Milaca Loop

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Unknown

I ran an XC race here in 1998, and this is the race course as best as I can remember it. The outer Bog Monster section is the only real sketchy segment that is really for those who are confident in their ability to follow a trail that is often lost in the weeds, technically challenging, stinky, and wet. The rest is all fine.

Most of the signage is really for winter ski use, so you need to use some judgement in order to stay on the singletrack rather than following the marked doubletrack.

Be ready for nettles, tall grass, stream crossings, and fallen trees.

Enter the trail system through a gated gravel road that is between the state snowmobile trail on the left and the Forest Hills cemetery on the right. This gravel road will eventually encircle a couple settlement ponds, but you can take a right or left just a couple hundred feet in.

From there, it's right onto Dead Man's Run or left onto Sky Hill Trail. If you just want the toughest climbs and a short loop take a left. If you want an easier ride of fast, flowing, flat trails and the option to take on the more challenging North Woods Trail and Bog Monster, then turn right.

You'll have just a few rocks to deal with on Dead Man's Run, and then it is a fast warmup as you travel clockwise around The Meadow, Rum River Run, and up onto Beaver Ridge. From here, you can head back the way you came to pick up The Pines, or you can continue down the ridge to find Aspen Maze. For a challenge, drop down off of Beaver Ridge to the right and splash through a smallish creek that feeds into the Rum River just to your right.

After crossing, head off to the right to enjoy The North Woods Trail. These range from rough-cut singletrack to double-wide tractor paths through the woods with some nice lumps and rises. You'll be making a large loop counterclockwise from your starting point at the creek, and once you are almost heading back you'll see a sign for the Bog Monster. Take a right if you don't mind getting a bit dirty, and you have a strong sense of direction. It is a loop that comes back to this sign for you to finish the North Woods Trail, but there are a few ambiguous intersections on Bog Monster.

Once back on the North Woods Trail, it is a short run down to the stream crossing. Get back on Beaver Ridge and head west, away from the river, to find Aspen Maze, which will exit the woods on a doubletrack that runs around the ponds parallel to the gravel road. The trail here is separated from the road by a fence, with a gate about three quarters of the way around. You'll next be heading south to climb up "D" Hill and then go down the other side to reenter the woods and get onto the Sky Hill Trail. Follow this to the right, and keep going counterclockwise until you finally descend out onto the gravel road opposite Dead Man's Run.

Imagine you are allowed to cut and clear 9-15 miles of trail on public land in the mid 90s. You have a few volunteers, an ATV, a chainsaw, and no money. There are some very fun, flowing, flat turns, a few short climbs, and always lots of weeds. In many areas, the deer use the trail more than people, and I get the distinct impression that as these trails were established, there wasn't time to move dirt or rocks. I'm pretty sure the only stones you'll find turned will have been disturbed by pedal strikes alone.