One Rock at a Time

by Dan Lasch

When farmer Olaf Ohman pulled a rock from his field in rural Kensington, MN in 1898 he had no idea he had found something special. The Kensington Runestone’s authenticity has been questioned over the years, but it put the town of 300 on the map.

Today, Douglas County’s Rune Stone Park, 17 miles southwest of Alexandria, is home to 12km of ski trails, a brand new visitor center and a growing six-mile singletrack mountain bike trail system.

Jeff Brand is one of the local trail building volunteers and has pulled many rocks from the ground to make way for an additional seven miles of singletrack. To him and the group of 50 volunteers it’s been a passion for the sport that had them put in over 500 hours of labor since 2016 and he hopes the results will put Kensington on the map once again. Trails at the park were designed by Trail Source, who was also involved with the Cuyuna and Elm Creek trail systems, but an army of volunteers from high school kids to the retired are making it a reality with Brand behind the wheel of various kinds of power equipment. “We can get a lot accomplished with 50 volunteers helping at one time.” he said

The Alexandria community has embraced the Kensington Trails and the Alexandria Mountaineers high school mountain biking team now has 32 participants and 14 volunteer coaches headed by Jeff Pokorney. “The kids love the excitement of single track riding. Especially the turns, berms, and jumps.” he said. The team practices at the park weekly, but kids and their parents also help with construction. “We’re creating a culture of volunteerism, and the kids will see the rewards of their work. They’ll be able to look back later in life and reflect on what they created.”

The Alexandria Mountaineers high school team.

Craig Andrews

The future of singletrack riding in the Alexandria area looks promising. Jake Capistrant, owner of Jake’s Bike Shop in Alexandria, is one of the many volunteers at the Runestone trail and sees mountain biking as a growing recreational activity with many new singletrack enthusiasts. “We are very fortunate to have so many volunteers with a vision of the future expansion of mountain bike trails in the Alexandria area,” he said and he’s especially excited about plans to develop another seven miles of mountain bike trail at Lake Brophy County Park, only five miles northwest of downtown Alexandria. The park is crossed by the Central Lakes State Trail and already sees lots of visitors.

“The trails at Kensington Rune Stone Park and Brophy Park will prove to be great assets to the area for residents and visitors alike,” James Feist, Executive Director at Explore Alexandria Tourism said. He’s looking at the big picture and hopes new trails will bring more people to the area. “Tourism has a large economic impact on the Alexandria Lakes Area, and certainly our offerings in the Great Outdoors are a large part of that appeal. People are looking to be adventurous during travel, and these trails compliment it very well.”

Jeff Brand and his army of volunteers have yet to find another runestone but they’re waiting for spring work sessions to resume and will continue building trails in the Alexandria area, one rock at a time.

Volunteers Alan Nelson and Matt Larson working on a skills area and adding steps

Jeff Brand, MD