Drive the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway
54 miles of stunning scenery through the cities of Pequot Lakes, Breezy Point, Crosslake, Manhattan Beach, Pine River, Jenkins and the Townships of Wilson, Pelican, Mission, Timothy, Barclay, Gail Lake, Jenkins and Ideal.
Can people really have fun in the car?
Like the intricacies of a good Paul Bunyan tale, the Minnesota Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway weaves together the Native American, logging, resort, recreation, pioneering, and geology stories of a well traveled past.
Tour in your cars, pedal your bikes, or just put on some good walking shoes. Here's your invite to the lakes and lands that helped give life to the Great Northwoods, Legend of Paul Bunyan.
Welcome to the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway where:
The legend and tall tales will tickle your funny bone and challenge your imagination. Glistening Lakes loaded with history will accentuate your own recreation desires. And the rolling landscapes will reveal stories of geologic formation, varied settlements and ever changing culture.
We invite you to enjoy:
- Breathtaking scenic beauty
- Natural and wildlife areas
- Historic sites and one great fire tower
- Natural resource viewing sites like the horny head minnow stream and a fish stripping station
- Bikeways and hiking ways
- Golf - Paul Bunyan and mini sized
- Shops of Distinction and antiques saved from extinction
- Lodging for 1 night, several nights, even a week or more
- Dining choices from quick bites to culinary experiences
- Lakes and streams - boating, fishing, and swimming
- Forested and reforested sites
- Lots of Paul Bunyan sized memories
- Even Tall Tales for the taking (and we encourage your own making)
Enjoy our website as you learn more about and plan your trips to Minnesota's
Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway. Milepost MusingsScenic touring recently rose to the top of the list of things people want to do while on vacation or as part of a getaway. This is great news for Minnesota, a state that is home to twenty two officially designated scenic byways, five of those being nationally designated routes, one a multi-state route and one all-American road. So, what do tourists in Minnesota think about roads? Or, maybe the first question should be, "Do tourists in Minnesota think about roads?" Yes, they do, according to researcher, Linda Limback, formerly with the Tourism Center and the University of Minnesota. And they have some definite opinions too. In August of 2000, five years before scenic touring found itself on the top of the vacation activities heap, five focus group discussions were held with tourists traveling along two of Minnesota's nationally designated scenic byways. The objective was to gain a better understanding of three things: * How roads are perceived by tourists * How roads impact a tourist's travel experience * Whether tourists prefer certain attributes and amenities of road design, maintenance and service The traveling public perceives roads in three general categories; interstates and 4 lanes, other roads, and scenic back roads. They recognize the official scenic designation, described by one participant this way, "This isn't your average road. Maybe an 'ooh' factor every two miles and an 'aah' factor every five miles." As a travel experience, tourists prefer traveling the slower scenic routes either on their way to a destination or while they are at a destination. Rarely did they choose these routes for the trip home. Roads with good paved surfaces were viewed a standard expectation, with the exception of roads near designated wilderness areas. When traveling Minnesota's designated roads, tourists noticed more recreational opportunities and supported safe alternatives for walking and biking as a part of the road design. They appreciated tourist oriented directional signing. Other comments seemed to support the flexible highway design/context-sensitive design noting a preference for preserving trees and other features that were likely part of the original reason the roads were noted as scenic or special. How do we fare here in the Brainerd area? Our tourists have two scenic touring opportunities. The Great River Road, a multi state scenic byway, passes by the new Welcome Center south of Baxter on Highway 371, runs through Brainerd along Highway 210 and moves east toward Aitkin. The Paul Bunyan National Scenic Byway is located on 54 miles of county roads in north Crow Wing County and into Pine River in Cass County. Since 1999, this Byway has been managed by an active Association which has raised funds and completed a wide variety of projects designed to create those 'oohs' and 'aahs' every few miles. The Association has worked hand-in-hand with the county toward completing shoulder paving along the entire route to make multi-use safer and more appealing. Today, when tourists from within Minnesota or those traveling to Minnesota think about the roads and decide which one to choose, they have more reasons than ever to select the Brainerd Lakes area. The officially designated scenic byways here are exactly what they're looking for, to do what they like to do best...scenic touring. For more information about the Great River Road, visit www.byways.org.
Some information for this article taken from Vistas, April 2001.
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