MN Backcountry Trails-Home

"In the incomparable splendor of long trails through the forests of the
north, I have ridden with bears, watched the eagles soar, and glimpsed the gray
wolf silently watching me ride." H. Erdman, Journal entry, May, 2005.

Welcome to Backcountry Winter Trails, the winter trails, exploration, recreation and backcountry travel website sponsored by the Backcountry Trail Patrol Association of Minnesota. Our passion is to encourage recreation and exploration in the backcountry areas of in Minnesota, Wisconsin and upper Michigan on skis and snowshoes, and discover the "undiscovered season".

Detailed trail descriptions of the trails we have adopted and patrol, and land manager links are located on our "Trails" page.

Annual Winter Family Fun Day

Lake Maria State Park, Monticello (Silver Creek), MN

Our annual Winter Fun Day provides an opportunity to enjoy Lake Maria  in the winter!

Schedule for the day:
10 - 11 am Snowshoe Hike: Reservations required.*
11 - 11:45 Migration Mysteries: An indoor family program on the hows and whys of bird and animal migration.
12 - 12:30 Kid's Activity, Snacks & Refreshments
1:00 - 2:00 Sled Dog Demonstration

There will also be ongoing demonstrations of winter camping equipment, winter camping in a quinzee.

Plus opportunities to snowshoe, ski, ice skate and sled.

*Registration required for snowshoe hike only, a limited number of snowshoes are available for use.

Call the park office at 763-878-2325.

The Backcountry Trail Patrol is a non-profit, volunteer trail safety, education and assistance organization that provides services to all trail users in the forests and parks of Minnesota through x-c ski and snowshoe patrol in the winter, and mountain bike patrol in the summer season. Although the Backcountry Trail Patrol is normally thought of as a mountain bike patrol, the roots of the patrol go back to 1992, when the same park rangers who would start the bike patrol three years later, were given responsibility for the volunteer ski patrol in the Anoka County Parks. The rangers and volunteers went to training with the Hennepin (now Three Rivers) Parks volunteer patrol and the National Ski Patrol at Wild River State Park, and what would become the Backcountry Trail Patrol was born. In 2000 the group started patrolling the ski trails at Lake Maria State Park and Sand Dunes State Forest. As time progressed and the patrol grew, we developed our own training programs and added training in trail care, grooming and area operations, as well as snowshoe patrol and winter camping. We also started winter safety education and outreach programs including our annual Backcountry Winter Workshop and the Junior Snow Ranger program. Since 2001, we have served as the official ski patrol at several races, including the City of Lakes Loppet Urban Ski Marathon and the North End Ski Classic.