Unfortunately, you will quickly discover that Thompson Lake looks like a lousy place to go swimming.

Welcome to Your Official Travel Guide for Biking the Luce Line State Trail. travel guide poconos In this short inspirational post, I will tell you everything you need to know about biking the Luce Line State Trail so that you can pretend you ve actually done it yourself. I m doing the biking for you, so you can enjoy the wonders of the great State of Minnesota without leaving your comfortable living room. In this post, you will read all about the features of the trail, survival tips for beginners, and sights you should expect to see along the way. If you d like, you can move your feet up and down in a pedaling motion while you read to help foster the illusion of physical activity.
The Luce Line State Trail is about 63 miles long, and only goes as far east as Plymouth. But Three Rivers Park District manages the rest of the same rail-to-trail corridor, where it is called the Luce Line Regional Trail , for an additional 9 miles. Same difference, except that the Three Rivers portion is paved, and the DNR portion is unpaved. Big Difference. By the time you start biking from your home in South Minneapolis, the trip will be about 82 miles each direction. Here is a map of your entire travel guide poconos vicarious journey .
You will leave your home early on a Saturday morning with a singular goal in mind: to ride a bicycle to the wonderful metropolis of Cosmos. You plan to camp overnight at Thompson Lake near Cosmos, and make the return travel guide poconos journey the following day.
The paved trails will be easy going at first, and when the trails transition to crushed limestone, you will laugh at the universe s attempt to thwart your plan. Crushed limestone is an excellent bicycling surface. You will quickly reach the town of Watertown. Here is what you will see:
Next, you will continue on the luxurious crushed limestone trail to reach the slightly-less bustling berg called Winsted. Upon closer inspection, you will discover that it appears to be a fine town, and you will daydream about eating pizza on a bench next to Winsted Lake. Do not let your mind get carried away. You have a lot of cycling ahead of you and there is no pizza (there should be pizza).
travel guide poconos As you continue on your journey, you will get momentarily lost as you try to find your way to the trail on the other side of town. You will quietly curse the City of Winsted for not providing a continuous trail through the city, or at least providing some cheap and simple wayfinding signs directing cyclists towards the trail. When you do find the trail, your spirits will sink a bit as you realize you have reached travel guide poconos the end of the crushed limestone surface. The trail is now barely a gravel road. It is here that you will realize travel guide poconos that the Luce Line State Trail is really more of a snowmobile trail than a biking trail, which is why you have never really heard cycling enthusiasts talk about what a great trail it is. The world will make more sense for a few short moments before travel guide poconos reality sinks in that you will have to continue the rest of your journey on a gravel road. You will not be properly equipped. You will take photos of yourself and your travel companions at this time.
This part of the journey will be slow-going, as cycling on gravel is hard, and it will be a very hot day. You will start to drag a bit, and you will begin to run low on water. As you approach the town of Spring Lake, you will plan to stop for a water break. To your complete surprise, you will find that the trail passes right by a municipal swimming pool. Rejoice! You will park your bikes outside, ask the 15-year-old sitting at the front desk for permission, and proceed to fill your water bottles in the sink. While they re not looking, you will also stand in the shower which will feel heavenly when you get back on the bike and head towards Hutchinson.
On your way out of town, you will pass by this neat little part of the river where all these rocks dam up the river to make a little lake thing. You will like it, as well as the lovely little park in town on the edge of the river. You will sort of wish you were just staying there for the night. But you have set a goal (!) to vicariously travel guide poconos travel to Cosmos, and you are too determined to stop short of your goal.
At this point, you will be very tired, and after taking a few minutes to catch your breath, you will proceed the final mile to Thompson Lake, your planned destination for the evening. You will have grand visions of a cool, clear oasis perfect for swimming travel guide poconos and camping. As you enter the park, you will be optimistic. The grass is green, freshly mowed and well cared for. The gazebos and shelters will look inviting.
travel guide poconos Unfortunately, you will quickly discover that Thompson Lake looks like a lousy place to go swimming. It s shallow, murky, and full of greenery. Also bugs and mosquitos everywhere. Your spirits will sink, and the thought of spending the night here fighting the mosquitos travel guide poconos will not be a pleasant.
You are momentarily distracted, however, by the tallest travel guide poconos slide you ve ever seen , a sure safety hazard that is one poorly-balanced child away from a lawsuit that bankrupts the entire travel guide poconos County. You will ask yourself if parents really let their kids play on it. Seriously, though, look at this thing. It is simultaneously badass and terrifying.
At this point, you will have to make a difficult decision. You will be dead tired, but you also do not want to spend the night at Thompson Lake, or in the Cosmos City Park. You will decide travel guide poconos to bike the additional 18 miles back to Hutchinson to stay at the adorable lakeside campground you saw earlier. The one with a beautifully inviting lake, flushing toilets, and heated showers . It will be worth the 18 miles, plus you ll get to claim you biked 100+ miles in one day, something you will have never done before.
The return trip home the next day will be less eventful. Since most of the Luce Line State Trail isn t paved, you ll decide to detour slightly sough and ride the Dakota Rail Regional Trail instead. You ll enjoy the smooth paved surface, and the new scenery, and you ll enjoy a lovely dip in Lake Waconia on the way home.
Huzzah! You ve don t it, vicarious traveler! You ve conquered the Luce Line State Trail. Feel free to print this post, sign your initials to the bottom, and hang it on your refrigerator to remind you of your accomplishments! Good job, weary traveler. Time for a nap.
That looks like a fun trip. It was also a trip down memory lane for me. I haven t biked the trial but it is my old stomping grounds. I have used the Lions water fountain, gone down the giant slide (both have been there since I was a kid), swam in Lake Waconia, and I have hung out in Watertown, Hutchinson, and Winsted. Norwood didn t have that much to do so we had to go other places for entertainment.