An iron ore dust-stained mountain bike tire. PHOTO: Aaron J. Brown
The manufactured landscape of the Iron Range looks like nothing else. It’s a cyborg. Half natural, half unnatural. Steep cliffs made by shovels, trucks, and explosives overlook deep, clear lakes that are not lakes. They’re pits dug through generations, reclaimed by a water table that once existed underground.
Nature always stands ready to reclaim what is hers. It takes years, though. Meantime, the mountain biking is excellent.
The Redhead Mountain Bike Park is slated for a soft opening on June 12. This trail system runs along the mine pits near the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm.
This new park joins another new mountain biking park at the Tioga recreational area near Grand Rapids. These parks hope to mimic the success that organizers have found on the Cuyuna Iron Range in Crosby and Ironton. In addition, Duluth represents one of the top mountain biking destinations in the country.
What does the new Redhead Mountain Biking Park look like? See for yourself. This video shows you how the trails ride:
It looks wild. Should be fun.
We used to do this on our own back when I was a kid. As soon as the natural ore mines closed we moved in and made our own playground. Glad to see it’s sanctioned now.