Paul Bunyan Trail, Brainerd to Hackensack

Description: This trail, with nearly 50 paved miles, is located on an old Northern Pacific railroad grade. It visits a lot of scenic areas in central Minnesota's resort country.

Getting there: There is a trailhead in Baxter, just off Excelsior Road. (We didn't start skating from the trailhead, so I don't remember the directions to get there. There should be signs around, though.) There are also trailheads in the small towns along the trail.

Length: The portion from Brainerd (actually, Baxter) to Hackensack is 46.4 miles long, according to the DNR. That's a lot of skating, but the intermediate towns on the trail are about 6 to 9 miles apart.

Links:

Minnesota DNR - Paul Bunyan Trail

paulbunyantrail.com