TO DO in July & August

The club’s 30th annual Field Days will be held Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 5-6 at the showgrounds, located on County Rd. 6 south of Park Rapids. Events both days include sawmill and threshing demonstrations, a tractor parade, dancing to live music at the pavilion, tractor pulls, sawmill activities and straw baling in the field.

7.

Admire classic cars

Car enthusiasts are invited to the Northern Knights Car Club’s annual Run to the Rapids car show on Saturday, Aug. 12 in Park Rapids. Saunter through Main Ave. for the “Show and Shine.” It begins at 8 a.m and runs through 12:30 p.m. Many car owners invite visitors to check out their vintage machines, and many also share stories of how they restored their cherished classics.

8. Legends & Logging Days

Park Rapids celebrates the area’s logging and lumberjack heritage during Legends & Logging Days.

Festivities kick off with water wars at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10 on

Main Ave. Live music on 2nd Street Stage follows the competition.

On Saturday, Aug. 12, the awardwinning Timberworks Lumberjack Show will perform four times throughout the day. Lumberjacks will demonstrate log rolling, pole climbing, sawing and more on the fourth block of Main Ave.

Other family-friendly attractions are an archery challenge and tomahawk throwing.

The Backyard BBQ Challenge, an open-class grilling contest, returns for the third year. Competitors can win prize money in three cooking classes: ribs, chicken and sides.

9. Explore the pioneering past Go back in time and spend a day or two exploring what life was like in the area in the “good ol’ days” at the Lake Itasca Region Pioneer Farmers Show, Friday through Sunday Aug. 18-20.

The showgrounds, located off Hwy. 200 at the north entrance to Itasca State Park, are a rustic village featuring a country school, church, shops, post office, pioneer homes and more.

Gates open at 7 a.m. daily.

10. Ride the countryside

Hubbard County is an ATV enthusiast’s playground. There are miles of ATV and OHV trails around.

The Martineau Recreational Trails are found in the Paul Bunyan State Forest, near Akeley. These trails are made up of multiple loops, providing miles of incredibly fun, single-track Off-Highway Motorcycle trails including tight, wooded technical trails for more experienced riders, and miles of smooth trails for beginners.

Located on a combination of state forest roads and trails in northern Minnesota, the Round River Drive Trail showcases the diverse terrain of the Paul Bunyan State Forest. Miles of trails twist and turn while climbing in elevation and narrowing past moraines and potholes.

The Forest Riders Trail in the Smoky Hills and Two Inlets State Forest is a 100-mile, scenic ride through Becker and Hubbard counties, on terrain ranging from rolling and hilly to level and smooth.