Mother Bear is a lovely cross country ski area between Pequaywan and Brimson. The trails are kept up by a local club, coordinated by Al Ringer.
Locals have concerns regarding the damage done to the area by ATVs.
Mother Bear is discussed in the following article
Runoff Report
Lake County News Chronicle
Published Thursday, January 18, 2007
“I said it before and I’ll say it again,
kids are meant to have long skinny skis on their feet when the first
snow hits. No two ways about it. Oh, and since my rendition of the snow
dance sort of worked this year, teach your children the method and let
them have a shot at it. And hurry up about it, too.” Bigfish
Ski season is here. The snow isn’t falling. I began skiing about a
month ago in minimal conditions and it’s only gotten worse. The snow
gods have been summoned and reprimanded. I will keep up the snow dance
and ask all to share in those efforts.As
I write this, the snow isn’t falling. Trail groomers won’t likely be
out soon. (Don’t say anything... I’m trying a little reverse psychology
here.) Still... There are super ski trails in Two Harbors,
Silver Bay, Gooseberry, Split Rock and Tettegouche state parks and
trial networks maintained by a number of the lodges and resorts in the
county. (Please excuse me if I don’t include all of them. Omission is
only by ignorance, not intent.) There are also trails maintained by
recreation groups in the county and our Clover Valley and Brimson
neighbors at the Korkki Nordic Center and the Mother Bear Ski Trail. Of
course, a skier can’t forget about the simple fact that there are 2,301
square miles of backcountry in Lake County to explore. In other
words, there is no shortage of ski trails around here. You can rough it
and look for moose as you break trail or you can follow the groomed and
tracked trails until you’re aerobic and aerodynamic. Groomed and tracked trails include: •
Tettegouche State Park has 13 miles of groomed trails in the expanse of
the park. The trail network also hooks into the Northwoods Ski Trail
that comes out of Silver Bay. • Split Rock State Park has eight
miles of groomed and tracked trails, with over 2.5 miles of that along
Lake Superior. There is a heated trail center open seven days a week
from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. • Gooseberry Falls State Park has roughly 16 miles of groomed and tracked trails that wind through the park. •
The Two Harbors Ski Trail system has roughly 6.5 miles of groomed and
tracked grant-in-aid trails that wind through the woods just north of
town off Highway 2. The trail system is maintained by the Two Harbors
Rec and Ski Trail Association that is supported by yearly memberships
and plenty of volunteers (as are so many of the trails). The group has
worked hard for years to establish and upgrade this fine trail system,
which now includes a 3- km lighted inner loop, the only lighted system
on the North Shore. • The Northwoods Ski Trail system out of
Silver Bay is another grant-in-aid trail network supported by a local
club, the Northwoods Ski Club. The system has 18 miles of groomed
trials with a trailhead located off Penn Boulevard (CSAH 5) near the
East Branch of the Beaver River crossing out of Silver Bay. The system
hooks into the state park trails in Tettegouche. • The Korkki
Nordic Center in Clover Valley is a private trail system open to the
public. The 10 kilometers of trails has shorter loops inside and is
located on the Korkki Road. Just travel three miles up the Homestead
Road off Highway 61 and take a left on Korkki and go about a half mile.
The groomed and tracked trails have been in use for 30 years. The
system is maintained by memberships to the Nordic center. There is a
heated building and a sliding hill for the kids. Hot chocolate and
coffee is provided so bring a batch of cookies to share with the other
skiers. • In Finland, the Finland Ski Club has 6.5 miles of grant-in-aid trails. •
National Forest Lodge near Isabella has access to over 27 kilometers of
groomed and tracked trails that wind through the wilderness country
near Gegoka and Flathorn lakes. Superior National Forest’sGegoka Trail
System has a cooperative agreement with the lodge for maintenance of
the system. A trail head is at the lodge on Highway 1 and a second
entrance is near the public landing on Gegoka Lake. • The Baltich
family on Jasper Lake in Fall Lake Township has developed 32 kilometers
of trails over the past 10 years. They are continuing to work on more
trail improvements. The lodge is located about 15 miles east of Ely on
the Fernberg Trail. Called the Northwind Lodge Nordic Ski Center, the
trails are groomed and tracked on federal, county and private lands
located near the BWCAW. Trailhead is at the lodge and a daily $4 pass
is required, which helps fund the ongoing maintenance of the trail.
Skiers can stay and warm up in the lodge, or ski out and stay in
outpost cabins. • Silver Rapids Lodge has a series of cross
country ski and snowshoe trails near Farm Lake and County Road 16
southeast of Winton in north Lake County. The trail system is around
four km in length and connects into the Hidden Valley system that
connects into Ely. The trails are open to the public, but the lodge
asks that you check in with them before you ski. There is also Friday
evening lamplit skiing. • The Mother Bear Ski Trail is a remote
single track in Brimson that is groomed for classic skiing only. The
trail winds through jackpine forests, black spruce bogs and over
glacial eskers. Users will probably see more tracks of deer, moose and
wolves than of other skiers. In fact, one of the first Canada lynx dens
located in Minnesota was found adjacent to the trail. A snowshoe loop
is also available for non-skiers. The trailhead with parking lot and
outhouse is located two miles south of Hugo’s Bar on County Road 44. If
there are other trails out there that we’ve overlooked please send us
some information and we’ll be glad to include them in a future issue. http://www.twoharborsmn.com/articles/index.cfm?id=14986§ion=Sports
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