Heart of the Lakes Trail links Otter Tail County communities

The Heart of the Lakes Trail is no small greenway tucked on the edge of town. In Otter Tail County, it functions as a long connector between Perham, Pelican Rapids and Maplewood State Park, carrying walkers, bikers, hikers and winter riders across a route the county says improves mobility, safety, recreation access and connections to work sites. That mix of daily transportation and leisure is what gives the trail its local weight: it is built to move people, not just to give them a scenic place to ride.

A trail built around real places

The county’s completion materials describe the full system as 32 miles, while a later award announcement puts the trail at 30 miles. Either way, the scale is large enough to matter across the county, especially because the route is not a single straight path but a set of connected pieces that reach different landscapes and communities. The trail also provides direct access to several popular lakes and overlooks Maplewood Ridge, giving it a draw that goes beyond the cities at either end.

The county’s trail page breaks the route into named segments that help explain how it works on the ground. The Pelican Rapids segment runs 7 miles. The Maplewood segment covers 3.8 miles. The Silent Lake segment runs 8.1 miles through Lida and Dora townships, and the McDonald Lake segment stretches 5.8 miles along the chain of lakes. Seen together, those segments show a corridor that threads through both town and countryside, linking school grounds, parkland and lake country in one route.

Where to start and what to expect

Pelican Rapids is one of the most practical entry points. The trailhead there sits by the school football-field concession stand and includes a bike-repair station, a small but useful detail for anyone arriving by bike or setting out on a longer ride. That location makes the trail easy to find and easy to use for families, students, and visitors who want a simple starting point close to town.

The trail’s permitted uses make it useful in more than one season. People walk, jog, hike, bike, dog-walk and inline skate on the route, and some segments open to snowmobiling in winter. That flexibility matters in Otter Tail County, where outdoor use changes with the weather and where a trail that can serve summer visitors, neighborhood walkers and winter riders has more value than a one-season amenity.

How the corridor connects town, park and lake country

Perham, Pelican Rapids and Maplewood State Park anchor the route, but the spaces in between are what make it meaningful. The county describes the trail as a pedestrian and recreation link that also improves access to employment sites, which turns a park-and-path project into a transportation corridor. For residents moving between neighborhoods, schools, trailheads and lake country, the route helps stitch together places that might otherwise feel separated by distance or rural roads.

That is especially visible on the Maplewood segment. The county says it winds through woods, prairies and lakes, the kind of terrain that gives the trail a distinct identity and makes it appealing for anyone looking for a quiet ride or walk. In practical terms, the Maplewood segment also completes the final link in a system that had been coming together piece by piece for years.

Years in the making, then finished in phases

The trail did not appear all at once. County project materials show a 2014 Perham-to-Pelican Rapids regional trail master plan and a 2019 presentation, evidence that the project was discussed long before the final paving started. Earlier segments opened in phases in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and the Maplewood State Park stretch was the final piece.

By 2024, county materials said the Maplewood segment was under construction, with grading slated for completion that fall and paving scheduled for spring 2025. The county then marked completion with a ribbon-cutting for the newly opened Maplewood segment, closing out the system and making the full corridor usable as one connected route. That long buildout matters because it shows the trail as a county investment, not a single-season project.

Public money and local support behind the route

The trail’s finish was powered by several funding streams. The completion announcement says the project received a $2,514,000 grant from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, and the bid amount came in at $2,006,349. County bonding materials also say Maplewood and Glendalough State Parks were appropriated more than $2 million to enhance the parks and fund the Maplewood trail segment.

That public financing gives the trail a clear civic dimension. County Parks and Trails Director Kevin Fellbaum said the project represented years of dedication by county staff and commissioners, engineers, landowners and community members. County Commissioner Dan Bucholz called the opening a team effort and tied it to the recreational and economic opportunities the trails bring to Otter Tail County. Those comments reflect how deeply the project was rooted in local cooperation, not just engineering.

Why the county still talks about it

Otter Tail County later won the 2025 Minnesota County Engineers Association Special Project of the Year award for the trail, and that recognition signals how the county sees the corridor: as infrastructure with a public purpose, not just a scenic asset. Parks & Trails Minnesota said the trail closes a gap in the state and regional trail system, which helps explain why a county route can matter beyond county lines.

For locals, the value is easier to see in concrete terms. The trail links a Pelican Rapids trailhead near school grounds, lake-to-lake stretches, Maplewood Ridge views and the parkland around Maplewood State Park. It gives families a place to walk or ride, gives winter users a place to snowmobile on selected segments, and gives Perham and Pelican Rapids a shared corridor that strengthens the county’s identity as a place where recreation and everyday travel overlap.