John’s Top 15 Trail

Minnesota Cuyuna Lakes, Ironton Having been listed as the top trail in Minnesota for two years running, this became a mandatory stop for me on my Upper Midwest tour this year. The area is divided into a few geographically separated networks, each of which is rather compact, so putting together an epic ride requires some …

By John Fisch
January 5, 2016 Last Updated: August 6, 2024

7 comments

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Minnesota

Cuyuna Lakes, Ironton

Cuyuna Lakes is a great place to bob and weave through the trees (photo: RoadWarrior).

Having been listed as the top trail in Minnesota for two years running, this became a mandatory stop for me on my Upper Midwest tour this year. The area is divided into a few geographically separated networks, each of which is rather compact, so putting together an epic ride requires some less than interesting connecting trails, but each individual collection of singletrack has a very high fun factor. The climbs are easy and the payoff quick, making this a great place to pick a network and loop laps until your heart’s content.

Brewer Park / Piedmont, Duluth

Wherever possible, the Brewer Park trail incorporates native granite to the delight of mountain bikers (photo: Dylan Thomas).

Either of these two rides alone would be a worthy addition to this list. The fact that they can be combined by merely taking a quick dirt connector under the highway which divides them makes it all the sweeter. Piedmont is a classic, old school network which wanders through the tight and twisty woods over numerous rock gardens with little concern for flow—you make your own flow here. Brewer Park is more new school, which does an excellent job of incorporating natural features into a thoughtfully-designed loop. Putting the two together offers the best of both worlds and provides the rider with a wonderfully diverse and satisfying ride.

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7 Comments

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Jared13 California // 2011
Jan 6, 2016

I'm absolutely STOKED you were able to ride Muskrat! We have a lot of great trails in Montana, but Muskrat is definitely my favorite. The climb is unrelenting, but you quickly forget about it just a few feet into that 7-mile descent!

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k2rider California // 2013
Jan 5, 2016

I've been to (5) of the places on your list...Idylwild and Noble Canyon are regular haunts and while I love Sedona and have done Hangover once, I won't be doing that again anytime soon. I rode 98% of it but even walking a couple sections was sketchy. You're right though, the views are truly epic and the reason I continue to return to Sedona.

mongwolf Mongolia // 2011
Jan 5, 2016

Okay, now for the other thoughts. First, my favorite photo ... ... Miniskibum at the bottom of Noble Canyon ... ... that bloody knee is classic. Second (Idyllwild), way to go wearing with pride your Colorado jersey in California. =) Third, Muskrat and East Tensleep sound a bit like the riding here in Mongolia -- remote, ungroomed trails that can be rock strewn and can just disappear for a while. You can get some amazing speed, but you also never know what the trail is going to do next; big powerful brakes are a must. Some days are as much as about the exploring as the riding. I have yet to be lost, but some days I wonder if I'm going to make it back to the SUV by nightfall and may have to stay the night huddled by a fire in the forest (no complaint there). Fourth and last, WOW, this is the first time I have read about Agate Creek Trail. I have seen the drainage many times from the highway. That definitely goes onto the Trail Wish List. It sounds awesome and the PERFECT way to get your feet wet. =) Thanks again for the write up.

AUTHOR

John Fisch Colorado // 2006
Jan 6, 2016

Thanks for the comments.

A few add-ons:
1. I had completely forgotten that Kyle bloodied his knee on that ride. Good eye there!
2. I think I've rocked that Colorado Jersey in about 20 states and a couple Canadian Provinces. (maybe it's time for me to bring it international -- like maybe Mongolia!)
3. There was indeed some serious route finding required on the East Tensleep ride. At one point, the trail emerged from the woods into a park where any semblance of trail disappeared. I had to circumnavigate the park looking for any telltale signs of a trail reentering the woods . That ride was pretty high on the adventure scale (I even saw a really BIG bull moose courting a nearly as big cow).

Mongwolf
In reality, a Mongolia trip is unlikely--but it certainly is enticing. It's right up my alley to get out and ride trails most others would never consider. Thanks for the offer -- I've loved the pics you've posted from this part of the world few know anything about.

mongwolf Mongolia // 2011
Jan 6, 2016

Hey John, if ever get serious about coming to Mongolia, you have a place to stay with us, and we'll help you do whatever you want to do and hopefully do it with you. Don't get tied into the Mongolian tour companies. They will charge you ludicrous prices, and they still don't know what singletrack is yet. They sponsor bike tours, but the tours are 98% on main dirt roads. The best time of year to come is May and June, and then again in late August and September. July and the first half of August is the monsoon season like CO and Southwest. So you can get rained out. April and October are fine too, just a little cold, but actually great temps for biking imo; more like November in the Springs. Consider the invitation open and available to you and any of the staff of Singletracks. Greg knows. I'm just waiting for a small group to come. No bike magazine or the likes has done an adventure trip/spotlight on Mongolia yet. It's just waiting to happen.

Your write up stirred up so many thoughts in my mind. I'll share the first one in this longer post and keep the rest brief in another post. As much as I love reading on the net about extreme epic journeys ridden in remote beautiful places in the world, the problem with these is that they are usually done by some world class rider(s) who are fully funded by all sorts of mega sponsors. I don't know what it is, but it almost seems to commercialize the adventure. Don't get me wrong, I still read about their adventures all the time and watch the videos. But what I love about singletracks.com is that many/most of the stories and reports etc. are written by riders just like you and I who are your "normal Joe" ... well except in Greg's case, who is your abnormal Joe. =) That's a total compliment. Most of the writers are far better riders than me. I still feel like a newb having started riding just a few years at age 49. But nonetheless most are ordinary guys trying to ride as much as they when they can. There is just a connect there that I love and that inspires me to ride more and explore new places. Some of those places are new to me but not others while other places are new to all since I have the privilege to do much of my riding in Mongolia. Thanks for the great write up. Enjoyed it.

Minnesota

Cuyuna Lakes, Ironton

Brewer Park / Piedmont, Duluth

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