Trail Overview
This trail winds its way between two lakes and passes several attractive lakeside homes, many of which feature private jetties. Due to the residential presence, traffic on the trail can be fairly frequent, particularly during busy times of the day or season. There is also a campsite located along the route, which adds to the volume of vehicles. The surface of the trail is noticeably corrugated in places, likely a result of the consistent local traffic. The trail continues through a forested area and includes several muddy puddles, especially after rainfall. A number of smaller trails branch off into the forest, including several that are designated as experimental loop trails. While a campground is present, the main trail does not offer dispersed camping areas. Amenities such as trash disposal and drinking water are not available along the route, and cell phone service may be limited depending on location.
Difficulty
This trail is well-maintained and regularly used by other OHV riders, road users, including residents in the 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.
