USBR 45 and 45A
 

I have lived about 2 miles from the Mississippi River in a NW suburb of Minneapolis for 30 years. I hadn't ridden much in the 10 years prior to Covid-19, but with the extra free time I had in 2020 from working at home due to the Covid pandemic, I started riding again. I saw all these "MRT" signs near the river and always thought they meant "Mississippi Regional Trail". But last week reading a 2025 tour log of a forum member from Colorado - https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/...src=page_first - I learned it meant "Mississippi River Trail". I googled it and it returned US Bicycle Route 45. I am now planning to tour the sections of the USBR 45 and 45A north from my house this summer. Looking for any input from those who have ridden any parts of these routes. Thanks!

You probably know this, but Grand Rapids is the home of the Judy Garland Museum. The pair of ruby slippers that were stolen from the museum a long time ago were later recovered. I didn’t visit the museum when I camped there way back in 1999.

Lake Itasca is definitely worth a visit. Some of us took a boat cruise. Saw a loon family and a couple of bald eagles. And, of course, we walked across the Mississippi River on rocks. Seems the former hostel there is now a pricier inn:

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_pa...aters-inn.html

Apparently the state bicycle map is out of print, but available in PDF format. I doubt it will be of too much help, but for big picture planning it might help.
https://www.dot.state.mn.us/bike/state-bike-map.html

I have not ridden it.

You can get maps from ACA /RidewithGPS:
https://www.adventurecycling.org/rou...te=minnesota20