Brainerd, MN
“Tell ya what's on my mind. It's butt cold out here, and I'm fresh out of beer.” Grumpy Old Men, 1993.
It might not have been “butt cold” out but I was definitely “fresh out of beer”. Another winter weekend in central Minnesota and Heidi and I needed to get out of the house and get a few things. We have decided that we want to pair getting out and exercising with some kind of reward, aka: to get a beer, dinner or both. We were looking for another place to hike and then reward ourselves with dinner and a beer in a new location. This weekend we decided to look around Brainerd and the surrounding area. I remembered a place that I had hiked a long time ago and was happy to see that they had winter hiking/snowshoeing trails. Northland Arboretum in the communities of Brainerd and Baxter was going to be the location of our next winter hike. Next was where to have dinner and drink. Just the other day a coworker had asked me if I had tried Block North Brew Pub in Aitkin Minnesota and I was surprised we had not been up there yet. This was the perfect excuse to go check it out.
We headed to Brainerd and Northland Arboretum and were not sure what we would find for trails or conditions. The arboretum is located at 14250 Conservation Dr, Baxter, and is just a couple blocks off highway 371. The Paul Bunyan trailhead is just off the road to the arboretum and is another excellent area to hike in the summer. The parking area and main building were tucked up away and made you feel that you were a long way from everything else. We parked and went into the main building to pay the $5.00 day pass fee and get a map of the trails. The trail system has several small loops and a larger outer loop that according to the map is about 2 miles and should take about an hour. Great plans can be pushed to the side when you miss one little thing. We headed to where we believed the outer loop trail started and missed one little thing. The snowshoe/winter hiking trail is marked with green signs with a little guy with snowshoes and we kind of missed that little detail. We ended up walking down one of the service roads that cross throughout the property. While walking around trying to figure out where we should go we came upon the still set up decorations from the Sertoma Winter Wonderland holiday light display. When we got close to the summer fitness trail we discovered a sign that indicated the snowshoe/winter hiking trail. As we followed the trail we spotted the green signs that we should have been looking for in the beginning.
The trail is mainly used for snowshoeing but is open to winter hikers. Snowshoes are available for rent through the arboretum. You can rent snowshoes for $20.00 for adults and $10.00 dollars for kids. There are discounts for being a member of the arboretum. Unlike other trails we have walked that are groomed, this trail was packed only by the people walking the trail. The trail leads you around the arboretum’s wooded landscape. We only crossed paths with a few snowshoers as we hiked the outer loop. The trail crosses the cross-country ski trails several times and we saw skiers of all ages out enjoying the trails. We followed the green signs all the way around the loop until we ended up in front of the arboretum main building and the trail's starting point. We walked right past the starting point on our way out to find the trail. [insert forehead-slap emoji]
Northland Arboretum is an incredibly beautiful place and an awesome example of a community coming together to make a retreat from the busy world around it. The 400+ acres of the arboretum started its life where the old Brainerd landfill once was. The landfill closed in 1972 and the member supported nonprofit was born to manage the site, The arboretum now offers hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, gardens and educational opportunities. The arboretum plays a major role in the education, recreation and conservation of the Brainerd
Lakes area. If you are interested in finding out more about the Northland Arboretum visit their website at https://www.northlandarb.org/.
After a nice long walk in the woods it was time to reward ourselves with dinner and beer. We drove the 35 miles over to Block North Brew Pub in Aitkin. Block North is located at 302 Minnesota Ave N, Aitkin, MN 56431 and, as their name implies, is one block north of the stop light in Aitkin. We arrived before the dinner rush and were able to get a table without any wait. The brewpub vibe is a mix of rustic Minnesota, a dash of 1920’s elegance and the ambience of a true smokehouse. We were seated close to the kitchen that is fully visible from the dining area so we could see and smell the delicious food being prepared. We wanted to start with beer but the large selection made it hard to pick just one. We decided to start with a flight of beers so we could get a taste before ordering a pint with dinner. We were pleasantly surprised to hear that they offered a flight of 8 or 10 beers. We decided to go with the flight of 8 beers. In our flight we included Wild Frontier (Wild rice Pisner), Snickerbrewdle (Sugar Cookie Lager), The You Shandily (Apricot Shandy), Gobbler Red (Irish Red Ale), For My Horses (Kentucky Common), Fog On the Bog (Cranberry Honey Wheat), The Gilby (Apple Ale), and Runaway Galloway ( Chocolate Milk Stout on Nitro), As we sampled our flight of beers we discovered that each beer had unique and complex flavors.
During our tasting we ordered dinner. Heidi went with the Pork belly Banh-Mi sandwich with sweet potato fries and I had the BBQ brisket sandwich with the house fries. There were many good beer options and it was hard to pick just one to order for dinner.I ended up ordering a pint of Runaway Galloway (Chocolate Milk Stout) and Heidi ordered a pint of Fog on the Bog (cranberry honey wheat). The food was incredible and the beer we picked complemented our food very well. The portions were ample and we were definitely full when we were done. When we received the bill we were impressed on how much we got for the money. Block North Brew Pub offers incredible food and beer at a reasonable price.
On the way out I was taking photos of the establishment for our write up and was noticed by a gentleman that worked for the brewpub. When he came over I was a bit nervous thinking I might have pushed my luck taking photos but it turned out to be the complete opposite. The gentleman was Rich Courtemanche, part owner and brewer at Block North. He asked if we would like to see more of the facility. We responded with “Yes, please!” and introduced ourselves. Rich took us first to the downstairs brewery and taproom. This area is set up for overflow from up stairs, group seating for private events and has a pool table and a few other arcade style games. He showed us where they brew the beer and told us about his and the brewery's background. Next was the cooler with all the kegs and tap setups. After showing us downstairs he asked if we had a chance to check out the building next door.
The building next door was formerly the Aitkin Locker Service (meat locker) building that was turned into a brick oven pizza restaurant named the Locker Room. The Locker Room opened in early December 2022 and offers a variety of salads, starters as well as their hand tossed brick oven pizza. According to Rich, the Locker Room is owned and operated by Peter Lowe, the majority owner and chef at Block North Brewpub. Rich also stated that Lowe owns several other businesses in town. Rich took us next door to show us what the Locker Room looked like. There are two side garage doors that lead out to a patio. He took us through the dining area and into the kitchen to see the pizza oven. They have 6 beers on tap that are brewed by the brewery next door. The Locker Room has a sports bar feel to it with lots of TVs, high top tables and a more laid back feel. On the way out of the kitchen, I spotted a bunch of signed plates on the wall and had to ask about them. Rich said the Chef Peter Lowe has spent many years catering Hollywood film sets and he had some of the celebrities sign the plates for him. For more information check out the article on Block North Brew Pub by The Growler Magazine and the write up on the Locker Room pizza restaurant by the Aitkin Age Newspaper.
We thought we were just going out for a winter hike and maybe dinner and a beer. It turned out to be much more. We discovered an incredible place to hike and learn more about nature. We then had an excellent dinner and tasted some incredible beers at Block North Brew Pub. The icing on the cake was the tour of Block North and the Locker Room. We are still new at this blog thing and have always wanted to take the next step and ask for tours and a more personal experience and are so grateful for Rich’s hospitality. We will definitely be back to hike at Northland Arboretum and are excited to visit Block North and the Locker Room very soon.
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