By Jesse White WHILE MORE THAN 22,000 MILES OF GROOMED SNOWMOBILE TRAILS ARE LOCATED IN MINNESOTA, ANYONE WHO HAS SPENT ANY TIME ON A POLARIS, SKI DOO OR ARCTIC CAT IN THE BACKWOODS OF THE ARROWHEAD REGION KNOWS SOME OF THE ABSOLUTE BEST CAN BE FOUND IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA. The area is so popular when the snow falls that major snowmobile publications on the Internet and in print oftentimes list it as one of the top 10 destinations in the entire United States alongside gems like the Upper Peninsula in Michigan and West Yellowstone in Montana. Each year, thousands of visitors plan their weekend winter getaways around the two major state trails in the area - the Taconite and the Arrowhead - but once they get here, they quickly learn that that’s just the beginning of the endless adventures that can be found thanks to hundreds of
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miles of local trails groomed and maintained by some of the most dedicated volunteers around. Together, the system makes up the Iron Trail, which runs through the central region of Mesabi Iron Range and north to International Falls. Cities along the state trails and the spurs that connect it all include Aurora, Babbitt, Biwabik, Buhl, Buyck, Canyon, Chisholm, Cook, Crane Lake, Ely, Embarrass, Eveleth, Hibbing, Hoyt Lakes, Lake Vermilion, Mountain Iron, Nashwauk, Orr, Side Lake, Tower and Virginia. The 165-mile Taconite Trail and the 135-mile Arrowhead Trail, both maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, are the backbone of the system. The Taconite Trail runs from Grand Rapids to Ely, and according to DNR literature it, “winds through forests of birch and aspen intertwined with pine, leading the visitor by many isolated lakes and streams.”
