Join Doug for a hike on a paved trail following the northwest shoreline of historic White Bear Lake. White Bear Lake is the oldest resort town in Minnesota and has attracted health and pleasure seekers to its shores since the first hotel opened in 1853. “Upon its shores stand the rich and stately cottages of the people of fortune who seek the balmy breezes in exchange for the heat and dust of the crowded bustling city,” noted a journalist in 1890. The trail passes sites of historic homes such as the Cobb House, the Fillebrown House, former sites of grand hotels and Woodland Indians burial mounds. The area was occupied by Woodland Indians between 1400 and 1700 AD. The trail passes by Manitou (meaning “great spirit”) Island. The legend of how the island was named has many variations. Most tell of an Ojibwa maiden and a Dakota brave fighting an enormous white bear for their lives. Some say the brave killed the bear; some say the brave and bear died together. A plaque in Matoska Park near the gazebo, tells Mark Twain’s version of the tale. F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda enjoyed the lake and the local social life. It was here in 1921-1922 that he wrote the short story “Winter Dreams,” which includes references to a town called Black Bear Lake. According to Fitzgerald, this short story was the first version of his more famous work, The Great Gatsby.
If driving: Take I-35E or I-35W to I-694. Take I-694 to US Hwy 61 and go north on Hwy 61 a few miles to the intersection of Highway 61 and White Bear Avenue. (about a half mile past the Polar Chevrolet car dealership.) Turn right into the parking lot just past the stop lights at Hwy 61 and White Bear Avenue. We will meet in the parking lot near the Wells Fargo Bank, 4400 Highway 61 North, White Bear, Minnesota, behind (west) of Kowalski’s Grocery Market.
Interested hikers will reassemble after the hike at a nearby restaurant (Decoy's Grill & Bar, 2141 4th Street (corner of Hwy 61 and 4th Street), White Bear) for dessert or dinner.
Map to hike start point; Wells Fargo Bank, 4400 Highway 61 North, White Bear
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This page was last updated on August 25, 2009.
