165-Mile Bike Trail Through Minnesota Finally Completed After 30 years, One of the Longest in America

Mesabi Trail – Courtesy of the St Louis and Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority After more than 30 years of planning, construction, and fundraising, a paved bike trail ambling through 165 miles of Minnesota beauty has officially been completed—and now becomes one of the longest paved cycling trails in America. From the Mississippi river to the wilderness of the Boundary Waters, the Mesabi Trail winds through some of the most scenic parts of the state along the Iron Range with its historic iron ore mines that fueled the US during World War II, and supplied the American steel industry—especially the Mesabi Range, which the trail was named for.

Both hilly and flat, the “well-mapped and well-maintained trail” connects 28 communities, from Grand Rapids to Ely. (Watch a video below…) Many of the shady woods and hills were created decades ago, as heaps of earth from the mines formed man-made mountains with forests regrowing and lining the edges of the trail.

First reported by Good News Network.