Trail Overview
This trail is classified as "Minimally Maintained" and consists of narrow, deep sand with rutted sections formed by vehicles passing through when the ground was wet. Once dried, these ruts can cause the vehicle to steer unexpectedly, requiring careful attention to avoid accidents. The route is mostly straight but does include a few curves and one large, deep puddle that must be crossed. It becomes more challenging and interesting in wet conditions. There are no formal or dispersed campsites along the trail, and amenities such as trash disposal and water are not available. Cell service may be limited in this area.
History
Covering more than 1.6 million acres of glacial lakes, red-pine uplands, and sphagnum bogs, Minnesota's Chippewa National Forest lets motorists experience the North Woods at an unrushed pace. Paved state highways soon yield to a lattice of numbered forest roads, most of them well-graded gravel that thread between kettle ponds and stands of towering white pine, the tree that helped earn the forest its 1908 designation as one of America's first national forests. The forest harbors one of the highest breeding densities of bald eagles in the continental United States, and patient drivers often glimpse loons, black bears, and white-tailed deer as they move from shoreline to clear-cut regrowth and back again.
