Happy Dancing Blog

In our last post reviewing the Brainerd Lakes Area beaches, I wanted to go to a beach that I had never been to before. I wanted to experience it like a rookie. Living in the area for most of my life proved it was difficult to find a public beach in the five county region that I haven’t been to before. After looking online and on maps, I was surprised to find Dower Lake Recreation Area. I was even more surprised to find that it’s a pretty good beach. Minus the drive (around 45

So far, we’ve focused on the beaches in Crow Wing County. It seems a little unfair to focus on the ones closest to Brainerd when there are dozens of beautiful beaches thirty minutes out. So, we grabbed snacks and supplies and drove the construction-riddled journey up Hwy 371 to Pine River to visit not only the Pine River Dam Park but also two (count ’em TWO!) beaches on Pelican Lake near Breezy Point. Pine River Dam Park The Pine River Dam has been in use for over a century,

I found out that Crow Wing County only has four “public” beaches in the county limits: Gull Lake, Lum Park, Whipple Beach, and Serpent Lake Beach in Crosby. That’s it. You would think that with how much the BLA relies on our lakes for business and recreation, that there would be a larger emphasis on public beaches. With that in mind, I wanted to take a closer look at the beaches that are a bit outside of town on the east side of Crow Wing County. Serpent Lake “Kahnah’ bek” is

They don’t call it the Brainerd Lakes Area for nothing. As we get into the dog days of summer, there’s no better time to make use of the area’s namesake. But before you double-check your packing list and apply your sunscreen, take a moment to see which beach might fit your needs. I grabbed my kids and we spent a hot afternoon doing a little research of the area’s best beaches. Gull Lake Recreation Area Clean sand welcomes all sand castle builders. Ever since the early 20th ce

At 120 miles, the Paul Bunyan State Trail is the longest recreational trail in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Natural Recourses Parks and Trails Division recently (three years ago) added over six miles to the southern tip of the trail. For just $1.2 million, this connected the Lake Bemidji State Park in Bemidji to the Crow Wing State Park just south of Baxter. I wanted to show that this little jaunt is a worthwhile use of your time. So, last Sunday I took my Gary Fish

This month, we’re focusing on helping you get outside more. I took this as a chance to see what my town had to offer in terms of outdoor activities. I also wanted to make this as inexpensive as possible, so I limited my exposure to the long list of parks in the Brainerd area. We started in Baxter and moved east. After 14 different parks, we decided what we liked best about them and what most people would get a kick out of. Brained/Baxter has a pretty robust parks system, so