Sunday May 22, 2022
Unlike many weekends Heidi and I did not have a plan for the day. We figured we would check the weather and see where the day took us. The weather was holding for the time being and we decided it would be a great day for a hike. But “where” was the question. We had hiked in the local state parks and on the Soo-Line trail. I knew communities around the area have parks to walk in but I didn’t know anyplace specifically that would work for a longer hike. After a few minutes of looking things up on the internet I found a park in Princeton MN that looked like a good option. Princeton is about a 45 minute drive south of our normal stomping grounds and we thought it would be nice to expand our area of interest.
Pioneer Park is located in a residential area one block east of the intersection of 8th Street North and 5th Ave North in Princeton MN. At first I wasn’t sure we were in the right area. The trailhead is located at the end of the street in between a couple of houses. The trailhead has an arched entrance with the park's name on it and that was the only thing that identified that we were in the right area. The parking at the trailhead is limited to 3 or spaced but one could park on the side of the street if needed. When we arrived at the park there were a couple of cars at the entrance but things were extremely quiet. We unloaded and got our stuff ready for our hike but were not really sure where to go. There was a place for a map at the entrance but it was missing. I was able to find a poor quality map of the area on the city website but we figured we would just go explore and figure it out as we went.
The park is located in a wooded area next to the Rum River that the trail criss-crosses throughout the park. After passing under the park sign the trail takes you down hill to the bottom of the basin the park is in. The woods were still flooded from the wet spring we had this year. Most of the trail was higher than the wet areas but we did run into an area that had flooded across the trail and had turned the area into a small stream. We had to use a little bit of balancing skills to get across the makeshift bridge someone had put in place. The majority of the trails were dry and were a mix of mowed grass or were covered in wood chips. The trails were wide enough to walk side by side. The layout of the park is kind of random with trails that lead you to different areas and make several loops. The park looked to be set up as a hiking area but also had calisthenic workout stations. The stations included pullup bars, monkey bars, parallel bars, sit up station, balance beams, and a pole that looked to be 15 feet you could shimmy up. We took our time and just hiked from one end of the park to the other and explored different trails. During our time in the park we only saw or heard of a couple of other people in the park. The park makes you feel that you're way out in the middle of nowhere instead of being on the edge of a residential community.
The park is isolated and is what I would call a minimalist style park. The trails are maintained but are left to nature without much manipulation. Being that it was still early in the season the trails had not been touched much but that added to the feeling of the park. The trails are not accessible by wheelchair and would be difficult with other assistive devices. There are no water fountains or other water sources on location and it is advised to bring your own water if you are planning on hiking at this park. The only bathroom facility is a porta potty located at the trailhead and was in excellent condition. The park does not have lighting and would be an interesting place at night. The park is open to hiking in the summer and cross country skiing in the winter. In the end, if you are looking for a place to hike that feels more like the wilderness than a city park I would suggest Pioneer park in Princeton MN. We enjoyed the park and will be back in the fall to look at the fall colors.
There is nothing better than a nice adult beverage after a long hike and as we completed our hike at Pioneer Park Heidi suggested we find a place to get a drink and sit down and relax for a bit. We first looked up breweries but did not have much luck in the Princeton area, Heidi suggested maybe a winery and after a quick search we found one right up the road from the park. Brookview Winery is located in a rural area in between Milaca and Princton. The drive from the park to the winery was a short 13 minute drive along rural county roads. We didn’t hesitate and jumped in the car and headed up to the winery with no idea what to expect.
The winery is located on a small farm in rural Mille Lacs county. The farm was converted to a winery in 2015. The winery is known for its Fat Little Heart Wines and Ciders. I have driven by their signs for years but never really paid attention to them but was happy to put a place with the signs. The Winery is located in an old machinery shed next to the old farm house. The parking area was small and was quite full of cars. We had to pick a spot carefully not to block anyone in. The first impression you get is of a quaint little farm and there was nothing that really screamed that the place was a winery. There were a few tables on the patio and a garage door that could be opened to bring the outside in. I was not really sure what to think when we first showed up. We were pleasantly impressed with the interior of the building. It was a mix of farm culture and familiar atmosphere of a Minnesota winery,
We were greeted at the counter by a very friendly and knowledgeable woman. She introduced us to the wine and cider selection. I was very happy to find out that they offered ciders as well as wines. When it comes to wine Heidi is the more knowledgeable of the two of us and I was happy to have her pick the wines that we would sample first. The winery does serve glasses of wine but we decided to try a flight of wine to give us a variety of wines to taste. Heidi chose a good variety of wines that included a white Riesling called Starlight, a strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry fruit wine called Starfield, a Merlot called Corvus, a Frontenac called Smokefall, and a strawberry, blueberry, raspberry hard seltzer called Spica. The wines and seltzer were all good and had true Minnesota wine flavor. As we sampled the wine I kept thinking about the awards they had on the counter for their ciders. This led us to wanting to try the ciders next and that is just what we did.
The ciders were a pleasant surprise for me. I am more of a cider person than wine and I was excited to try the different flavors they had. When we returned the flight from the wine we sampled, we took the opportunity to ask a few questions about their ciders. The ciders are made on location but they source the apples from a different supplier. The list of ciders was intriguing and we made sure to pick the ones we thought we would enjoy as well as ones that pushed our taste buds a bit. The flight we chose included the Malus Original, Malus Cranberry, Malus Pineapple, Malus Blueberry & Pomegranate, Malus Lemon Shandy, and the Malus Coffee. The ciders had a very fresh apple taste that had the other flavors infused into them. The Original was a straight up apple cider with a crisp apple flavor. We believe that this was the base for the other flavors. The different flavors all had a great flavor but a couple stood out to us. Heidi really enjoyed the cranberry and I was impressed by the blueberry-pomegranate and the pineapple. The one that surprised both of us was the coffee flavored cider. The coffee flavor was a true coffee flavor and not an overly sweetened fake flavor like some we have had. The afternoon was great sitting on the patio enjoying a cold cider and enjoying the spring weather. Brookview is a small family owned winery that does a good job doing what they do. So next time you are on the way to the cabin or out running errands and you see the sign with the heart with an arrow on highway 169 stop by and try some of their wine or ciders. It is a worthwhile diversion.
After a day of hiking and tasting delicious wines and ciders we noticed that we had missed lunch and it was almost dinner time. Once again we were on the internet looking for a place for dinner. We wanted to try someplace new that was in the area. The obvious choice was the new smokehouse in Zimmerman MN. D’s Smokehouse Bar and Grill is located off of the main drag in Zimmerman. Being that is only a couple blocks off highway 169 it was easy to find and you could smell the smoked meat 4 blocks away. The place was busy but we were lucky enough to find a place to sit. Heidi went with the pulled pork sandwich with a side of ciao ciao, a coleslaw with a vinegar dressing. I had a sandwich called the 3 Little Pigs and chips. The 3 Little Pigs is made with the house-bacon, smoked pork and rib meat covered with American and provolone cheese and is served on sourdough bread. The food was incredible and we would have eaten more if our bellies would have allowed it. Next time we are there we will be trying the pistachio cream ale and some desserts. The smoked apple cobbler and creme brulee looked great when they were served to a table next to ours and we said we will be back to try those.
For a weekend we had nothing planned, we ended up doing a lot of really cool things in and around the area. Sometimes it's nice to go without plans and see where you end up. We knew we didn’t want to sit around and look where it took us. Great food, tasty beverages, exploring new places with great company. What more can you ask for? Where to next?
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