The Munger Trail - Willow River to Moose Lake

The Willard Munger Trail - named for one of the environmental heroes of MN is our neighborhood bike trail and the place I get my biking exercise and conditioning.  I thought it would be good to share some of its highlights and pleasures.
 So here is a look at the trail and what I enjoy.

The small towns that prospered during the days when the trail was a railroad track and the country moved by Steam Engine are just a shadow of what they used to be, but that shadow is filled with surprises and fun places to explore if you give yourself the time to engage in the setting, as well as the peddling.


 Willow River is our little home town and the Mercantile is over 100 years old and still meets many of our needs.  It is a place for refreshments and Peggy Sue's is a local restaurant that makes a great lunch or dinner stop.

There is also a local park that provides you with a sense of the RR past.

The trail is very straight like most RR grades and lacks hills except between Rutledge and Finlayson and coming in or out of Duluth - more on those stretches on another day.


This is an easy 10 mile stretch - I tend to commute to Moose Lake - going to the bank and taking care of other business that I cannot do in Willow River and then return home for a really nice ride.  My distance from the trail makes a good 25 mile round trip.

The Moosehorn River and its natural lake give this end of the trail a lot of beauty and lots of birds to hear and see.



The trail at Moose Lake has two options - one goes through town on back streets and the other more popular section goes up and past the old train depot with its exhibit on the 1918 Moose Lake - Cloquet fire.  Another nice stop.


Comments

  1. Aunt JulieJune 1, 2012 at 3:29 PM

    Thank you, Mike. Your blog helps us with our trip research.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJune 1, 2012 at 3:54 PM

    I am glad to share. Have a great trip.

    ReplyDelete

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