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Long revered as one of the Upper Midwest’s premier vacation destinations, the Brainerd Lakes Area in north central Minnesota has answered the call of snowmobilers for decades.
The area’s many lakes and wooded trails spotted with quaint ‘Main Street’ towns paint a picture-perfect definition of what ‘Up North’ actually is. An elaborate trail system provides more than 1,200 miles of exploration intertwining state forests and parks, along with lakes and towns sure to quench any riders’ thirst for fun!
Home, sweet home
Growing up a Minnesotan, I’ve been fortunate enough to have ample opportunities to visit the Brainerd Lakes Area almost every season. My grandparents still live in the area to this day. For 30 years I’ve tried to take in everything the area has to offer. Although it’s been a second home of sorts for me, there is still much I haven’t yet discovered.
Upon arrival at Cragun’s Resort, memories of riding with ‘the guys’ (A.K.A. my dad, uncles and grandfather) filled my mind. We’d taken many rides along Gull Lake past the resort in my younger days, and it was finally my turn to see what has made Cragun’s a favorite vacation spot of Midwesterners since the 1930s.
From a snowmobiling standpoint, I couldn’t have asked for more. We all know spacious rooms are key to an enjoyable snowmobile trip. Our accommodations were more than roomy and included a natural fireplace to set our boots on to dry out!
The sled trail comes right along Cragun’s shoreline running through the south end of the resort. A sled coral housing a fleet of more than 30 well maintained rental units awaits those who arrive without trailer in tow. With such easy access to the trails, we couldn’t wait to set off in the morning!
Warming trend
Late season riding always seems to be met with resistance by Mother Nature. Our trip to Brainerd was no exception with temperatures slated to top out near 45 degrees on our first outing. We employed the world-wide solution when searching for more ideal riding conditions, we headed farther north.
Cragun’s is located on the very south end of Gull Lake just as you exit Brainerd heading north on MN Highway 371. We followed the trail along the lake marked with tall, orange stakes reminiscent of streetlights. The trail is lighted shortly after dusk making navigation to and from the resort simple and safe. Due to the warm weather we elected to head for the shaded trails running through Pillsbury State Forest hoping for more favorable conditions along Gull’s southwest shore line.
The Pillsbury, as it’s affectionately called, was Minnesota’s first state forest founded in 1900 with a 1,000-acre land donation from Governor John S. Pillsbury. The rolling topography of the forest affords riders plenty of photo ops with scenic backdrops of Gull Lake and other area lakes.
Brainerd’s byway
The Paul Bunyan Trail is the 112-mile lifeline of the Brainerd Lakes Area trail systems running from Brainerd north to Lake Bemidji State Park. Lining the shores of 21 area lakes, this byway connects the area’s thriving ‘main street’ communities promoting commerce year-round between towns.
The Paul Bunyan Trail is still a work in progress. Upon completion, a fully paved trail will run 120 miles and start south of Brainerd at Crow Wing State Park.
At its northernmost end, the Paul Bunyan Trail turns into the Blue Ox Trail and continues north for another 110 miles, putting those with a Bunyan-sized appetite for trail riding at the Canadian border.
More than a dozen towns line the sides of this trail inviting snowmobilers to their many watering holes.
The trail runs along Main Street in several towns along the way, including Nisswa. Here we found one of our favorite culinary discoveries this trip, the Lucky Chicken pizza served up at Rafferty’s Pizza. Made with grilled Cajun chicken and lingonberry sauce, it’s a true ‘North Woods’ experience!
Off the beaten path
Due to our quickly deteriorating snow conditions, we spent a good majority of our time on the ‘road less traveled’ crossing lakes, wooded forests and occasionally coming across open water in areas where spring had already sprung.
A short road ride from the trail is the Gull Lake Recreation Area. Here, the Gull Lake Dam provides another photo opportunity and possible views of wildlife as the running water from the lake rarely freezes over. Swans, bald eagles and deer are all frequent customers of this natural watering hole. It’s not uncommon to see any or all of them in a single day.
Returning to the lake trail, riders will find several of their own specie’s watering holes to belly up to after a long day’s ride. Chief among these places for grub was Zorbaz on Gull Lake. Those of you who have vacationed in northern Minnesota are undoubtedly familiar with the name. You may even be the proud owner of a sweatshirt or bumper sticker with their Superman ‘Z’ logo.
I would describe this place as Minnesota’s version of Hard Rock Café. It’s trendy, touristy and if you haven’t been at least once, you really should go just so you can say you’ve been there. If you do get to Zorbaz on Gull, order the Man-Dime wings. Don’t bother looking for them on the menu. They’re not on it. It’s a secret sauce recipe created by one of their own at the Gull Lake location and a secret of the snowmobile trail! This is a snowmobile thing so don’t go ruining it and ordering a dozen in front of your boating buddies this summer!
There’s plenty more secrets to unlock in the Brainerd Lakes Area. I’ve been doing it for 30 years and I feel like I’m just getting started!