to cabin decor, with more crafts and gift shops north
along Highway 71. For stage entertainment, Park Rapids
offers the Northern Light Opera Company and family
music and comedy shows at Jasper’s Theater. In the nearby
village of Hubbard, the Long Lake Theater is a community
summer stock theater performing in an old, renovated
church. Golfers can tee off at several courses, including
the Headwaters Golf Club and Blueberry Pines Golf Club.
Heading east from Park Rapids is the Heartland Bike
Trail, passing through Dorset, Nevis and Akeley before
reaching Walker. With a handful of restaurants, the tiny
village of Dorset (pop. about 20) boldly claims to be the
“restaurant capital of the world.” Nevis is home to a giant
tiger muskie statue, boasting the area’s great fishing.
Country, gospel and bluegrass music take the stage at the
Woodtick Musical Theater all summer in Akeley. North
of here near LaPorte, the Forestedge Winery makes
rhubarb and berry wines. Along the Heartland Trail, the
scenery includes forest and fields, lakes and wetlands. To
the south, the Crow Wing River is a scenic canoe route.
The Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge between Park
Rapids and Detroit Lakes is home to dozens of waterfowl
species, bald eagles, whitetail deer, black bear and
coyote. It’s a good spot for birding and wildlife watching,
and a stop along the Pine to Prairie Birding Trail.
Detroit Lakes, 30 miles west of Park Rapids, has a
mile-long sand beach right in town, with a fishing pier.
Headwaters of the Mississippi River,
Itasca State Park
An amusement park near town has lots of kids’ fun, from
bumper boats to mini-golf. A variety of performances,
some by well-known artists, are held at the Historic
Holmes Theatre. One of the largest country music
festivals in the world, the WE Fest, is held near Detroit
Lakes every August and draws crowds with its top name
stars. There are several scenic golf courses in the area,
including the highly rated Wildflower course. For other
fun close to Detroit Lakes, there is easygoing tubing
down the Ottertail River. Further north, the Shooting
Star Casino offers gaming at Mahnomen, an area of
lakes and small resorts.
Bemidji is the first city on the Mississippi River and
also wraps around the southern shore of Lake Bemidji.
Giant statues of the legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyan
and his sidekick Babe the Blue Ox, created in 1937, are
city icons that stand along the lakefront. They’re found
right next to a visitor center that has a fireplace built of
stones from every state. The Bemidji Art Walk that
begins here is a downtown route that takes in more than
two dozen public sculptures and murals. Art galleries
carry the work of local artists, and there are antique
shops, gift shops and a woolen mills outlet. The historic
Chief Theatre downtown is home to the Paul Bunyan
Playhouse, one of the country’s oldest professional
summer theaters. The restored train depot now houses a
history museum.
The northern part of the Paul Bunyan Bike Trail
passes through Bemidji, and links the city to Lake Bemidji
State Park, with naturalist programs, a boardwalk through
a bog, and hiking trails through the woods. There is a
