Length: 32 miles of trail     Lap: Varies     Singlespeed Gear: 30x20     Toilet: yes

Water: yes  Physically - moderate to extreme  Technically - easy to super intense

For those of you not in the know, Lutsen is located about 95 miles north of Duluth along Lake Superior's North Shore. To get there from Duluth, take Hwy 61 north until you're just about in the town of Lutsen. On your left will be a large sign pointing left for Lutsen Mountain. Hang a left on this road, and take it until it dead ends at the Lutsen Mountain Lodge.

Being a resort, Lutsen charges a trail fee to ride, but it's well worth it. The price of an all access pass is about $23. It allows you to ride all of the chair lifts, the gondola, ride down the alpine slide, and ride your bike on the property.

With some of the best elevation in the midwest, Lutsen is a treat for DH riders, and cross country masochists. The trails are pretty well marked with lots of different options that can make your ride anything from a leisurely cruise with your family to a blistering fast downhill run catching big air over rolling bumps, chattering corners, and large slabs of granite.

Lutsen is home to 4 peaks, three of which are open to riding, the fourth reserved for horseback riding. Moose and Mystery mountain have chairlifts that will take your bike to the top. If you want to get your bike up Eagle, you have to ride the doubletrack.

From the top of Mystery, you can take your pick of many routes down the mountain. There are wide open doubletracks that allow you to push 40+mph. There are also tight single tracks that challenge the most adept rider. Be prepared to ride rocks and roots if you're new to Lutsen, there are plenty of both.

Moose Mountain is a little more formidale, with large amounts of open slabs of granite. These slabs can abuse both the bike and the body if you're not careful. With runs ranging from doubletrack to extreme singletrack, Moose has lots of variety for the experienced rider. If you're new to riding, you might not want to work your way over to Moose.

The scenery at Lutsen is breathtaking. From the tops of Mystery, Moose, and Eagle mountain, you have a great look at the surrounging countryside, and Lake Superior. On a clear day, you can look out to the south east across Superior and see the Porcupine Mountains of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan 90 miles in the distance.

Lutsen has their chair lift schedule posted on their website. If you're planning on making a weekend trip of it, and are looking to DH, Saturday is your day of choice, as it is the only day that they run the Moose Lift.

With Lutsen being over 4 hours from the Metro, it's not a bad idea to make a weekend of riding there. With Superior National Forest, and plenty of State parks in the vicinity, there are plenty of camp sites within an hour. If you're into indoor lodging, Lutsen Mountain has on site lodging, or there are many lakeside accomodations to choose from.