Outdoor Adventures
By Rachel M. Anderson
FORMER MINING
PIT IN CENTRAL
MINNESOTA
HAS TURNED
INTO A MECCA
FOR OUTDOOR
ADVENTURERS
CUYUNA
COUNTRY STATE
RECREATION
AREA HAS A LOT
TO OFFER
22 destinationupnorth.com
W
hen you think of outdoor adventure,
what is the first thing to come to
mind? For Bruce Martens, 39, of Min-
neapolis, it is mountain biking, an activity he has
been involved in since childhood, and started
doing competitively in 2001.
“After I won a race at Mount Kato in Mankato
where I’m from it just got into my blood and
took off from there,” he said.
Today, Martens serves as Executive Director of
the National Center for Youth Development,
an organization that helps kids learn the skills
they’ll need to thrive in the world. He is also
the co-founder of the Minnesota High School
Cycling League and the former Coach Licensing
Director for the National Interscholastic Cycling
Association (NICA), an organization founded in
2009 to develop interscholastic mountain biking
programs for student athletes across the United
States.
In that role, he had the opportunity to ride the
best trails in the United States. Among them,
the Prescott Circle Trail and Sedona Bike Park in
Ariz., the bike trails through the Grand Tetons in
Idaho and Wyo., and the Bentonville Trail in Ark.
Closer to home, his trails of choice can be
found at the Cuyuna (kai-oona) Country State
Recreation Area, which is about a two-and-a-
half-hour drive north of the Twin Cities. “I like
Cuyuna because It’s accessible. It’s just a quick
day-trip up from the Minneapolis metro area,
so I can be up and back in the same day and
get plenty of riding in without much disruption
in my schedule. Plus, it’s free. We in Minnesota
have the luxury and gift of a trail network and
infrastructure that is open to the public. That’s
not the case everywhere,” said Martens.