REGIONAL— After more than 30 years of planning and construction, the 165-mile-long Mesabi Trail will pave its final section, just south of Tower, this coming week.
The project, which began in 1993 and laid its first stretch of pavement in 1995, connects 28 communities from Grand Rapids to Ely, encompassing both the Mesabi and Vermilion iron ranges.
In celebration of the trail’s completion, trail organizers will host a 30-mile group ride and afterparty on Saturday, Sept. 12. The ride, from Tower to Embarrass and back, will begin at 1 p.m. at the Tower Depot Park. Returning riders will be greeted by music, food trucks, and booths at the Tower Depot starting around 3 p.m.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony officially celebrating the trail’s completion will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at the Tower Depot at 1 p.m. Local elected officials and other dignitaries are expected to attend.
The trail itself is a combination of converted rail lines, logging and mining roads, along with new trail on some stretches. It is fully paved, with the exception of the short portion passing through the Darwin S. Myers Wildlife Management Area, near Embarrass, where pavement isn’t allowed.
Along its 165 miles, the trail winds through some of the most scenic and complex terrain in the state, ranging from near wilderness on the northern end to dramatic scenes of vast open pits and mine dumps as the trail passes along the Mesabi Iron Range. Between Virginia and Eveleth, the trail crosses the 204-foot-tall Thomas Rukavina Memorial Bridge, the tallest bridge in Minnesota. The trail makes use of floating boardwalks along the many wetlands in the area, including a three-quarter-mile boardwalk through the Darwin Myers WMA.
The trail has proven to be an economic boon to the region. An estimated 270,000 people used the trail last year, with many visiting the area for the sole reason of using the trail. A study conducted by the University of Minnesota in 2016 found that visitors to the trail spent an average of $143.90 per day in the area, with the average economic activity generated by a party of four over a three-day trip sitting at $2,762. That impact has undoubtedly grown in the decade since the study.
These visitors help fuel local businesses, said Sarah Ciochetto, the deputy director of the St. Louis and Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority. As an example, Ciochetto pointed to the recent opening of The Arrowhead, a tavern next door to Canelakes Candies in downtown Virginia, which was able to open because of increased business that the bike trail brought to the area.
The idea for the trail was floating around the Iron Range as early as 1990, said Bob Manzoline, the executive director of the St. Louis and Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority, which oversees the trail. Manzoline has worked on the project since its inception.
“It was intended to connect communities across the range,” Manzoline said.
He recalls using old mining maps to plan the routes between towns across the region. By 1993, the plans became official, and by 1996, the railroad authority was involved in clearing trails.
When asked if he had a favorite part of the now-complete trail, Manzoline chuckled. “I like all of it,” he said. “I’ve walked it several times.”
Even if the trail is complete, work is not done, according to Ciochetto. Reconstruction of certain sections is already planned, with the Buhl section up for renovations this fall. Ciochetto also hopes the trail will see further expansion and offshoots, including a planned extension up to Fortune Bay Resort Casino, on Lake Vermilion.
Trail riders are required to purchase a Wheel Pass, which costs $10 for five nonconsecutive days or $20 for an annual pass. The money goes to programming efforts and maintenance for the trail, Ciochetto said.
“It helps us support this trail system.”