Editor’s note: This article is reprinted with permission from Minnesota Trails magazine, where it ran in the Summer 2025 issue. The story details the author’s experience on the Gitchi-Gami Trail Association (GGTA) North Shore Bike Ride in August 2024, in anticipation of this year’s 25th anniversary ride on Saturday, August 16, 2025. Click here for registration.
From the moment I received the registration email, I knew I was going to have a great time on the Gitchi-Gami Trail ride in August 2024. The tone was so welcoming, inclusive and fun, hinting at the kind of people and planning behind it. Even though I’ve cycled every part of the trail multiple times, I had never participated in the organized ride. Now, I was excited about the opportunity to support the trail, and I convinced my daughter, Karen, to come along with me.
The idea of a paved trail along Lake Superior’s North Shore originated in the late 1980s with resort owners who wanted to connect their properties and create a safe corridor for biking, inline skating and walking. With backing from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), and the establishment of a trail support group, the scope grew. Eventually, this new recreational trail on Minnesota’s North Shore was to cover 89 miles between Grand Marais and Two Harbors, linking six iconic state parks. In 1999, the trail gained official status as the Gitchi-Gami State Trail, and the support group was renamed the Gitchi-Gami Trail Association (GGTA). Through close collaboration, these three organizations develop, support and maintain the trail, while GGTA also promotes and oversees activities on the trail. To date, 35 miles have been completed.
The morning of the ride, the parking lot at Gooseberry Falls State Park was swarming with people, ranging from Lycra-clad road cyclists to young families and those on e-bikes. Karen quickly spotted the “Biker Babes,” a group of women from her fitness studio who do the ride every year.
The air was festive, and enthusiastic volunteers greeted us at the registration tent. They checked us in, answered all of our questions and gave us a day pass good at all Minnesota State Parks. Spokengear Cyclery, based in Two Harbors, Minnesota, offered free bike checks, and the GGTA support trailer was hitched up and ready to go.
Michelle Pierson, executive director of the GGTA, was in the thick of things, pumping everyone up for the ride. “On ride day, we develop relationships. There are a lot of repeat riders, and we’ve watched families grow up,” she says.
In its goal to be family-friendly and attract a variety of riders, the event provides 8-, 28-, 34- and 55-mile routes, out and back. Our 34-mile ride would take us to the end of the longest completed stretch of the trail in Silver Bay. In keeping with the ride’s casual nature, the starting gate was a low-key roll into the park, with volunteers snapping pictures and cheering us on. We had all day to complete our trip and felt no urgency to rush the experience.
We started by winding through Gooseberry Falls State Park then faced an uphill climb, but the pavement was fresh and smooth and it flattened out after that. That took us to Iona’s Beach Scientific and Natural Area, a 300-yard long stretch of undisturbed beach, its reddish rhyolite pebbles a result of volcanic activity ages ago. It was the perfect choice for a young family doing the ride who would turn around at that 4-mile point. We found a fully stocked rest stop there, complete with snacks, water, helpful volunteers and plenty of cheers to keep us going. They even had a collection of fun signs to hold for selfies.
Resuming our ride, we entered a tunnel of towering pine trees and felt the hush of the forest. Farther along, we crossed a unique bridge with overhead trusses and a dramatic view of the rock cliff on the northern shore. Our next destination was Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, traveling one of the oldest sections of the trail, which wound away from the highway. The terrain became more challenging as we rounded curves, dipped down toward the lake and rose back up several times. We rode that hilly stretch through thick grasses and bushes dotted with yellow flowers. This part of the trail is one of my favorites, particularly for its beauty and solitude, but it does not actually lead to the lighthouse itself. That trip requires a short detour and an entrance fee. We opted to forge on.
Closer to Beaver Bay, the trail leveled out as it sidled up to the highway. By this time, the day had warmed up, but in typical North Shore fashion, we still found chilly pockets near the lake where the wind could reach us. The trail was flanked by grass, with trees between us and the shore. Riders were well spread out, so we felt like we were enjoying our own private trail.
The 14-mile rest stop was set up in grand style at the wayside rest in Beaver Bay, where we and many others grazed tables laden with energy bars, bags of chips, bananas, cool, fresh grapes and mounds of the best peanut butter sandwiches we’d ever had. Even more welcoming were the volunteers, who were always ready to chat. Many of those staffing the rest stop were ride veterans: GGTA board members, their families and past participants. Pierson called the ride a “mom and pop” event and said the key was to “keep it simple.” That equation worked beautifully for us. The convenience of real bathrooms and grassy spots to sit rounded out the benefits of this stop.
Fully refreshed, we felt ready to take on the upcoming segment to Silver Bay. That portion of trail veers inland, which meant going uphill. But it was manageable, and we were easily distracted by the sights and interpretive signs on the Northshore Mining Co. land. We rode through a tunnel beneath a railroad track and then over a bridge, with a pipeline underneath. Rail cars next to the trail were full of chunky ore from the Iron Range, en route to the processing plant to be pulverized and shipped out on ore boats. Over flower-filled grassy fields, we could see the plant in the distance — a reminder of what industry drove this area.
The halfway point of the 34-mile route — again, out and back like the others — finished where the trail currently ends at Highway 11 in Silver Bay, our turnaround point. The longer route continued on the road, and we wondered what it was like. Nicole Parks, one of the 55-miler Biker Babes, later told us she was surrounded by big pines when she rode that leg and saw little car traffic. “There’s a really long, gradual stretch of hill, and a gorgeous rest stop at Lax Lake, where we walked out on a dock,” she said.
Our return trip went by quickly. We descended the hill this time, knowing what lay ahead in the Split Rock area. We were greeted by jubilant volunteers at the finish and mingled with other riders, reveling in completing the ride. “We had 174 participants this year,” says Pierson. As a testament to the loyalty of its cyclists, she says, “About 50 percent are repeat riders over the years.”
25th Anniversary Ride
The 2025 ride promises to be a special event. At the 25th anniversary on August 16, GGTA will reveal their new logo and branded jerseys, and enter each rider into a prize raffle.
Castle Danger Brewery in Two Harbors, which will be celebrating its own anniversary that day, is the location of the unofficial after-party. “But your North Shore weekend doesn’t have to end with the ride,” Pierson says.
She encourages riders and their families to stick around on Sunday and take part in the Grit and Gratitude Ride, which explores the roads around Two Harbors. Happening the same weekend is the Rock Splitter Mountain Bike Race near Beaver Bay, hosted by the Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores (COGGS).
“Almost nobody has a bad day when they spend it on a bicycle,” Pierson concludes.