Paved biking/hiking paths are definitely making a positive impact on the local economies where they run through, according to the results of a new just-released study.
During the summer of 2018 the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC) gathered user data from the Duluth Lakewalk, the Willard Munger State Trail, the St. Louis River Trail and the Gitchi-Gami State Trail for the survey.
Funding for this project came in part from Minnesota’s Lake Superior Coastal Program and a partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs.
A total of 448 surveys was completed with 241,000 trail users counted; 98,800 of those were estimated to be visitors to our area. Fifty percent of the completed questionnaires were done by those who used the Lakewalk path, with 35 percent filled out by Gitchi-Gami trail users, 14 percent were done by Munger trail participants and 1 percent from those using the St. Louis River Trail.
Fifty-nine percent of the trail users said they were locals.
Respondents said they walked 1-3 miles on a trail and only a few times a year did bicyclists bike more than 20 miles in any one day.
The 7.5-mile Duluth Lakewalk was the most heavily visited paved trail, averaging 1,730 users daily. A majority of visitors said they rode bicycles on the trail, spending an average of $230 per day. Twenty-three percent of the survey respondents were from out of the area.
The Willard Munger State Trail connects Duluth to Hinckley. Twenty-seven percent of those that filled out the survey were tourists. On average, Munger State Trail users spent about $115 per day.
With only 30 miles of the proposed 89-mile trail paved, the Gitchi-Gami Trail was the only one surveyed that wasn’t completed. Seventy-five percent of the visitors responded to the survey. An average of $210 per day was spent by those using the trail.
No visitors responded to the survey for the St. Louis River Trail. It is a lesser known trail that is primarily used by locals as an exercise trail.
Overall a majority of the trail users rode bicycles, stayed an average of three nights, spent the majority of their money on lodging and food, rode in groups of four, and 74 percent said the trail was one of the main reasons for paying a visit to the area.
Noted: There are 112 miles of paved trail in Lake Superior’s Coastal region. The study used two forms of data collection. One gathered information about trail users through surveys. Locals took a shorter survey than visitors.
The second method of collecting data came through automated counters.
Eighteen sites along each of the four trails were monitored mainly by Pyro-Box counters with each of the counters placed approximately one to two miles apart.
Also, the surveys found that the most popular month to use the trails was July while the most popular time to visit the Gitchi-Gami trail was at 11 a.m. on Saturdays in July.
Fifty-five percent of respondents said the Gitchi-Gami Bike Trail was “very important” in their decision to visit the area. Twenty-one percent of Gitch-Gami trail users stayed at state campgrounds or state parks with another 21 percent staying with friends or relatives. Eighteen percent stayed at hotels/motels, 14 percent stayed at resorts, and 9 percent found lodging at (VRBO/Airbnb), with the remaining staying at a city or private campground.
The Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC) prepared the summer, 2018 paved trail economic impact assessment. Helping to fund the project was the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs.
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