Mesabi Trail


The Mesabi Trail is a 132-mile paved bicycle trail running from Grand Rapids, Minnesota to Ely, Minnesota. As of 2016, the trail is still under construction with approximately 25 miles of trail incomplete. The trail goes through the many small towns along it, such as Marble, Keewatin, Hibbing, Mountain Iron, Virginia, and Gilbert. Much of the trail runs along abandoned railroad grade.

The Great River Mesabi Trail Ride

Since 2005, the Mesabi Trail has hosted a long bike ride every year in mid-August. Each stop has fruit, water, granola, and other snacks. In Buhl, there is ice cream. The refreshments are free, as is the food at the ending destination, but there is a fee to ride in this event. To accommodate riders of different abilities, the ride includes multiple official starting points; while the full route may be 50 to 70 miles, intermediate starting places along the route may be as close as 8 or 10 miles from the end.
YearStartEndMax Length
2005Biwabik Chisholm 50 miles
2006Biwabik Hibbing 57 miles
2007MarbleVirginia 51 miles
2008MarbleVirginia 51 miles
2009Grand Rapids Chisholm 50 miles
2010Biwabik Hibbing 50 miles
2011Chisholm Grand Rapids 48 miles
2012Grand Rapids Virginia 64 miles
2013???
2014Fayal Township Coleraine 69 miles

Historical signs

Along the Mesabi Trail there are signs that establish the history along it. Most of the signs notice certain areas as important to the Mesabi Range's early mining economy.