Crow Wing County is a county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,123. Its county seat is Brainerd. The county was formed in 1857, and was organized in 1870.
Freeport is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 632 at the 2010 census. Freeport is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Holdingford is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 708 at the 2010 census. It claims to be "The Gateway to Lake Wobegon", the fictional central Minnesota town created by author Garrison Keillor.
The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway, one of seven U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (MStP&SSM), which was commonly known as the Soo Line after the phonetic spelling of Sault, it was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of that company with two other CP subsidiaries: The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway, and the Wisconsin Central Railway. It is also the successor to other Class I railroads, including the Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway and the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. On the other hand, a large amount of mileage was spun off in 1987 to Wisconsin Central Ltd., now part of the Canadian National Railway. The Soo Line Railroad and the Delaware and Hudson Railway, CP's other major subsidiary, presently do business as the Canadian Pacific Railway. Most equipment has been repainted into the CP scheme, but the U.S. Surface Transportation Board groups all of CP's U.S. subsidiaries under the Soo Line name for reporting purposes. The Minneapolis headquarters are located in the Canadian Pacific Plaza building, having moved from the nearby Soo Line Building.
The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s. Until 1972, when the employees purchased the company, it was named the Chicago and North Western Railway.
The Midtown Greenway is a 5.7-mile (9.2 km) rail trail in Minneapolis, Minnesota that follows the path of an abandoned route of the Milwaukee Road railway. It is considered under segregated cycle facilities.
The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway (DSS&A) was an American railroad serving the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Lake Superior shoreline of Wisconsin. It provided service from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and St. Ignace, Michigan, westward through Marquette, Michigan to Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota. A branchline stretched northward from Nestoria, Michigan up to the Keweenaw Peninsula and terminating at Houghton, Michigan, with two branches extending further to Calumet, Michigan and Lake Linden, Michigan.
Three Rivers Park District is a special park district serving the suburban areas of the Twin Cities including suburban Hennepin, Carver, Dakota, Scott, and Ramsey counties. Three Rivers's mission is "To promote environmental stewardship through recreation and education in a natural resources-based park system." Three Rivers operates twenty parks and ten regional trails, with at least two more regional trails planned. Nearly seven million people visit Three Rivers facilities each year. It has over 27,000 acres (11,000 ha) of parks and trails.
Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail is a 41-mile-long (66 km) paved multi-use rail trail connecting Faribault and Mankato, Minnesota. It is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which converted it from a railroad line. The name derives from the Dakota people who lived in the region; "Sakatah" translates into "singing hills". It began as a snowmobile trail and is now shared by hikers, joggers and cross-country skiers. There are sections of parallel dirt trail for horseback riders but they are not continuous. The landscape is mostly cultivated land with remnant stands of prairie and Big Woods. The trail passes through Sakatah Lake State Park and runs through city streets in Waterville.
Transportation in the U.S. State of Minnesota consists of a complex network of roadways, railways, waterways and airports. The transportation system is generally overseen by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, a cabinet-level agency of the state government. Additionally, regional governments such as the Metropolitan Council have authority over regional planning for the transportation system and local governments such as cities and counties oversee the local transportation network.
Lake Wobegon is a fictional town created by Garrison Keillor as the setting of the recurring segment "News from Lake Wobegon" for the radio program A Prairie Home Companion broadcast from St Paul, Minnesota. The fictional town serves as the setting for many of Keillor's stories and novels, gaining an international audience with Lake Wobegon Days in 1985. Described as a small rural town in central Minnesota, the events and adventures of the townspeople provided Keillor with a wealth of humorous and often touching stories.
Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area is a 1,980-acre (800 ha) state park located in Fayette County, Illinois, United States. The nearest town is Ramsey, Illinois, and the park is adjacent to U.S. Highway 51. The park is managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).
The Lake Wobegon Trail are two paved recreational rail trails in central Minnesota, named after the fictional Lake Wobegon in Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion". Each trail is marked with mileposts every 0.5 miles (0.80 km), corresponding with the mile markers of the former railroad lines. Snowmobile use is allowed on the trail in winter, conditions permitting.
U.S. Bicycle Route 20 (USBR 20) is a U.S. Numbered Bicycle Route that is planned to run from the Oregon Coast to Marine City, Michigan. As of 2021, sections of the route in Washington state and Michigan have been approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), comprising 387 miles (623 km).
The Dakota Rail Trail runs 28.1 miles (42.6 km) from Wayzata to Lester Prairie, Minnesota. It is on part of the former track bed of the Hutchinson Spur of the Great Northern Railway. The railway line helped bring wheat and raw materials from Central Minnesota to the flour mills, factories and wearhouses in Minneapolis from 1885 until 2001. The railway line, from which there are views of the countryside, was also designed to bring tourists to the communities on Lake Minnetonka in the late 1880s.
The Casey Jones State Trail is a multi-use recreational rail trail in southwestern Minnesota, USA. Although it was one of the first Minnesota state trails to be established, it remains incomplete as three discontinuous sections. The trail is managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. It traverses the rolling morainal landscape of the Coteau des Prairies, passing cropland interspersed with wooded ravines, remnant tallgrass prairie, and wetlands. The trail is named after railroad engineer Casey Jones, who famously sacrificed his life to lessen the severity of a 1900 train crash in Mississippi. Jones had no connections to Minnesota; the trail was named for him as it was the first abandoned railroad grade acquired by the state. The railroad was key to bringing settlers to the area in the late 19th century and for shipping their agricultural products to market.
The Glacial Lakes State Trail is a multi-use recreational rail trail in south-central Minnesota, USA. Developed from a former Burlington Northern Railroad grade, it traverses a landscape of lakes and gently rolling hills formed 10,000 years ago during the last glacial period. The trail currently extends 22 miles (35 km) from outside Willmar through the communities of Spicer, New London, and Hawick to the North Fork Crow River. Beyond that the undeveloped railbed is open for some recreational uses for another 22 miles (35 km) through the city of Richmond, but some of the original railroad bridges are closed. The developed section is continuously paved, with parallel grass trackways or shoulders for horseback riding along the whole route. Bicyclists can connect to a 3-mile (4.8 km) roadside route to access Sibley State Park.
The Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon is a 26.2 mile foot race from Holdingford, Minnesota, to St. Joseph, Minnesota, on a paved trail called the Lake Wobegon Trail. The course is USATF-certified, making it a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon. The race is sponsored and organized by the St. Cloud River Runners, a running group active since 1983 with about 150 members.
Luce Line Trail is a 74.9-mile (120.5 km), shared-use path in Minnesota, United States, that stretches from Cosmos to Minneapolis. The trail system was built after 1995, when the Luce Line Railroad was abandoned west of Interstate 494. The previous line extended 104 miles (167 km) to Gluek. The multi-use trail has varying surface features, though it is primarily made up of crushed limestone or aggregate base, and the section from Cosmos to Cedar Mills is undeveloped, as are the sections from just west of Hutchinson to Winsted and east of Plymouth. The trail is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources west of Vicksburg Lane where it is named Luce Line State Trail. East of Vicksburg Lane, it is maintained by the Three Rivers Park District and named Luce Line Regional Trail.
