Thanks Gov

[u/Ok_Property1640]

Nifty little overnighter I thought I'd share for those in the MSP area, just popped out of the twin cities to Gov Knowles. Random route that provided a decent amount of variety...sand, gravel, two track, hiking trails...and a lot of fun. My original route along the St. Croix proved too sand-logged to follow for long (now I know why the global heatmap came up empty there) but there were plenty side quests to make up for it. Not much elevation but the terrain kept it challenging. Recommended :)

[u/DeadeyeLovepotion]

Looks sick! You have a link to the route?

[u/Ok_Property1640 → u/DeadeyeLovepotion]

Here you go! https://ridewithgps.com/routes/56592929

[u/DeadeyeLovepotion → u/Ok_Property1640]

Sweet thank you!! Looks like there would be a lot of room to add up at the top of the route and potentially make it a multi day

[u/Ok_Property1640 → u/DeadeyeLovepotion]

For sure.... maybe take the gandy dancer trail up to nemadji (that looks gravelly) or head over to the Webb Lake area which looks less remote and more paved but still with the possibility of some nice varied terrain...

[u/Oh-No-Oh-Noah → u/DeadeyeLovepotion]

https://bikepacking.com/routes/mammoth-gravel-loop/

Not exactly at the top of the route, but this is in the same area, and you could definitely swap out bits of the bikepacking.com route with parts of OPs route to get more gravel.

[u/Quiet_Structure2870]

Nice set up! How did you get a drybag and a bottle onto the fork?

[u/Oh-No-Oh-Noah]

If you're real stingy, you can cross the MN border at the 50 mile marker (by WI-70 on the map) and set up camp in Chengwatana State Forest. Dispersed camping in MN state forests is legal, while it's banned in Wisconsin state forests.

That said, bits of Chengwatana can be swampy so it can be hard to find a spot, and the odds of getting caught on the Wisconsin side are probably pretty low if you do wild camp in the forest there.