June 12 2022 Heidi and I decided to try something we had not tried together before. You might be thinking it would be something crazy like skydiving or bungee jumping but no it was going for a bike ride. This might not sound all that impressive but anytime you do something for the first time together you never know how it will go. We had both been bike riding before but we both have different histories with biking. I am a former bike fanatic that depended on my bike for everything for years. I have put on thousands of miles on a bike but the only bike I had been on in years has been my training bike in my basement. Heidi’s experience with biking was more recreational than necessity and she had not been on her bike in years. We have talked about going biking since we started dating but this was the first time we had both bikes and had a plan to get on the trail. Both bikes needed air in the tires and a bit of a cleaning but both worked as they should. We had talked about going someplace unique to bike but it turned out we would go biking on the Lake Wobegon Trail that was just down the road from Heidi’s house.
The Lake Wobegon Trail is a 65-mile long paved trail that runs from Waite Park MN to Osakis MN with a northern spur that runs to Holdingford MN. The trail is 10 feet wide and is used for biking, hiking, roller blading, and snowmobiling in the winter. The trail started its life as a rail line for the Burlington Northern Railroad Company. The idea for the trail was conceived by the Albany Jaycees and in the fall 1994 the planning for the trail was started. A partnership between the Federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), Minnesota DNR Regional Trail Initiatives Grant, Albany Jaycees Fundraisers, Central Minnesota Initiative Fund (McKnight Foundation) and Stearns County made the trail possible. The trail was named after the fictional town created by Garrison Keillor. Garrison Keillor created and used the fictional town as part of his popular radio show A Prairie Home Companion. Even though the town is fictional, Keillor wrote that “Holdingford is the town that looks most Wobegonic to me.”
The official trail has 10 different trailheads and 2 adopted trailheads on the Soo-Line Recreational Trail. The trailheads are located in Waite Park, St. Joseph, Avon, Albany, Freeport, Melrose, Sauk Centre, West Union, Osakis, and Holdingford. The northern spur will lead you to Holdingford and to the Soo-Line Recreational Trail. The Lake Wobegon Trail Association adopted the Soo-Line Recreational Trail that runs from Holdingford through Bowlus and ends at the trailhead at Highway 10 near Royalton MN. The Soo Line trail continues northeast from this point as an unpaved trail primarily for use by ATV’s. The trail ends just south of Superior Wisconsin. The Lake Wobegon Trail heads northwest parallel to Interstate 94 and ends in Osakis but does not stop there. The trail continues and turns into the Central Lakes Trail that runs an additional 55 miles from Osakis to Fergus Falls MN.
The trail section we rode that day was between Waite Park MN and St. Joseph MN. Our experience on the Lake Wobegon Trail started at Rivers Edge Park in Waite Park MN. This part of the trail was the final section of the trail to be completed in 2018. The trail is located at the north end of the park and starts off with an impressive bridge that spans the Sauk River. The trail is about 10 feet wide and is super smooth being that it is only a couple years old. The trail is well maintained and was well signed. This section of trail leads you out of Waite Park through the countryside. There are a couple of small hills and curves in the beginning section of the trail but soon becomes flat and straight as you leave Waite Park. As we peddled west on the trail we ran into a couple of other bikes and runners on the trail. The trail took us behind a bunch of different businesses but the trail felt secluded for being so close to a populated area. This section of the trail is only 3 miles but that was a good starting distance for a couple who had not been on our bikes in a long time. When we arrived in St. Joseph the trail passes a couple cool old buildings, ending up right next to the water tower. The trailhead in St. Joseph is located north side of town just a couple blocks north of highway 75. The trailhead has a large parking area adjacent to the trail and a building with restrooms. The trailhead also has a picnic shelter, picnic tables, bike racks, water, trail maps, and a bike repair center with a tire pump. There are even bikes available to rent. The bikes are part of the partnership between St. Joseph and Waite Park. The cost to rent the bikes is 1 dollar per hour with no time limit. The rental process is controlled by an app that you can download onto your phone.
After taking a short break and a couple of photos at the trailhead we decided that we deserved a cold drink from one of the local breweries. Bad Habit Brewing Company is located just a few blocks away from the trailhead. The ride through town was easy and the brewery has a bike rack to park our bikes in. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the brewery had live music on the patio. Heidi and I have been to Bad Habit a few times and have come to love their chocolate milk stout called Dark Addiction. Dark Addiction is a great example of a milk stout. Its rich and creamy with a great balance of sweetness and bitterness and when it's on nitro it's even smoother. We sat on the patio and listened to the music and enjoyed our beers. We didn’t get the name of the band but it was two guys playing guitar and singing country songs. We decided to have a second beer and enjoy more of the afternoon before heading back. We finished up and headed back to the trailhead for our ride back to Waite Park. The trail was pretty quiet on the way back and we took that time to chat as we biked back. The ride was short and we didn’t cover a lot of miles but we did have a great time. If you're in Waite Park or St. Joseph area we suggest you go and explore the Lake Wobegon Trail and stop and get a cold refreshment at Bad Habit Brewing. We plan on exploring more of the Lake Wobegon Trail and will keep you updated on those adventures.
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