ST. PAUL - Minnesota has a newly designated bicycle route stretching from downtown St. Paul up to Grand Portage State Park near the Canadian border.
U.S. Bicycle Route 41, also known as the North Star Bicycle Route, is the designation for a route involving existing roads and mixed-use paths and trails designated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation as part of the U.S. Bicycle Route System.
About 47 percent of the 315-mile route is on state, regional and local trails including the Bruce Vento, Willard Munger, Sunrise Prairie, Gateway, Gitchi-Gami and Hardwood Creek trails.
The route begins at the Mississippi River in St. Paul and winds northward and then to the northeast, passing through nine state parks and two national parks, through the port of Duluth and along Lake Superior to Grand Portage State Park.
The route is the second U.S. Bicycle Route designated in the state, following the Mississippi River Trail, or U.S. Bicycle Route 45, which goes from St. Paul to New Orleans.
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The name for the new route, North Star, won out in public voting over Great Northern Route, Superior Bike Route, Route Du Nord and Capitol to Canada Route. Other names suggested by the public include Duh North Trail, Jim Oberstar Trail, Pigs Eye to Portage, Up da Lake, and Babe the Blue Ox Trail.
MnDOT is planning a ribbon-cutting event for the route in St. Paul on May 20, followed by a six-day bicycle tour open to the first 32 people who register. The tour, including meals, hotels and transportation, costs $850.
Go to mywahooadventures.com for more information.
