Babe, Bunyan and Bemidji: Awesome!

By: Gary Gustafson

The Bemidji, Minnesota area is known as the home of Paul Bunyan. It’s also the home of some great snowmobile trails, and its ideal location means snowmobilers can go on saddlebag adventures to both northeast or northwest Minnesota.

Bemidji and its surrounding townships have a population of about 25,000 and there’s excellent food and lodging available at restaurants like The Peppercorn and hotels like the Hampton Inn on Lake Bemidji.

One way to begin a weekend of saddlebagging is to head northeast towards International Falls on the wide, powder filled ditches along highway 71.

In Hines, turn one block off the highway ditch to look at The Pioneer Store – a defunct business that could have been a prop for Little House On The Prairie.

Yes, those are Minnesota Elk antlers hanging on the front, from native herds that were extirpated around the turn of the 20th century before being re-introduced in the 1930s.

At Blackduck, pick up the Blue Ox trail. This trail is built on old railroad grade, making it easy to follow and International Falls is approximately a 100 mile run.

There are excellent full-service resorts on Rainy Lake as well as hotels and restaurants like Barney’s in “I-Falls”. From International Falls, take a pass through Voyageurs National Park.

On the Voyageur Trail System, you can enjoy runs across untrodden lakes and through pristine evergreen forests at this entry to Minnesota’s own Canadian Shield country.

From Voyageur’s Park, head southeast towards the Crane lake area, specifically, Mel George’s resort on Elephant Lake, right on the Crane Lakes trail system. Mel treats snowmobilers like family.

From Mel’s, head south to Cook where there’s hot food and then west to the trail systems spanning the George Washington State Forest and the Chippewa National Forest. After enjoying the rolling hills and ancient pines in The Chippewa, it’s a relatively short ride back west to Bemidji.

If there’s still some petrol in your tank begging to be burned up, enjoy the well-groomed North Country trail system originating in Bemidji.

Some short local loops include the Movil Maze straight North of Bemidji, or take a day trip south to scenic Itasca State Park, where the Mississippi river begins.

Last, when in Bemidji, don’t forget to have your picture taken in front of the world-famous statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe, his blue ox!

Go to visitbemidji.com

Ontario’s Ride Around the Park

By: John Arkwright

Ontario’s famous RAP Tour has tenaciously stood the test of time, and continues to get better with age.

The Tour route was laid out in 1994 and masses of snowmobilers, myself included, began riding it in 1995. In the ensuing years it has become one of my favorite rides.

The basic loop around the perimeter of Ontario’s vast Algonquin Provincial Park is a daunting 600 miles long but it can be completed very easily in four days.

The joy of this tour is its versatility. You can take any number of side trips and make a week or more out of it.

You’ll ride through four unique snowmobiling regions: The Haliburton Highlands, Eastern Ontario, the Near North Travel Region and the Muskoka Snowmobile Region.

Every imaginable type of trail is found on this circuit: Rail and hydro lines, abandoned logging roads and, on the north side of this tour from Pettawawa to Mattawa, you’ll ride on a pipeline that offers an experience you’ll talk about for years.

At Mattawa, I strongly recommend crossing the river and taking trails MA-150 and NB-301 into North Bay. It’s a sweet ride. Also, Trail D down through South River to Emsdale is absolutely stellar.

Then there’s B Trail from Minden right up to Pembroke! The list of great trails goes on and on! The four major population centers on this tour are Huntsville, Haliburton, Pembroke and North Bay.

On this tour you’ll find excellent quality accommodations no further than 100 miles apart around the whole loop.

If you’re planning to do the RAP Tour I would suggest late January through February will usually guarantee great conditions. March riding can be excellent, but is sometimes unpredictable.

This part of the province is appealing because of its excellent snow conditions and moderate temperatures. This, in turn, makes for comfortable long distance riding.

When riding the tour be sure to stop in and say hello to Maurice at Spectacle Lake Lodge, Doug at Kingfisher Lodge and Tim at the Algonquin Motel.

These three were an integral part of putting this great saddlebag tour together. There are very few out there that offer the quality of the RAP Tour!

For more information call 1-800-ONTARIO and visit www.ontariotravel.net/goride

Hills, Thrills and a Whole Lotta Throttle

Drive 30 minutes north of Montreal this winter and you’ll know you’re in Lanaudiere when you look over both shoulders and see nothing but God’s beauty and white, powdery fluff.

Nestled between the Laurentian and Mauricie regions, with the Laurentian mountains to the south, Lanaudiere offers consistent snowfall, often receiving more than six feet annually.

Lanaudiere’s extensive trail system offers over 1,400 miles of well-signed, impeccably groomed trails.

The season often starts as early as mid-November but for prime distance riding we suggest loading up the saddlebags late December to mid February and… get ready to log on serious mileage.

All you have to do is decide on a starting point and everything is accessible by trail from there. We recommend setting up home base at a few of our favorite spots: In Saint-Donat: start from Auberge La Cuillere a Pot or Les Cond’Eautels du Manoir or: the famous Auberge Le Cabanon in Saint-Zenon.

When you’re finally ready to hit the trails, use every square inch of space in your saddlebags because you may find yourself going further and further before you stop.

Be sure to try the bladder stressing thrill of riding across the top of the 100-foot high Taureau Dam where looking down has been known to make even the most macho men lose control.

Then there’s the heart pounding excitement of holding the throttle open through Mont-Tremblant Park until your thumb cramps up!

Throughout the region there’s an infinite number of quaint villages where snowmobilers are loved and valued. After logging world record mileage you’ll come to rest at one of the hundreds of hotels, chalets and auberges filled with snowmobilers from all over North America chatting about the miles they put on that day while devouring mouth-watering Quebec home-cooked meals. Sleep and repeat. Sleep and repeat.

Why does Lanaudiere keep making our Top 10 every year? Quite frankly, it deserves it. We ride this region almost every year and there’s still hundreds of miles yet to conquer.

One thing’s for sure, I’ll be ordering my free map and booking another trip again this winter. Maybe we’ll see you there.

Links:

www.snowmobilecountry.ca
1-800-363-2788

Auberge La Cuillere a Pot
www.cuillere-pot.com

Les Cond’Eautels du Manoir
www.manoirdeslaurentides.com

Auberge Le Cabanon
www.aubergelecabanon.com