Cuyuna Lakes

The red dirt in these hills sparked a resurgence of mountain biking when they created this northwoods mecca. An absolute jewel in the Minnesota crown.

IRONTON, MN— The trails up here flow so clean and smooth it’s almost easy to take the Cuyuna Lakes red dirt for granted.

(Cover photo by Troy Melhus) (Photo above provided)

But to do so would ignore the seismic impact these 70+ miles of scenic and challenging trails have had on Minnesota.

Before 2011 there was no real “Cuyuna” — at least the way we dirt spankers have come to know it now.

There were no maps at a giant trailhead and parking area just inside the Cuyuna Lakes Recreation Area. There were no signs, or guideposts or easements; no trail ratings to help gauge the challeges; and there was certainly no coordinated countywide effort to turn Cuyuna into the mountain biking destination mecca it has evolved into since those early years.

I certainly remember those early days: frantic, Friday morning slingshots out of the Twin Cities to try and score one of the limited first-come, first-serve open field camping sites, competing with Twin Cities scuba divers for the best lakefront views.

Scuba divers have long come here for the crystal clear mine lake waters, but it was only recently, relatively speaking, that mountain bike visionaries saw opportunity along the old mining trails above the shores of the icy cold depths that were once hollow pits.

And oh, since then, how times have changed.

These days the area is managed by teams and scores of volunteers from around the state, helping blaze and maintain these trails — now rated as an IMBA Silver Level Ride Center — for generations to come.

The best way to start the Cuyuna experience, in my opinion, is in the state recreation area parking lot, site of the main trailhead and the “Miner’s Mountain Rally Area.” Parking is free but you will need a state park permit for entry. (There’s no ranger office directly on the site, so you’ll either need to pick up a pass from a local state park office or just be prepared for the usual confusion.)

From there it’s take your pick based on your level of skill: from Galloping Goose and a skills park, to dropping into the red roller coaster trails with entry points all along the Huntington Mine Lake. (Word to the less experienced: Be ready for a flat or two on the sharp, jagged iron ore rocks that take no prisoners when it comes to your sidewalls.

Over the years the trails have certainly expanded, allowing riders to not only circumnavigate the mine lakes, but turn day trips into long camping weekends whether in a Yurt; in the Portsmouth Campground; in Ironton along the shores of Serpent Lake or True North Basecamp; or even in the city park of Cuyuna proper, with a dynamite little pump track for the littles. (I will personally attest these are all great campgrounds — I have stayed in them all). One of my favorite weekends of the entire year, every summer, is the annual Minnesota Mountain Bike Series bike race, the Cuyuna Crusher, this year on Aug. 23, 2026. Years, literally of memories, and I always look forward to coming back.

If you go, just be ready for everyone to know where you’ve been when you get back home.

The red dirt don’t lie — and it don’t come out very easily, either — and it will linger on your tires for weeks if you let it.