Getting There
Getting to the trail is pretty simple.
US-169, take Central Avenue west towards downtown Milaca.
Once in Milaca, hang a left on 2nd Ave. This will dead end into a big dirt parking lot
at Rum River. Park here. Hop on your bike and ride the
railroad bridge across the river. Once across the river, you
will see a dirt parking lot directly across the road from
the bridge. To the north side of the lot, there is a No
Motor Vehicles sign, with a doubletrack heading off to the
northwest. Take the doubletrack about 50 yards, and you'll
see the Dead Man's Run sign signaling the start of the trail
to your right. If you make it to the sewage pond, you've
gone too far.
The
Details
This
14-mile single-track trail system sits within 200 acres of
woods, hills and fields along the scenic Rum River. Dead Man's run is one of the better parts of
the trail. It has a little bit of a climb, some rocks, and
some fast single-track. This leads you to the Meadows, which
in turn takes you to the Pines. Eventually, you get to a
section called Rum River Run. This is really pretty cool, as
it follows along the river and allows you to open it up a
little. Don't get used to the pace though, because the trail
really tightens up after this. Soon enough, you're making
stop and go turns picking your way through scrub brush.
While this section doesn't flow, it is a great place to
practice control of your bike.
Most would agree that one of the best parts of the trail system is the
elevated boardwalk system that
BLAST
put in and maintains. We have massive respect for this feat.
It's hard enough putting in pallets that stay put. These
guys have done a great job getting the planks square and
secure. It's
never a bad idea to be extra careful, especially when it's
wet, or you're likely to take a header into the bog.
That's the unfortunate part of all these boardwalks and
elevated sections - they are necessary to get you up off
very wet and muddy trail. Even during the dry times
you will still get muddy at Milaca.
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