As mountain biking becomes more popular across the U.S., Cook County’s boreal forests and rugged topography make it a great destination for riders. The county currently has 10 miles of single-track mountain bike trails at Pincushion Mountain and will soon have six miles completed at Britton Peak in Tofte. To get more funds to build more trails the county has been pursuing a Legacy grant from the state. The goal is to add 25 miles more to each trail system. Pictured above, riders are participating in the Sawtooth Mountain Challenge held yearly on trails at Pincushion.
Competition for Minnesota Legacy Amendment Funding dollars is steep, as Cook County just learned when the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC) Evaluation Team (ETeam) informed the county that its application for designation as a regionally significant park or trail for mountain bikes was given a “medium” ranking.
Cook County’s plan was one of 85 reviewed by the ETeam in this round of requests for Regional designation. Applications received a high, medium, or low rank. Only applications that met the highest standards established by the commission received a high rank and became eligible for a Step 2 scoring evaluation upon completion of a Master Plan.
The ETteam explained, “The ETeam recognized potential in your facility, however your concept and the supporting information provided did not warrant full evaluation and scoring of the facility. We encourage you to review the Commission’s Strategic Plan when considering changes in your application to meet the high expectations for quality outdoor recreation established by the criteria, if you wish to apply again in the future.”
The ETeam added a reason for its decision. It stated “there is confusion over two separate pieces and how they work together. Land ownership is a major question/constraint.”
Although Cook County Auditor Braidy Powers sent in the application, the information in the application came from Tim Kennedy of the Superior Cycling Association.
“I only saw two big differences in our application and Lake County’s application, which received a high ranking. One, Lake County has a comprehensive trails plan and Cook County’s comprehensive trail plan isn’t finished yet, and two, they [Lake County] are building their trails on county-owned land, while we are building ours mainly on federal land while we are trying to negotiate with the state to build trails on state land,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy said Lake County has a lot of tax forfeited land available for trails, while Cook County has little tax forfeited property and is largely [92 percent] made up of state and federal lands.
“If we can get a similar agreement with the state like we have with the U.S. Forest Service, that might be a key piece for the GMRPT Commission,” Kennedy said.
Currently Adam Harju is working on adding single-track trails to Britton Peak. A Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crew just finished building a large section of boardwalk there, and Harju is going to try finish another mile of trail this fall, Kennedy said.
As of now there are 10 miles of single-track trails at Pincushion Mountains (mostly on federal land) with 6 miles at Britton Peak, which is also on “99 percent” federal land. Plans to extend trails at Pincushion mean the SCA will now have to negotiate similar terms with the state that they have in place with the federal government. “Under our agreement with the Forest Service, we plan where the trails will go with them, then build and maintain the mountain bike trails,” Kennedy said. “We need to find the right people to work with in the state. Other users of trails—the snowmobile club, ATV club, ski clubs have trails on state lands. We just haven’t found what the process is yet.”
The commission said that projects with a medium ranking must be improved before being submitted for regional designation.
Kennedy said the club, through the county, would apply again in the future. He said this last grant application was for $1 million, and is needed if the club can reach its goals of someday expanding Britton Peak to Lutsen Mountains, and building a trailhead for mountain bikers near the school garage in Grand Marais that can be more easily accessed by riders coming from town. “That trailhead could be used for mountain bikers in the summer and for snowmobilers in the winter,” said Kennedy.
The GMRPTC was established in 2013 to provide recommendations to the legislature for grants funded by the Legacy Parks and Trails fund to counties and cities outside the seven-county metropolitan area for parks and trails of regional significance.
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