The paving of the Paul Bunyan State Trail between Bemidji and Walker in June has finally linked the communities of Bemidji and Brainerd/Baxter.
Once shorter trail segments are completed along the south shore of Lake Bemidji and through Crow Wing State Park, a nearly 116-mile rail-to-trail corridor in north central Minnesota will primarily serve bicyclists and snowmobilers.
Trail use quickly increased, along with inquiries as to the services available along the route from its northern trailhead at Lake Bemidji State Park to southern trailhead in Brainerd/Baxter.
In anticipation of the completion of the Paul Bunyan State Trail, tourism organization representatives from Bemidji, Walker, Hackensack, Pine River, Pequot Lakes, Nisswa and Brainerd along with several interested businesses and other state agencies, began meeting in April 2009.
The mission of the group, informally known as the Paul Bunyan Trail Marketing Committee (PBTMC), is to provide a means to market usage of the trail by collection and dissemination of information regarding the trail as well as the resources along and near the trail.
The diversity of the committee brings a broad awareness of shared trail interests and responsibilities to provide coordination of services and avoid duplication.
The late Terry McGaughey, founder of the Paul Bunyan Trail Association in 1988, came to one of the first multi-community meetings and shared his vision of creating new economic development opportunities for the communities adversely affected by the closing of the railroad through the region.
The PBTMC hopes to carry McGaughey's vision forward by cooperatively promoting the trail corridor through various marketing methods. A web site, www.explorepaulbunyantrail.com, hosted on MNTrails.com website, has an interactive trail map with services available to assist trail users with planning an enjoyable ride and providing economic stimulus to restaurants, lodging, bike shops, shuttle service, etc. along or near the trail. Businesses along the trail corridor are welcome to link to the above trail information website.
Future goals of the PBTMC are maps and advertisement placements throughout the state and Midwest region.
