A Fall Drive

[jefferios]

I have heard the idea passed around on doing a fall leaf sightseeing tour. Is anyone interested in doing this? Anyone have ideas on where the best spot to see the changing colors and trees are in MN?

[SmartStPaul]

My wife and I were thinking of the same thing--a fall leaf drive. How about Winona? Or how about along the St. Croix?

[ctruss53]

If any of you are interested, I am planning the Minnesota Sport Compacts Fall Cruise this year.

It's on October 11th and we are going to Duluth and into northern Wisconsin. You are welcome to join in if you want. It is a mix of all different kinds of cars and I did my best to pick out scenic and curvy roads for most of the trip.

I have told everyone on MNSC that this is a speed limit cruise, and I plan on obeying all traffic laws. The purpose of this cruise I'm planning isn't to fly down counrty roads, it is to get together and just have a fun relaxing cruise through the country.

Again, if you are interested in going, the trip is already planned, you just have to show up.

We are meeting at the McDonalds in Forest Lake by 7:45 AM and we are leaving at 8AM sharp. The McDonalds in Forset Lake is easy to find, it's right on I-35.

And for those of you curious about the route.....

The route to Duluth....
from:forest lake, mn to:askov, mn to:bruno, mn to:kerrick, mn to:nickerson, mn toleasant valley, mn to:fond du lac, mn to:thomson, mn to:duluth, mn - Google Maps

The loop into northern Wisconsin....
from:duluth, mn tooplar, wi to:iron river, wi to:washburn, wi to:bayfield, wi to:cornucopia, wi toort wing, wi to:iron river, wi to:duluth, mn - Google Maps

Here is the schedule.

Leave Forest Lake at 8:00 AM SHARP!
Arrive in Duluth just after 11:00 AM
Eat lunch, fuel cars
Leave for main cruise at 12:45
Arrive back in Duluth around 6:00PM for dinner
After dinner you are free to do whatever

Please e-mail me if you are interested.

[John17]

I am totally up for a fall sight-seeing/tour drive!
That would be awesome! Let me know the dates and times!

[jefferios]

ctruss, you got an awesome plan. Not sure if everyone on this board likes the length of the ride, but I think its perfect. I'd say we should plan on that unless anyone else has ideas.

[ctruss53]

Well, I planned it so it could be done in a day. Yes, with the drive back to the cities it's a long day.

If you join me on the drive, you can be back in the metro area by around 8PM of so if you leave right after the drive.

If you do want to join me, I have a roll call going on MNSC. Just let me know in here if you are interested and I can add you to the list on there unless you want to register over there. www.mnscc.net

I think you will have a great time on this. The roads are twisty, we are venturing out into Wisconsins northern countryside for some great scenery.

[vandenberg]

Being an avid motorcyclist, I've always enjoyed the scenery of Southeastern MN and Southwestern WI during the fall. I participate in both the spring and fall FloodRun (floodrun.org) which raises money for the Children's Hospital. They have a map of the route on their website. It is a scenic drive from north of Afton, MN down 35 through Prescott into Winona and back up 61 back toward Hastings, MN. It follows the bluffs along the river and Lake Pepin. If you take any of the smaller roads off the main route, while in the bluff country, you can find some terrific roads and scenery. If you shoot West on 63 from Wabasha toward Zumbrota Falls, you can find some great scenery like the Whitewater State Park, before it turns flat. It has some nice twisty roads that follow the river. Also, if you follow 10 East from Prescott toward Ellsworth you run into some nice rolling roads through some terrific farm country. Anything East and South of La Crosse, WI is also fantastic if you stick to the bluffs. If it gets too flat (farm country) just turn toward the hills and you can't go wrong. You get into the apple orchard country.

[ctruss53]

Someone with the screen name MNsmart42 posted on the MNSC Fall Cruise thread.

Thank you for that and I hope more of you join in on this. We have 25 cars signed up so far, 6 of them are maybes. So thats 19 cars for sure plus I think we are supposed to be picking up a few more in Duluth.

If you are worried about the length of the cruise, you can join us for the drive to Duluth and then drive home from there. We are taking a scenic route and going through a state park, so even the drive to Duluth will be a good time.

[jimvw57]

Living in Red Wing, We are in the middle of all the colors. A trip along the river down Hwy61 worked for Bob Dylan, Wabasha is a neat town with the Eagle center and a bridge to the Wisconsin side, could be a fun short trip. Not sure I can convince the wife to hit up Duluth.

[jefferios]

I will not be able to go on the fall drive, I'm way too swamped here at school with midterms approaching.