The Wait Is Over! Munger Trail In Duluth Reopens After Restoration Project
If you enjoy biking, walking, or otherwise enjoying the Munger Trail, some great news!
The "beginning" of the trail in Duluth has been closed as the Minnesota DNR conducted a restoration project in the area of Knowlton Creek, which has forced users of the trail to get on it from somewhere other than the trailhead at Pulaski Street in Duluth's Norton Park neighborhood.
While you were able to go about a mile down the trail from the trailhead, you were met by fencing that blocked off the area being worked on, so you'd have to turn around or use a different route to get on the trail further southwest.
As of yesterday (June 29), the Minnesota DNR says this stretch of trail is open once again, which is great news for me and the many others who enjoy using this trail.
As they announced the completion of this project, the DNR also shared some dramatic before and after photos of what it was they were doing during this restoration project.
The image on the left shows what the creek used to look like, and the image on the right shows the restored creek bed, which looks a lot different.
While the thing most trail users might notice is a new bridge over Knowlton Creek (and maybe the more wide-open creek area), that bridge was the final piece of a project that included a lot more than just a new bridge.
At the heart of the project was the restoration of a 200-foot section of the creek, which included the removal of a lot of dirt and material to restore the creek to a more natural state from what was built when the Munger Trail was a railroad bed.
Knowlton Creek supports the natural reproduction of brook trout, and the DNR says restoring this stretch of the creek will provide a better habitat for those fish and other wildlife. In addition, the creek's bank was also stabilized to better handle high-water situations.
The Minnesota DNR says they removed "enough material to fill five Olympic-sized football fields", with more than 13 vertical feet of material taken out of the area.
The newly restored area is now also open for people to enjoy, with the DNR saying it is open to fishing, birding, photography, or "just enjoying a quiet moment in nature".
Above this restored area is, of course, the new bridge that those using the Munger Trail will be able to enjoy, connecting Duluth to the rest of the trail, which runs to Hinckley.
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Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper - TSM Duluth
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