WeT Bark Recreation Area
The Wet Bark Recreation area near Houston, MN offers trails for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, snowmobiling, cross country skiing and snowshoeing. On 2_6_16 Anita and I enjoyed some great snowshoeing. During the previous week the area received about 8" of new snow so conditions were near optimal with temp near 30. Snowshoes only sank in about 2 to 3 inches and the only other tracks on our trail were made by a deer and lots of other little critters. The pictures do not really do justice to the pristine beauty of this trail during it's winter hibernation. If you have hiked or ridden these trails on horseback, snowshoeing is a great way to see them in a whole new light.
The trail we took might be referred to as the outer loop and is the longest. We made an adjustment just past the mile two marker on the FitBit map below. Instead of following the the trail back up to Oak Ridge we did some bushwhacking and went straight up. Once on top the only challenge was to find the trail again. Fortunately, when I looked to my right there was a post with a blue trail sign on it. Going off trail with snowshoes is a great way to add variety to any trek. This trek took about 2.5 hours which included numerous photo stops and snack breaks.
We are very grateful to the snowmobilers in the area for respecting the signs that tell them where snowmobiling is not allowed. This makes the Wet Bark trails a great place for snowshoeing. To scroll through the pictures click the map to advance to the photos.
