The newest addition to the Cuyuna family of mountain bike trails — Cruser’s Kettle — will be christened at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10.
Cruser’s Kettle, the area’s first mountain bike trail to be constructed outside of the Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area, is east of the city of Cuyuna on Iron Hub Road, within Crow Wing County recreation and forestry land.
Crow Wing County and the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew will officially open the Cruser’s Kettle and Cuyuna Connector Mountain Bike trails located in the city of Cuyuna and Rabbit Lake Township at the ceremony.
“Cruser’s Kettle is a 7-mile loop of expert, black diamond, backcountry singletrack. And it is remote,” said Joshua Rebennack, construction co-chair and volunteer trail designer, in a news release. “Once you are on the trail, there are no other trail intersections, no shortcuts back, no bathrooms or benches — even cell phone reception can be spotty. It’s just backcountry, beautiful forest, and even a lost lake.”
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Cruser’s Kettle is the first of a handful of trails that will provide increased difficulty for expert riders, allowing the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trail network to provide a multiple-day riding experience for all skill levels.
“This is another great example of the county working with different groups to create more recreational opportunities for our area. The people that come here to use these trails are helping the local businesses and economy,” Crow Wing County Commissioner Doug Houge stated in a news release.
Volunteers of the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew, a chapter of the International Mountain Bicycling Association, raised more than $300,000 to cover the costs of engineering, project management, and construction. The total funding was secured with a Hallett Trust matching grant and hundreds of private donations from local residents and mountain biking enthusiasts across the state, country, and even the world.
Crew members and construction co-chairs, Rebennack, trail designer, and Aaron Hautala, trail advocate and fundraiser, also contributed hundreds of volunteer hours assisting within the process.
Cruser’s Kettle is named for Dan Cruser (pronounced cruiser), an avid mountain bicyclist and a retired Crosby High School guidance counselor. He enjoyed riding the mining roads and the tailings of the former mine land, and he believed others would, too.
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In the mid-1990s, Cruiser tirelessly advocated for the inclusion of mountain biking trails at the recreation area. After nearly two decades and the advocacy of the Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists, Gary Sjoquist, John Schaubach, Jenny Smith and the late Congressman Jim Oberstar, Cruser's vision became a reality with the construction of the first 25 miles of singletrack. Without his work, Cuyuna would not be what it is today, the Crew reported.
The “kettle” in Cruser’s Kettle comes from the geography, mainly glacial kettles that make up the area’s wetlands and low areas.
“It's a fitting name for a trail that owes its shape to glaciers,” said Hautala. “This land has never been mined, so everything is exactly what the glaciers left behind — countless boulders are now rock features that include drops, step ups, step downs, jumps, climbs, and descents. When you’re out here, you either climb or descend. There is very little flat.”
It is important to know that the soil is different than the red dirt of the recreation area. If it rains, the trail must have 24 hours to dry before use.
Ribbon cutting
The ribbon cutting ceremony will be at the Cruser’s Kettle trailhead, 23201 Iron Hub Road, in Deerwood. Parking is extremely limited — the public should refrain from parking along Iron Hub Road, and instead park at either the Cuyuna pump track parking lot, 24628 Tripp Ave., Cuyuna, or along the light purple highlighted city streets on the attached map. Cyclists are asked to be mindful of parking in front of residential houses and to please be respectful of local residents. During the ceremony, people are asked to practice social distancing and to wear masks when social distancing isn’t feasible.
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What’s next?
Construction of the Cuyuna Connector is underway, the Crew reported. This trail will connect the Yawkey Unit of trails to the City of Cuyuna pump track and trailhead, and will provide easier cycling access to Cruser’s Kettle.
Within the recreation area, the Alstead and Maroco Units of trails are being constructed. These trail units will provide another backcountry ride experience with more than 10 miles of intermediate-to-expert singletrack and four new gravity flow trails.
