Pequot Lakes: Parks, Trails, and Special Discoveries

Pequot Lakes offers a variety of highlights for your trip: places by the water, walking trails, memorial sites, and a historic lookout. Sibley Lake is in Sibley Lake Park; the park has a boat launch on North Oak Street. The park also has a fishing pier. If you like to plan your outings around different activities, you’ll find two specific ways to enjoy the water here.

Parks and Trails in Pequot Lakes

Trailside Park is in the center of Pequot Lakes. The Paul Bunyan Trail runs through the park, which is also home to a veterans’ memorial and Dru’s Garden, a memorial garden honoring Dru Sjodin. This park therefore brings together several distinct places: a connection to the trail, a memorial to veterans, and a garden of remembrance. If you’d like to make time during your stay for both exercise and a quieter visit, you can take these interests into account when choosing your destinations.

“Bands in the Park” is another special reason to visit: concerts are held at the park pavilion every Saturday evening in summer and are free to the public. Pequot Lakes also hosts farmers’ markets during the season.

Discover Views and History

Paul M. Thiede Fire Tower Park is home to a historic observation tower built in 1935 that is open to the public to climb. The park also has walking trails more than 3,000 feet long, with informational signs. The observation tower and trails offer two different ways to experience the site: you can learn about the historic tower and discover information along the walking trails. The figure of more than 3,000 feet refers to the trails; it does not indicate walking time and can be a useful guide when planning your day.

Another distinctive landmark is the historic “Bobber” water tower, beneath which Bobber Park is located. The park is home to Babe, Paul Bunyan’s blue ox. These two names give the park its own character and make it a different destination from the memorial sites in Trailside Park or the observation tower in Paul M. Thiede Fire Tower Park. The Pequot Lakes Area Historical Society archives are in the heart of downtown and add to the town’s historic points of interest.

Nature and Longer Excursions

Mayo Lake Nature Preserve encompasses 67 acres of land with upland forests and low-lying shrub swamps. Trails in the preserve are used for recreational activities. The combination of forest and lower-lying shrub swamps describes a landscape different from the parks and the lake. If you’d like to include nature trails in your trip, you can consider this place as a destination in its own right alongside the parks.

For a drive, the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway is a regional option: the driving route is 54 miles long and forms a double loop between Pequot Lakes and Crosslake. Part of the byway nearby has wide, smooth paved shoulders for cycling. These offer different ways to experience the route: a driving loop and a nearby section with shoulders specifically described for cycling. The Paul Bunyan Trail is another longer option in the wider region. It is 112 miles long and continuously paved between Brainerd and Bemidji.

The variety of destinations can help you decide what you’d like to focus on during your trip: water, nature trails, history, a concert, or a scenic drive. When searching for a vacation rental, you can first work out which excursions matter most to you. More places to explore: Merrifield, Brainerd, Baxter, Nisswa, Deerwood.

For the broader travel overview: Crow Wing County.