Minnesota Nice

“Everywhere we went we ran into some really friendly folks.”

Story and photo by Jan Lasar

THE LAKE WOBEGON AND CENTRAL LAKES TRAIL SYSTEM CONNECTS WAITE PARK AND FERGUS FALLS WITH A CONTINUOUS PATH THAT BRINGS THOUSANDS OF VISITORS TO CENTRAL MINNESOTA EACH YEAR. FOR THOSE WHO LIVE IN ONE OF THE COMMUNITIES ALONG THE WAY IT’S A BACKYARD GYM OR JUST A PLACE TO WALK THE DOG. OTHERS, LIKE CAROL AND CHRIS JACOBSEN PLAN A SPECIAL TRIP AND DRIVE NEARLY 900 MILES TO EXPERIENCE THE FORMER RAILROAD TURNED RECREATIONAL TRAIL.

At home in the Denver, CO area, the retired couple goes on regular bike rides and leads an active life. “Instead of just driving around and looking at stuff we like to bike and still see some new things,” Chris said. After visiting places like the George S. Mickelson Trail in South Dakota and Missouri’s Katy Trail it didn’t take long for them to set their sights on the Central Lakes and Lake Wobegon Trail when a nephew’s graduation had them traveling to Minnesota last July.

After getting a ride from Waite Park the day before, they set off early from the Fergus Falls trailhead on the Central Lakes Trail and finished 44 miles later in Alexandria where they enjoyed dinner on the patio of a restaurant right on the trail and later visited the brewery. “It was like a little celebration when we rolled into town,” Chris said. On day two they crossed into Lake Wobegon territory in Osakis and called it a day in Melrose after 41 miles. They finished their trip the next day and arrived back in Waite Park with a total of 115 miles.

Both appreciated the peaceful riding on trails they had to themselves for the most part. “Lots of times we’d go for hours without seeing anybody,” Chris said. Carol loved views of the landscape that couldn’t be more different from that at their home in the Colorado mountains at 8,500 feet elevation. She said she enjoyed the varied landscape, the farms and the lakes along the trail. “[I liked] seeing the country that you can’t see from the Interstate,” she said and mentioned stopping in West Union to look at the farm-themed trail art there. The couple even had a special central Minnesota treat when they stopped at the Avon Cabin Café for a fish fry lunch.

Besides an easy to bike, paved trail and plenty of oxygen available at our Minnesota elevation, the couple kept their daily treks at around 40 to 50 miles. “It was a relaxing ride, but after riding for five hours you’re kinda glad to get off the bike at the end of the day,” Chris said. Planning a trip like this takes training and some equipment like padded bike shorts and a first aid kit, for example, but the right attitude is key, Chris said. “You don’t need to turn it into a job.”

The couple also credited Jean Bowman of Visit Fergus Falls and Cliff Borgerding of the Lake Wobegon Trails Association with helping arrange lodging and transportation, saying the people they met along the trail made their trip special.

“Everywhere we went we ran into some really friendly folks,” Chris said.