Biking
If you’re looking to mountain bike in the Tofte, Minnesota area, we recommend checking out the Britton Peak network of trails and/or the Jackpot / High Climber single track trail that runs between Tofte to Lutsen.
Britton Peak
The Britton Peak network is located 2.5 miles up the Sawbill trail out of Tofte. The trails were recently rehabbed and offer great options for all skill levels. Short Stacker, Crosscut, Flume, Skookum and Jackpot trails are all accessible from the trailhead.
- Short Stacker is an excellent one-way trail for beginners to ride, or a fantastic short loop for more experience riders to warm up on. The 1.2 mile loop takes riders through beautiful maple forest and offers riders an opportunity to test their skills on boardwalks, small drops, smooth rock gardens and small berms. Most obstacles, with the exception of some rock gardens, can be biked around or easily walked. The first half of the trail consists of small undulating hills, while the second half of the loop is slightly downhill, allowing riders to get into a fun, flowy state.
- Crosscut is designated as a one-way blue trail. The trail has a variety of riding with some wonderful rock gardens/features, wooden drops, and other technical features. The features tend to offer some more challenging opportunities for riders than Short Stacker does, but is still very approachable for riders who have a bit of experience under their belt. This trail is, rightly, a favorite loop for many and offers opportunities for those who want to push themselves. The last section of the loop has a beautiful section of flow trail that is slightly downhill, making it easy to gain momentum and become one with the trail.
- Flume is also a blue loop that can be traveled clockwise or counterclockwise. Although this trail tends to have less features and is a bit less “flowy” than Shortstacker and Crosscut, it has some unique rock roll downs and a series of berms that are a lot of fun to ride. If you’re hoping to enjoy the berms while riding downhill, we recommend riding this two-way trail in a clockwise direction (though a handful of folks would argue riding counterclockwise is more enjoyable).
- Skookum is designated as a black, or difficult, one-way trail in the Britton Peak Trail system. This is by far the most technical trail of the system. Most of the technical parts of the trail are comprised of rocks formations and features, many of which are found on short downhill or uphill sections.
VIEW BRITTON PEAK TRAIL MAP HERE
Jackpot and Highclimber
Jackpot and Highclimber are two-way trails that run from the Britton Peak trail head near Tofte to Lutsen. Jackpot is the section of the trail that runs between Tofte and Onion River Road while High Climber runs from Onion River Road to Ski Hill Road near Lutsen. Both of these trails are wonderful flow trails that stretch through miles of boreal forest. Although there are so features on the trail, there are less features than there are on the Britton Peak loops. The experience of riders tends to be much more of a flowy point-to-point experience. Both sections of trails offer plenty of climbing opportunities for riders as well as beautiful scenery to view.
One highlight of the Jackpot section are impressive rock walls tower over the side of the trails. Highclimber on the other hand, offers riders the opportunity to overlook Lusten Mountains.
Jackpot and Highclimber can be ridden out-and-back, or if you would like to ride the trail one way, we highly suggest shuttling your cars so you can ride from point to point (we also offer shuttles should you prefer a point-to-point option and don’t have access to two vehicles). Jackpot can be accessed from the Britton Peak trailhead (2.5 miles up the Sawbill Trail from Tofte, MN) or from Onion River Road (park your car on the side of the road near the biking trail located 5 miles up Onion River Road from Highway 61 between Tofte and Lutsen). High Climber can be accessed from Onion River Road or from the end of Ski Hill Road outside of Lutsen.
Pincushion Trail System
Other (relatively) nearby trails can be found in Grand Marais area at the Pincushion Trail System. However, the trails at Pincushion will be closed most of the 2024 riding season as they undergo rehabilitation.
Trail Conditions
If you’re looking for current trail conditions, we recommend checking out the TrailBot app.
Each year a little bit more of the Gitchi-Gami State Trail is completed, and we are fortunate to have a beautiful 11.5 mile section that is finished. One of our favorite outings is to ride the trail from the town park here in Tofte, down to Schroeder for a pastry and coffee (or lunch), and then ride back through Temperance River State Park, taking a break to search for agates at the beach.
The 14 mile section south of here that connects Beaver Bay with Split Rock Lighthouse and Gooseberry State Park is the longest continuous section of the trail and another great ride. Take the time to visit the lighthouse and the beaches at both of the parks; they are well worth it.
The Gitchi-Gami State Trail is still in development and well worth supporting. This trail is an amazing asset to the North Shore and will eventually connect Two Harbors and Grand Marais, running through five of the State Parks along the North Shore. Visit www.ggta.org to become a member and learn more about future construction.
The North Shore has miles and miles of secondary and forest service roads and lots of possibilities for biking.
One great ride from Tofte, known here at the shop as Jeff’s ride, is to ride up the Sawbill trail to Forest Rd. 166, on the left crossing over the Temperance River. Crank the hills up and down until you get to 343, the Temperance River Rd., on the left. There is a little bit of a climb until you crest the hill and then it is down hill to the lake. Be sure to slow down enough to check out the beautiful views of Carlton Peak and the river valley on the left. The best route back is to take another left on the Gitchi-Gami Trail and ride that back to Tofte. Round trip is a little over 20 miles and will take a couple hours (unless you are Jeff and you are trying to get a ride in before your staff person needs to leave to go kayaking, then it is just over an hour, but you better be hammering!)
Another great ride is the Timber Frear Loop. It is located about 20 miles from the shop and is a 20 mile loop on some maintained forest service roads but mostly on unmaintained forest service roads. Whitefish Lake Access is a great place to start from and a great place to swim when you are done.
Brought up your road bike? There are some great road rides on the shore as well. These include: a 10 mi section of the Sawbill Trail out of Tofte, the Gunfint Trail out of Grand Marais, the Caribou Trail in Lutsen, and Lake county Hwy 11 out of Silver Bay. With road improvements and widened shoulders, some sections of Hwy 61 are safe and enjoyable to ride. Other sections have little to no shoulder, cracks in the pavement, pot holes, and can be somewhat risky, especially if you are riding north on a Friday afternoon or south on a Sunday morning, which is when you will encounter the highest levels of traffic.
