day bike!
🚴♀️ willard munger state trail!
what an embarrassment of recreation riches! the corridor between st. paul and duluth features not only great hiking with river scenery, but a nifty rail-to-trail bike route that, as far as we can tell, is 100% tick-free!
having discovered WAY too many of those blood-suckers on us from hiking at st. croix state park we sought a non-hiking fun alternative, and found it on the nearby willard munger state trail.
the trail’s southern terminus is the town of hinckley in pine county, minnesota — home to indigenous speakers of the Southern Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe), Dakȟóta (Western Dakota), Dakhóta (Eastern Dakota), and Lakȟótiyapi (Lakota) languages. the route ends 70 miles northeast on the outskirts of duluth, near the lake superior zoo.
we jumped on the trail where it passes through finlayson and rode it 20 miles up to moose lake. the “mystery mobile” food truck there provided our lunch, and the town of willow river offered a much-needed rest stop on the way back.
perhaps i should have rested a few minutes longer, though, because a temporary lack of focus just a few miles shy of finlayson nearly proved disastrous. i can’t afford letting myself down like that when i’m back on the pct in a few weeks, hiking through the sierra nevada range. gotta stay focused and stay safe!
my trail name’s mythic and in 2026 i’m continuing my multi-year thru-hike (m.y.t.h.) of the pacific crest trail. as i prepare to return to the pct (and hopefully tackle other section- and thru-hikes in the future), i'm going on day hikes to help keep in trail shape!
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references:
Seek app (plant identification)
