From Friends of the Jackson County Trails
Single-tracks, also known as off-road trails, are one to four-foot wide unpaved trails that wind through outdoor spaces. Belmont County Park located eight miles from the City of Jackson and twelve miles from the City of Lakefield, has become one of the first regional parks in Southwest Minnesota to feature such a track. In 2017, the Friends of the Jackson County Trails envisioned taking this rustic county park and turning it into a potential recreation destination. In 2022, this dream become reality with help from a grant through the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). The trail is about six miles long, with beginner, intermediate, and advanced segments, and all segments are wide enough for both biking and hiking.
Belmont County Park has a unique river bluff terrain not found in other parks in southwest Minnesota, and its location near Kilen Woods State Park means that the two parks can be promoted in tandem. The Friends of the Jackson County Trails hope to increase utilization of the park and its amenities, which have already seen an uptick in activity due to the addition of the single-track. As a county with a high senior population, the Friends hope that the park will draw more people into the community and create intergenerational opportunities. You can learn more about the park here, and view a video of the new tracks at this link. We hope to see you out there sometime!
Content contributed by Luke Ewald.