Brainerd Minnesota History

First developed for the 2015 Walk & Wheel event in Sept.,  this walk starts at the parking lot SOUTH of the High Rise parking lot, and goes to Kiwanis Park, Buster Park, then around Boom Lake. Meet in the lower parking lot a few minutes prior to the walk. The distance is 1.9 miles, and it takes about an hour.  UPDATE, 4/22/2020: Since the original Walk was laid out, more interpretive markers have been added along the trail.  The sequence of the sites have been revised to go around Boom Lake now in a clockwise direction. 6/22/2020: See the VIDEO version below, too!

2015: Find Ann M. Nelson's Northside History Walk above.  Look in the Special Features Section in the right-hand column:


From 2016: This time researcher Ann M. Nelson kicked it up a notch! For the 2016 Brainerd History Week, she wrote a history of ALL of NE Brainerd, AND a walk...or shall I call it a ride?  It's called Along the Mississippi.
 
This great booklet rounds it all up, PLUS recreates the Parker Electric Railroad on a map on the back.  For the 2016 Brainerd History Week event, we did the tour on a bus, but you can now just download the PDF and hop in the car or on a bike, and do the tour yourself!  Find it here:
 
 



Hmmm, the next natural Walk location might be...Southeast!
 
Ann M. Nelson outdid herself in her 2018 "Along The Mississippi From Rice Lake To Boom Lake."  Twice as big as previous booklets, it has it all having to do with the river and west Brainerd.
 
 
If you prefer PADDLING to walking, go to the RIVER page to find a tour of the river from the dam to Kiwanis Park!

 
Ruh, roh, a SEVENTH one, sort of!  A MINI version of the original, and GUIDED!  Debuting May 7 & 8, 2021.  Sponsored by Visit Brainerd, starting and ending at their office at 706 Laurel St. and covering the 600 & 700 blocks.  Stay tuned for more.
 











GUESTS:  Download the Mini Walk above!  Are you out of town or can't take the walking?  Just read it here online!

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Welcome Tour Guides!
 
 
This section will be for the tour guides...and prospective guides!   Guided tours, of course, cannot be successful without a good supply of GUIDES!  Being a Guide is not hard, in fact, you need only read from 11 pages and point out several locations.  YOUR copy of the guide has red NOTES that the GUEST does not have. This guide can then point out something that only you can "point out!"  At the end of the Walk, I'll bet everyone, INCLUDING the Guide, will agree that

 
              "History CAN be fun!"

I have done many of these Mini Walks, and a LOT more of the original Walks that were designed to be Self- Guided, or viewed online.  As you do a few you'll find out you can adlib a lot of it.  You'll find things that are NOT in the guide. Maybe we need to take out some things that don't seem to pique interest with the patrons, and ADD things they get a kick out of!  The Guide is a fluid document and is printed as needed before a Walk. 

If you know of someone who may be interested in being a Guide, invite them to a Walk!  Until we see what the interest is, we don't know just how often one might be needed. It might be just a few times per summer.  You may know a group that would like to go on a Walk, so invite them to sign up for one.  Say, the Boy Scouts, or a business, or your relatives that come up for the weekend.  This tour is NOT just for those who are from the area, or grew up here.  This town is 150 years old and holds lots of secrets that might interest most folks.

Please keep in touch here!  Send in suggestions, or the feedback you get from the patrons.  You can find my contact info on the About > Contact page, or just email me here.  I can also send you the direct link to the Guide's Sign-up Sheet.

NOTE: The link above with the Walk Guide is the GUEST VERSION, without red notes. Each time there is an update, it will be updated and posted here.  It has been modified slightly just once, and the current is from 4/8/2021. 

To get a copy of the Guide version, just email me for a link to it, or call Visit Brainerd and have them print out a copy for you!  218-825-0410

To keep the Guides in touch, I have started a newsletter of sorts. This will be a place I will jot down some things I have noticed since we went live with the Walks.  If I update it, the date at the bottom will update as well, so you'll know if if there was anything was changed or added.  Feel free to send in your comments as well! What works, what else have you found on the tour?  5/19/2021: 



-Carl, AKA Fert