After several bike trips last year where Lee and I went to a local, longer (25-40 miles) trail of which we would have to ride half, then return along the same portion to get back to our car, we decided to try a different way.
We both wanted to see the Mesabi Trail in northern Minnesota so we planned an overnight trip. The trail is 135 miles long and we would not be able to do the whole thing so we decided to do as much of it as we could. We found a shuttle service, Mesabi Shuttle run by Chris Johnson (text—218-780-4541 or email mesabi.shuttle@gmail.com) who would meet us at one trailhead, where we would leave our car, and shuttle us to another trailhead of our choosing, depending on how far we wanted to ride. We would then bike back to our car and drive to our overnight town. The next day we repeated the process, seeing a different portion of the trail. Chris was really good at shuttling us and gave us really good advice on which portions of the trail we HAD TO see (and she was right), hills along the trail, portions toward the end of the trail that are still gravel, and even suggested which hotels at which to stay.
Most trails are pretty much the same as far as scenery goes so if you ride a good portion of them you’ve pretty much experienced the trail. With the Mesabi, however, you have to pick and choose the portions you want to see if you are only going to do parts of it. Chris was really helpful for deciding where we would ride.
The first day we drove to Calumet where we met Chris. She shuttled us to Grand Rapids and we biked back to our car in Calumet. The trail took us through pine forests, past lakes, and past large “mountains” of iron ore tailings.
We finished the ride at Calumet and drove to our hotel in Hibbing. Chris had told us to visit the Hull Rust open-pit mine, saying it was a must see along the trail. We checked into our motel, cleaned up, had dinner, then headed for the mine, which is also known as “The Grand Canyon of the North.” That description is somewhat overstated but the mine is still something to see, being seven miles long and three miles wide. It is still a working mine and there are several overlooks you can use to see the huge trucks and scoops doing their jobs. At the overlook there are also two actual trucks (each able to carry 240 TONS of ore). We met an out-of-work miner who told us the mine is actually mining taconite and just digging out the iron ore to get to the taconite.
The second day we drove to Gilbert where Chris met us and shuttled us back to Buhl. Chris had told us this is the best part of the trail and said we would see a railroad locomotive and several more pieces of mining equipment in a park near Mt. Iron and, southeast of Virginia, be able to ride over the highest bridge in Minnesota, a highway bridge with concrete barriers protecting cyclists from motor vehicle traffic. Her advice was once again spot on and we had a very pleasant, interesting day on the trail.
We reached our car in Gilbert and drove back to Virginia where we had a very nice dinner on the patio of the Northern Divide Bar and Eatery at the Virginia golf club with a nice view of the course, then spent the night.
On day three we drove to Giant’s Ridge, parked, and rode the trail five miles toward Embarrass and back before leaving for home. We were told that the trail turns to crushed gravel about three miles south of Embarrass and there is a long downhill going the last mile or so (which means, of course, there is a long uphill going back). We stopped short of the gravel and the hill, being the sensible people we are.
The trail is well worth the trip. It is a nice, very scenic trail but does have some bumps in it. There is a sign on the west end of the small, wooden bridge shown in the photo that reads, “Walk bikes over bridge.” We were tempted to ride it but did as we were told and were glad we did as there is a large hole in the exit area of the bridge that an east-bound rider would not see until it was too late. NOTE! Somewhere a short ways west of Mt. Iron there is a downhill, curvy section (riding east) that is fun to ride and turns a sharp right at the bottom. After turning the curve we still had a pretty speed going and found, almost disastrously, two very large dips in the trail that were difficult to see and almost threw each of us off our bikes. BEWARE! We notified Chris and she passed it on to the maintenance person but said he is responsible for the entire trail (by himself) so it is difficult for him to keep up.
Also be aware the trail is NOT a rail-trail and there are hills; not terribly steep or long, but somewhat challenging. Don’t let that discourage you from doing the trail, however.
And if you want to shuttle, contact Chris at Mesabi Shuttle; she will take good care of you!
