Three decades after the first shovel hit dirt, Minnesota's longest paved bike path is finally whole. The 165-mile Mesabi Trail now runs unbroken between Grand Rapids and Ely, threading through 28 towns, abandoned mine pits, and active iron ore operations across the Iron Range.
The final piece of the puzzle, a 6.5-mile section between Embarrass and Tower, closed the last gap this year, according to MPR News. Local officials and cycling advocates plan to celebrate with a ribbon cutting at Depot Park in Tower, marking the end of a project first conceived in the early 1990s. At 165 continuous paved miles, the trail now surpasses the Paul Bunyan State Trail's 123 miles between Crow Wing State Park and Bemidji as the longest of its kind in the state, per 1UP USA.
A Rail Corridor Rescued From the Auction Block
The trail's origins trace back to 1986, when the St. Louis and Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority was formed under Minnesota state statutes specifically to acquire abandoned mining rail corridors before they could be subdivided and lost to private owners, according to the Rails to Trails Conservancy. That authority acquired property from those abandoned mine rail lines to piece together the corridor, and it now manages the completed trail. The agency landed its first federal Recreational Trails Program grant in 1993, setting construction in motion.
Former U.S. Representative Jim Oberstar, a Chisholm native who chaired the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was an early visionary who became the trail's primary federal advocate, steering transportation grants toward the project through the 1990s and 2000s, the outlet's report notes. Additional funding came from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, Legacy Fund grants, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation.
Not Your Typical Flat Rail-Trail
Roughly 30 to 40 percent of the route follows old railroad grades, but the rest cuts across old logging haul roads, forest roads, and mining property with undulating terrain and grades up to 8 percent as it crosses the Laurentian Continental Divide, the geographic line where water splits toward Hudson Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic, according to Discover the Range.
One of the route's engineering standouts is the Thomas Rukavina Memorial Bridge, which carries U.S. Highway 53 over the Rouchleau mine pit in Virginia. At 204 feet high, it is the tallest bridge in Minnesota. Farther north, trail builders solved a different problem in Embarrass, where a three-quarter-mile floating boardwalk carries riders through a riparian bog and wildlife refuge without disturbing the wetland's hydrology, per the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources.
Record Crowds and a New Maintenance Bill
The trail drew about 285,000 users in 2025, pulling in cyclists from the Twin Cities, across the Midwest, and internationally. With the route now fully connected, officials expect that number to climb even higher this year. Sarah Ciochetto said she anticipates a record number of trail users in 2026, according to the same MPR News report.
But finishing the pavement doesn't end the work. Ciochetto said maintenance funding is now the key challenge facing the trail, since sections built 25 to 30 years ago need resurfacing and upkeep just as ridership peaks. Ongoing maintenance is split between the Regional Railroad Authority and local municipalities, with annual costs offset by county contributions and wheel pass revenue, according to Minnesota Brown.
Who Pays to Ride, and Who Doesn't
That wheel pass system applies only to cyclists and other wheeled users aged 18 and older, who need a $20 annual permit or a $5 to $10 multi-day pass to use the trail; pedestrians, hikers, runners, and people using mobility devices ride free, per Rails to Trails Conservancy. Pass sales are handled by the nonprofit Club Mesabi to help fund promotion and upkeep. The trail also offers a shuttle service for cyclists looking to cover long stretches without doubling back.
Every September, the trail hosts the Tomassoni Tour - Cycle for ALS, a multi-day fundraising ride honoring the late Minnesota State Senator David Tomassoni, who secured $25 million in state funding for ALS research before dying from the disease in 2022, according to Never Surrender Inc. The ride brings hundreds of participants to Iron Range communities each fall.
Turning Pedal Traffic Into Iron Range Dollars
Regional planning groups formed the Arrowhead Coalition of Trails this year to help communities along the route secure Trail Town designations and turn bicycle tourism into economic growth, according to The Timberjay. Towns like Ely have already used similar frameworks to boost retail and hospitality sales.
Beyond the pavement itself, the corridor links riders to some of the Iron Range's best-known landmarks, including Bob Dylan's childhood home in Hibbing, the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm, and Soudan Underground Mine State Park, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. For a trail three decades in the making, the finish line in Tower is really just the start of what local leaders hope becomes a steady stream of visitors rolling through the region's 28 towns.
