Voyaguers National Park
- Thread starter euphoric1
- Start date
mezz
Well-known member
I did a little research for you on Voyageurs National Park. According to the information I was able to find, there is 110 mile of marked & groomed trails which appears to be mostly on their chain of lakes, not a lot of trail on land. I can only assume that is because they don't want damage to the ground, The trails should be like table tops. Looks interesting.
bearrassler
Well-known member
I have ridden in the park a few times. Most of the trails are on the lakes with some portages between them. You don't have to ride just in the park though as there are lots of connecting trails. We stayed at the Thunderbird Lodge just outside of the park and rode mostly to the south and east from there. The Arrowood trail goes to Tower and Ely from the area and Lake Vermillion is a great area. We have ridden the Vermillion River which is fun and also over towards Orr and Crane Lake. It is a great place to ride
thank you guys!! just thinking of broadening my horizons with a bag trip and correct me if I am wrong but I thought someone said northern Minnesota terrain mimics Canada's. Thank you bearrassler on lodging recommendation as well as this would be completely new territory.
Was looking on map and see how trail traverses mainly waterways within the park but looks like some descent loops outside the area, Haven't used studs in a long time, not that it matters but forgot about the no studs Minnesota rule, I had my go fast days so 50mph rule not a big deal to me, I'm more just for the ride now.
Been up there once. The very northeast part by the reservation that goes up by canada does remind me of riding in canada. No traffic, great scenery, a lot of fresh snow on that trip at least. Unfortunately that area is kind of cut off from being able to make a loop to anywhere because of the restrictions on the boundary waters area. We've done the north shore up to the border and kind of worked our way back down and around to Ely and that area before heading back south. We were looking at continuing up towards the Voyageur area but it looked like a lot of lake riding. I wouldn't mind checking it out at some point.
We did a trip there last year, it was excellent riding and it is truly beautiful. In the park there are miles and miles of staked lake riding but there are land trails that go between Crane and Kabetogama and towards Int Falls. Low traffic, great trail conditions. I don't think we crossed a road the entire trip. Don't expect stops every 10 miles, but there are places around; Thunderbird, Voyagaire, Ash Trail Lodge. Coldest place I've ever ridden!!, bring your gauntlets. Hopefully re-sizing didn't mess up the pictures too much.
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bearrassler
Well-known member
The stud laws went away about 20 or more years ago so that is not an issue, as for the speed limit it is even a little lower in the Nat'l Park but I have about 2000 miles in the park and have ran up to at least 90 mph and never been stopped, about 60,000 miles in MN without a ticket and we run a lot faster than 50 most of the time. I do know a few that have gotten tickets but it is rare.
bearrassler
Well-known member
There are plenty of places for fuel, some could be 80 miles apart
In this months WI Snowmobile magazine there is a feature about riding there and it shows the trail map, but does not mention how many miles are in the park itself. We did not carry fuel, every resort/rest/bar we stopped at had gas available and we all left full each morning. There were no "gas stations" so be prepared you will pay $$$ for the resort gas. My one other comment is its a haul getting there; fortunately for us my oldest son/wife live in The Cities so we stayed a night each way at their place which helped with the travel from S. WI/IL. His club does annual trips there and they were kind enough to include us. 
Wait until you are on the wide open lakes (that they groom up there) and trails that are like highways, then it will hit you pretty hard. They enforce it too.
SledTL
Active member
Pull the trigger on the trip, you wont regret it. I am on the renegade in pictures above. I have an ice ripper track and never thought twice about the studs. There is tons of trails outside of the park, so do not think that you are only limited to that space. Lake vermillion just to the south has a lot of resorts and places to stay. Our club stays at melgeorges lodge in Orr which is in between Vermillion and Voyageurs. Gas everywhere is all non-oxy pay at the bar except right in Orr or Cook. I have been pulled over one time in MN and it was near the cities for me being dumb hauling the mail. If its cold like it normally is up there, you might rethink wanting to go faster than 50 mph for miles upon miles in open water area. Riding up there is true wilderness and makes me spoiled for wanting to go anywhere else.