Outside in MN

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Rugged terrain lures mountain bikers to northeastern Minnesota's booming trails
The Split Rock Wilds mountain bike trail officially opens this weekend, traversing about 20 miles of rugged terrain along the North Shore of Lake Superior. It’s just the latest among a burgeoning network of 250 miles of trails in northeastern Minnesota that’s transforming the region into a mountain biking destination.
The Minnesota fall bucket list
The fall season in Minnesota is spectacular but fleeting! Here’s a list of all the things you should see and do before the leaves fly and the lakes freeze.
Orange you happy it's leaf-peeping season? Where to find fall colors this weekend
It's still too early to see the most vibrant shades, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. But portions of northwestern Minnesota are between 25 percent and 50 percent peak.
Adventure sports like mountain biking and climbing are all the rage right now. In Duluth, the city has invested in new bike and ski trails and an ice climbing park. Even as the state grows more diverse, however, those sports remain overwhelmingly white. But groups in Duluth are working to change that. 
A summer tradition changes with the climate
Climate change is affecting everything from campers’ schedules to infrastructure needs to the kinds of trees on the property at Camp Mishawaka in Grand Rapids, Minn. And it isn’t alone; a major insurer of summer camps has pulled out of the business as camps on the coasts lose property to wildfires and hurricanes.
Can the BWCA survive its own popularity?
More people are visiting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota than ever before while development, fires and other climate change agents are getting closer every year.
How to heat-proof your summer workout
With much of the U.S. already sweltering this summer, even avid runners, hikers and bikers are wilting. We've got 10 strategies from experts on how to enjoy hot weather exercise without keeling over.
Funky fish: Gar garners protections from Minnesota lawmakers
The long, slender, toothy and prehistoric-looking fish will, for the first time ever in the state, be protected in ways similar to other gamefish, the result of a bit of an outcry on social media following a series of mass killings that some saw as wantonly wasteful.