New multi-use trail connects Warroad with Beltrami Island State Forest

Nov. 3—WARROAD, Minn. — On a recent October morning before the snow fell, Myles Hogenson hit the trail in a new Polaris Ranger side-by-side vehicle for a trek to Beltrami Island State Forest.

Trail administrator of the Roseau-Lake of the Woods Sportsmans Club, Hogenson was showing off a new multi-use trail that connects the city of Warroad with

Beltrami Island State Forest,

a 703,382-acre recreation jewel and second-largest state forest in Minnesota.

The trail, which has a 30 mph speed limit the first four miles from Warroad and a 3,000-pound weight limit, is open to a variety of recreational uses, including horseback riding, bicycles, off-highway vehicles and hiking.

Hogenson was only a couple of miles down the trail when he met a jogger out for a morning run.

"That's good to see," he said.

A partnership between several entities, including the Roseau-Lake of the Woods Sportsmans Club, Warroad Community Development, Roseau County Trailblazers, North Star Trail Alliance and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the 15-mile route was dedicated Sunday, Oct. 1.

The trail follows an old railroad grade for six miles west from the trailhead at the intersection of state Highways 11 and 313 in Warroad before crossing Highway 11 and heading south on 530th Avenue to Beltrami forest. The first six miles is known as the "Great Northern Connection Veterans Memorial Trail," an homage, of sorts, to local railroad workers who worked for Burlington Northern before the track between Warroad and Roseau was decommissioned, Hogenson says.

The Roseau County Trailblazers snowmobile club owns the railroad grade, which has been a snowmobile trail between Warroad and Roseau for several years, he said.

"A lot of the old crew back in the Burlington Northern days, a lot of those guys were all Vietnam vets, and a lot of them are gone now," Hogenson said. "That's why we figured we'd call it the Great Northern Connection Veterans Memorial Trail.

"So far, it turned out great."

Upon reaching Beltrami forest near Bemis Hill, the trail connects with a network of other grant-in-aid trails, providing access to 221 miles of multi-use recreational opportunities within the forest, Hogenson says.

And that's only the grant-in-aid trails, he says, adding "there's way more than that."

Funded by vehicle registration and trail pass fees, along with a percentage of the state non-highway gas tax, the GIA program "facilitates development and maintenance of trails" for ATVs, off-highway motorcycles and off-road vehicles, the DNR states on its website. Enthusiast groups or clubs then maintain the trails, with support and participation of local government sponsors, according to the DNR.

The idea for the new Warroad trail actually dates "way back," Hogenson says, with initial discussions focusing on what it would take to get the route established. When a local bicycle enthusiast asked about the feasibility of a multi-use trail all the way down to the forest, the idea expanded, Hogenson recalls.

"All I said was, 'If we get the money, I don't care who uses it,' " he said. "We've got horseback riders and bikers down in the forest already. Everybody's just got to know when to give a little bit. We don't seem to have any issues down there, so I said, 'What the heck, I don't care.'"

Trail projects are expensive, and with assistance from Warroad Community Development, the Roseau-Lake of the Woods Sportsmans Club applied for and received a $150,000 grant through the

Federal Recreational Trail Program,

Hogenson said.

Cyndy Renfrow, who retired in February as chair of the board and CEO of Warroad Community Development, also helped secure matching funds of over $150,000, Hogenson said.

"Just the gravel on the first six miles was $157,000," Hogenson said.

Club members, mostly retirees with previous experience building trails and running heavy equipment, provided much of the labor and were paid for their services using club funds, he said. Work on the project began in the spring of 2022.

"Stuff like this doesn't happen unless you've got good connections, and we've got some good connections," Hogenson said. "That's the nice thing about small towns."

According to Adam Deathe, president and CEO of Warroad Community Development, the new trail is the first in a three-phase project to provide and improve local trail access. The second phase, known as

"Safe Routes to Schools,"

is part of a statewide effort to provide safe, convenient access for students to "walk, bike and roll to school and in daily life."

That phase will be a "year or so" in development, Deathe said, and the third phase will involve establishing a multi-use trail from Warroad to resorts along the Rainy River north of Baudette, Minnesota.

The entire trail network will be known as

"Warroad Wilderness Way,"

Deathe said.

"That really will ensure that there is opportunity for everybody to go and explore everything that there is around Warroad," he said. "We're looking forward to that over the coming years."

The new trail has been well-received since officially opening in early October, Deathe said. Hogenson and other club members deserve much of the credit for laying the groundwork for the trail, he said.

"The work that Myles and his team put in is just astronomical," Deathe said. "WCD did write the grant application, but really, the real work, the heavy lifting — literally the heavy lifting — has been done by Myles and his team, so full credit to them."

The trail, is "an incredible resource," Deathe said, not only for Warroad residents, but for people who visit the area. Plans are in the works to install interpretive signage along the route, he said, identifying local points of interest and, perhaps, information on such natural wonders as the Aurora Borealis.

"Clearly, it's a dark sky environment out there, so it's a perfect location to watch the Aurora," Death said. "Warroad is famed for its outdoor activities throughout the course of the year, and this is why those trails are multi-use, to make sure that they are available to users throughout the year."

Hogenson's ride on the trail offered views of such wildlife as ruffed grouse and sharp-tailed grouse. The ride included a stop at Bemis Hill to see the historic shelter building and a visit to an unusual fire pit surrounded by 3- to 4-foot-high logs placed vertically in a large circle.

"A neat spot I didn't find out about until this summer," Hogenson said.

In three hours or so, he barely scratched the surface of all there is to see and experience in Beltrami Island State Forest.