2023 03 26 - Root River State Trail - Fountain MN

Picture - Welcome sign at Fountain, one end of the trail.

After yesterdays walk in the state park in the snow and mud, we wanted to try something a little easier and cleaner. This trail was about 30 miles from where we were staying for the weekend.

Picture - the trail

The website says this is a 'rail trail,' but this part of the trail is not. First, the railroads almost always when through the center of town.The trail does not. And the part of the trail we walked was not straight enough or flat enough to be a rail road bed. There were not any steep inclines that were hard to walk but too close to the lay of the land to be a railroad grade. I'm guessing beyond where we walked it joined up with the railroad bed. The trail is 42 miles and we walked just over one half mile.

Because the area we walked was against open field, the paved trail was all clear.

Picture - walkway to sink hole.

This area has a lot of sink holes. The farmers have just farmed around them. Unlike a lot of area's where there is an above ground watershed, the excess water in this area drains down a sink hole. These area's are not swampy which is surprising. According to one website, there are over 10,000 sinkholes in this area.