Trail crosses esker between two blue lakes

The Chase Point Trail runs on a pine-studded esker between two crystal blue
lakes. Minnesota DNR photo.

Tell and Chase Point Trails map.
Click for larger version.

Day hikers can explore a pine-covered ridge separating two lakes and a woods lit each autumn with colorful leaves at Minnesota’s Scenic State Park.

The 2.9-mile route combines two trails – Tell Lake and Chase Point – that are popular at the state park. This route essentially is a lollipop in which you’ll do the loop (or Tell Lake Trail) first and then the stem (which is Chase Point Trail).

To reach the trailhead, from Grand Rapids take U.S. Hwy 169 east. Just past Taconite, turn left/north onto County Road 7, also known as Scenic Highway. In about 30 miles, go right/north into Scenic State Park on County Road 75. A parking lot is on the road’s right side in 0.4 miles. Park there.

From the lot, take the trail going northwest with Coon Lake on the right/northeast and the park entry road on the left/southwest. This is the loop’s northern side. It heads through an old-growth maple forest on hills overlooking Coon Lake. Each autumn its leaves sparkle orange and red.

At 0.3 miles, the trail reaches the information center. Head west across the park entry road and pick-up the trail at the interpretive sign near the RV dump station.

A boardwalk crosses a marshy area at about 0.4 miles. You’re now on the loop’s west side.

Autumn leaves
Autumn leaves finally arrive at 0.6 miles when the trail enters the woods. The trail turns grassy and wide as heading through a woods of quaking aspen, large-toothed aspen, and balsam poplar.

Quaking aspen is Minnesota’s most common tree. When the state’s great pineries were clear cut more than a century ago, quaking aspen, as a pioneer species, quickly filled the niche.

This is not to say the tree isn’t beautiful. It’s flat leaves flutter at just the hint of a breeze, and with the tree’s height reaching between 60 to 100 feet high, the whole tree canopy can look like a moving sea. This is particularly spectacular in autumn when the aspen’s leaves turn a brilliant gold.

Much less widespread across Minnesota but common throughout the northern part of the state is the large-toothed aspen. It looks similar to the quaking aspen, but the leaf has a blunt, sawtooth-like edge rather than a smooth one. The tree also is a bit shorter, reaching a height of 50-95 feet with a narrow crown. Its bronze autumn leaves flutter in the wind as well, adding a special hue to quaking aspen’s waves.

The balsam poplar also is largely confined to the northern part of the state yet even there stick to edges of streams and wetlands. It’s a bit shorter than the quaking and large-toothed aspen, reaching a height of 50 to 80 feet. Its leaves are similarly shaped to the aspens, but has finely toothed edges. Its leaves turn yellow each autumn.

Osprey
After the boardwalk, an overlook with a bench sits on the trail’s left side. This is a nice spot to search for osprey, who nest in nearby treetops.

Building their nests out of twigs, osprey prefer the tallest trees near water, where they hunt fish. Majestic looking, an osprey can stretch 25 inches long with a wingspan of up to 6 feet. Rough bumps on the bottom of their feet allow them to grasp slippery fish while a reversible end toe ensures they keep a firm grip on their kill as flying back to the nest. Their wings bend backward so that after a dive they can quickly pull up from the water.

At 0.9 miles, a snowmobile trail crosses the route. Continue straight/east.

After coming up the loop’s east side, the trail crosses the park entrance road. The trail then forks; bear right/northeast to along the shore of Coon Lake.

Crystal blue Coon Lake is 340 acres in size. Bluegill, largemouth bass, northern pike and walleye all inhabit its waters, making for great fishing.

Esker
After leaving behind Coon Lake, at 1.4 miles, the trail passes a black and spruce bog lined by red and white pines atop a ridge known as an esker. As approaching Sandwick Lake, the trail forks again. Go left/north.

This stem portion of the trail runs along a narrow but high, mile-long esker that separates Sandwick (on the right/east) and Coon (on the left/west) lakes. There are hardly any autumn colors ahead, but the esker between two blue lakes is just too beautiful to skip – the lakes are about about 25-30 feet below each side of the trail as sunlight flits through the sweet-scented pines – and since you’re this close, why not?

The esker formed at the end of the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago. As the glaciers melted, cracks formed in them, allowing water to drip through and hollow out massive tunnels. The water rushing into these large tunnels carried rocks and sediment. When the glacier fully melted and retreated, the sediment piled at the base of these tunnels was left behind, forming an esker. Plants took root on the long, often serpentine ridges, stabilizing them.

Coon and Sandwick lakes consist of meltwater from ancient glaciers that filled depressions between the esker, probably scooped out by the advancing ice or depressed by the weight of the ice sheet.

Sandwick Lake
At 1.8 miles is a memorial to the park’s first superintendent, Hugo V. Kaiser. An island in Sandwick Lake directly to the memorial’s east is named after him. You’re now halfway up the esker.

Sandwick Lake is slightly smaller than Coon Lake at 254 acres. The two lakes actually are connected by a thin waterway and sometimes are considered one waterbody.

The trail reaches Chase Point at 2.1 miles. Wooden steps head to a deck next to the water, where you’ll be treated to a panoramic view of Coon Lake ands its pine forest shoreline.

Next, head back south along the esker. At 2.7 miles, when the trail forks, go right/west. In 0.2 miles, you’ll arrive back at the parking lot.

Leashed dogs are allowed on the trail. You’ll want to carry insect repellent for the boggy part of the hike.

Fall hikes abound in Grand Rapids MN area

Scenic State Park, Grand Rapids, Minn.

There’s no better way to experience autumn colors in the Grand Rapids, Minnesota, area than a hike.

