Snowmobiling the Brainerd Lakes Area: A 2026-27 Season Preview

Crosslake is the base camp for one of Minnesota's best snowmobile networks: nearly 1,000 miles of groomed trails maintained by the volunteer clubs of Crow Wing County, all woven around the Whitefish Chain and the Brainerd Lakes Area. Here is a local's preview of the 2026-27 season, from the snowmobile stretch of the Paul Bunyan State Trail to the clubs, where to launch, and how to get your sled and your lake home ready for winter.

Why the Brainerd Lakes Area rides so well

The secret to riding here is the network. Because the lakes and woods are laced with the Crow Wing County trail system, you can leave from a cabin driveway, ride to a trailhead in minutes, and loop through the chain country for a full day without repeating a mile. The terrain is friendly: rolling North Woods, hardwood ridges, pine flats, and lake crossings that connect one riding zone to the next. And because the trails are maintained by the same people who live on them, the grooming is personal. Locals take pride in a smooth, corduroy trail the way other regions take pride in a golf course.

The season itself is dependable but never guaranteed. Trails typically start coming together after Thanksgiving in a normal winter, with the best riding from late December through February and well into March. Early-season riders watch the snowfall maps like the rest of us; a good base over the holidays sets up a long, smooth season.

The Crow Wing County system: nearly 1,000 miles, run by volunteers

The Crow Wing County Snowmobile Trails Association, known on the trail as Brainerd Lakes Area Snowmobile Trails or BLAST, coordinates the network. It brings together 12 member clubs and roughly 800 volunteers who maintain nearly 1,000 miles of groomed trails across about 1,670 square miles of Crow Wing County. The association is based right in Crosslake, and its member clubs cover the whole riding map: the Baxter Snowmobile Club, Bay Lake Sno-Packers out of Deerwood, Brainerd Snodeos, the Emily and Outing Snowbirds, the Sno-Serpents, and others.

For visitors and new riders, that means the trail report matters. The association and clubs post grooming updates through the season, and a quick check before you head out tells you which loops were groomed overnight. For lake home owners, the takeaway is simple: buy a trail pass, ride responsibly, and thank a volunteer when you meet one at a gas stop. Their work is the whole game.

The Paul Bunyan State Trail: winter's backbone

The Paul Bunyan State Trail is Minnesota's longest state rail-trail, running roughly 120 miles from Crow Wing State Park near Brainerd and Baxter all the way north through Hackensack and Walker to Lake Bemidji State Park. It follows the old Burlington Northern rail line, built in 1893 and abandoned in 1983, and it opened to snowmobilers in the winter of 1992-93, barely a year after the first paved miles reached Hackensack. Every winter since, local clubs funded through the Minnesota DNR groom the trail for snowmobiles, and the smooth pavement under the snow handles studded tracks beautifully.

That history matters on the sled. Because the grade was built for trains, the Paul Bunyan Trail is gentle and direct, with long sight lines and easy grades compared with the hills of the county trail network. It doubles as the region's arterial: hop on near Crosslake, ride north or south, and connect to the wider Grant-in-Aid trail system that ties the whole Brainerd Lakes area together. For a first ride of the season, there is no better confidence builder.

Where to ride near Crosslake and the chain

The short answer is everywhere, but a few local favorites come to mind. The Crosslake area puts you minutes from the county trail network, and a morning loop through the woods north of town ends naturally with lunch at a lakeside spot in town, like 14 Lakes Pub & Brewery, the chain's local craft brewery, or one of the Crosslake restaurants that stay open through winter. South of the chain, the Gull Lake Lighted Trail offers night riding after dark, a rare treat when the days are short. To the east, the Emily and Outing country opens up long, quiet loops through the state forests and lake country, and to the west the Pequot Lakes and Nisswa trails connect toward the Paul Bunyan Trail's southern stretches.

A few local notes before you ride. Make sure your sled carries a current Minnesota registration, and check snowmobile trail pass requirements for the season. Ride the lakes only when the ice is proven; the chain has current at the narrows and the outlets, and Crow Wing County and the DNR publish ice reports through the winter. And when you cross a lake, stay well clear of plowed roads, pressure ridges, and aerated bays. The people who ride the chain for decades treat those spots as permanent caution zones.

Getting your lake home and sled ready

Late September and October are when the quiet season prep starts. On the property side, that means everything on the winterizing list: boats, docks, and lifts pulled and dried, freshwater lines drained, and the furnace and fireplace serviced for the long cold stretch. For the sled, winterize the season ahead of time by running through the basics, fresh fuel with stabilizer, a battery tended indoors, and a good once-over of track, skis, and bearings, before the first snow makes every shop in the county busy.

The lake home angle matters here too. A place on the Whitefish Chain gives you a heated base camp for a sport that is best practiced from a warm cabin: trailer up, ride all day, come home to pizza and a fire. Owners near the county trail network treat snowmobiling the way summer residents treat boating, it is simply what the season is for.

12388 Brookwood Circle sits right on the Whitefish Chain in Crosslake, close to the county trail network and the Paul Bunyan Trail, and it is the kind of four-season property that makes winter riding effortless. If you are thinking about a lake home that works in every season, this is the property worth seeing while the fall color is out and the trail season is still ahead.