Iron Range mountain bike initiative receives state tourism award

BLOOMINGTON, MN. (Northern News Now) - A marketing effort to boost regional tourism on the Iron Range won a statewide award.

The Ride the Range partnership was selected to receive the “One Minnesota Award” during the Explore Minnesota Tourism Conference in February.

The award is presented to an outstanding tourism project, initiative, or campaign designed to advance tourism for a community, area, or business district.

Ride the Range promotes regional mountain bike trail systems in the Iron Range, bringing an economic boost to the area’s tourism economy.

It’s a collaboration between the cities of Chisholm and Cohasset, Cuyuna.com, Giants Ridge, Iron Range Tourism, Minnesota Discovery Center, and Visit Grand Rapids.

The project resulted in a website and social media pages, as well as digital advertising encouraging mountain bikers to explore the Cuyuna, Tioga, Redhead and Giants Ridge trail systems located in Crosby-Ironton, Cohasset, Chisholm, and Biwabik respectively.

Combined, the four mountain bike systems have more than 145 miles of single-track and lift-served trails that traverse Northern Minnesota.

“The history of the land, the history of the iron mines, can be seen and felt on these trails,” said Beth Pierce, executive director of Iron Range Tourism. “Cuyuna, Redhead, Cohasset and Giants Ridge are built in and around former minelands and offer riding experiences that are unlike anything anywhere else. We have world-class trails here in the Northland and Ride the Range is designed to tell the world about them.”

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