The brilliant yellows, oranges and red

of maples to the scarlet and russets of oaks...the crisp, fresh autumn air and

the last warm rays of sunlight before winter arrives...the crunch of fallen leaves and acorns beneath your boots...stopping to enjoy a warm mug

of apple cider or a caramel apple pulled from your backpack – it all calls for an afternoon on the trail.

Fortunately, there are plenty of great autumn trails around Grand Rapids to hike. Some are right out your back door, while some are a day trip that you can do in an afternoon.

Scenic State Park (Grand Rapids)
Day hikers can explore a pine-covered ridge separating two lakes and a woods lit each autumn with colorful leaves at Scenic State Park. The 2.9-mile route combines two trails – Tell Lake and Chase Point – that are popular at the state park. The trail is grassy and wide as heading through a woods of quaking aspen, large-toothed aspen, and balsam poplar. From Grand Rapids take U.S. Hwy 169 east. Just past Taconite, turn left/north onto County Road 7, also known as Scenic Highway. In about 30 miles, go right/north into Scenic State Park on County Road 75. A parking lot is on the road’s right side in 0.4 miles. Park there.

Wabu Woods Scientific and Natural Area (Grand Rapids)
A forest of red oak, sugar maple, and basswood await at Wabu Woods Scientific and Natural Area. You’ll need to rely on deer trails and degraded footpaths to work your way through the woods, but the effort is worth it. Large white pines and occasionally yellow birch dot the forest while low-lying areas offer swamp alder and swamp ash amid white cedar. From Grand Rapids, take Minn. Hwy. 38 north. Turn left/west onto County Road 19. After Cedar Springs Road are signs for the natural area on the road’s right/north side. Park off the road between the signs and head north into the woods.

Maple Hill Park (Hibbing)
A forest of gold, red and orange maples and yellow birch await hikers at Maple Hill Park in Hibbing. A 1.2-mile round trip trail heads around the hill’s northeast base then makes a steep 80-foot climb up its side to a vista. The hike can be extended by taking other trails around the hilltop and its bottom. From U.S. 169 and Minn. Hwy. 73 in Hibbing, take the latter south. Turn left/east onto Lindquist Road then right/south onto Erickson Road. Park in the lot at the road’s end.

Superior National Forest (Chisholm)
An aspen and birch forest awaits along the Sturgeon River in Superior National Forest. The 2.5-mile round trip segment of the Sturgeon River Trail heads through the second-growth forest as well as a stand of stately pines. From Chisholm, head north on Minn. Hwy. 73. Turn left/west onto County Road 65. Look for a large parking on the road’s right/north side in about 1.2 miles. Take the trail northwest to a shelter.

Savanna Portage State Park (McGregor)
Among the best spots in Minnesota to see fall colors is Savanna Portage State Park. Its fairly flat 4.25-mile Continental Divide loop heads through a forest of tall maple, oak, poplar, and birch sprinkled heavily with white and red pine. From McGregor, take Minn. Hwy. 65 north. Turn right/east onto County Road 14; it comes Lake Place upon entering the park. Leave your vehicle in the parking lot on the left/west just before Loon Lake Road. Cross Lake Place and take the Old Schoolhouse Trail north. Make it a loop by going right/south onto the Continental Divide Trail then right/west onto the Anderson Road Trail, which leads back to your trailhead.

Pillsbury State Forest (Brainerd)
Hikers can enjoy great fall colors at Pillsbury State Forest. The 8.2-mile round trip Pillsbury State Forest Trail heads through a mixed forest of gold aspen and basswood, crimson maples and oaks, and green jack and white pine. Half-way through the hike, large, old red pines rise at an old logging road, marking a good turnback spot. From Brainerd, take Minn. Hwy. 210 west. Go right/north onto County Road 18 SW then left/west onto County Road 77 SW. Next, turn left/west onto Pillsbury Forest Road SW and park in the Pillsbury Forest Horse Camp South. The trail heads east from it.

Lake Bemidji State Park (Bemidji)
The vibrant oranges and reds of sugar maples and the golden yellows of basswood await at Lake Bemidji State Park. The 2-mile round trip Rocky Point Trails heads through the hardwood forest alongside the beautiful blue lake; usually about half to three-quarters of all the trees have changed color at the park by the first day of fall. From Bemidji, take County Road 19/Lake Avenue NE north. Pretty Lake Bemidji sits to the left/west, and along the way you’ll cross the Mississippi River, which this close to its headwaters is just a small, shallow river. At Bass Lake Road NE, turn right/east; this eventually becomes New Bass Road North. At County Road 20/Birchmont Beach Road NE, go left/west. Next, turn left/south onto County Road 414/State Park Road NE and enter the park. After crossing Bass Creek, park in the lot on the right/south. Pick up the trail on the lot’s south side; some of it goes southeast but most of it heads northwest to Rocky Point, the highest spot on the lake.

Pine Island State Forest (International Falls)
Say “boreal forest,” and most people think of vast expanses of pine and spruce. In Minnesota, though, paper birch is a major element of the boreal forest, making for spectacular displays of gold leaves atop white trunks against the green conifers. A great place to see birch and conifers during autumn is Pine Island State Forest, the largest of Minnesota’s 59 state forests. Try the Pine Island 3 Trails, which total 7.5 miles one-way. Autumn leaves usually peaks mid to late September on the trail. From International Falls, take U.S. Hwy. 71 south. In Big Falls, turn right/west onto County Road 30. At Gates Corner, go right/north onto Pine Island Road. After passing Fiero Truck Road, watch for the trailhead on the left/east in about 3 miles. Park off the side of the road.