, we’re off to ride the Paul Bunyan State Trail!  Today, we continue south through the Northwoods, as we make our way from Lake Bemidji to Leech Lake, the third largest lake in Minnesota with 195 miles of shore line. The town of Walker will greet us at the end of our ride, along the shores of the lake. The evening’s lodging will be at Chase on the Lake, sitting on the shores of Leech Lake. Let’s all hope for clear skies and a beautiful sunset and sunrise!

Day 3:  Waking up to the beauty of Leech Lake, we’ll grab a delicious breakfast and head back out to the trail! Today is the BIG day of riding, with 56 total miles and 1,451′ of climbing. We have arranged the option to shuttle around the first 23 miles of hilly terrain and get your day’s ride down to a manageable 33 miles. Those that are looking for more of a challenge can still tackle this extra bit of twisty, hilly riding! Once we finish our ride, we’ll take a short shuttle to Grand View Lodge Spa and Golf Resort for our night’s accommodations.
 

Day 4: Another great breakfast awaits us, then we take a short shuttle back to the trail to finish out the last miles of the Paul Bunyan State Trail! The town of Brainerd was the original ending of the trail, but a 2014 extension has taken the trail an additional 9 miles to Crow Wing State Park, now the southern terminus of the trail and our final destination of the tour.