With nearly 500 courses in Minnesota, it can be hard to know where to begin planning your next golf getaway. But you can hit several top-rated courses in just one trip by following a golf trail.
Minnesota Golf Trail
This selection of courses is located near the Otter Trail and Lake Country scenic byways, popular lake areas with excellent golf. In Battle Lake, Balmoral Golf Course‘s record is a blistering 64, so have fun trying to card a score that low. Savor the woods and water at Blueberry Pines in Menahga, designed by former PGA Tour player and Minnesota native Joel Goldstrand. Both Longbow and Tianna are neat tracks in Walker, and the 27 holes at Perham Lakeside Golf Club provide a topographic mix that administers every type of golf test.
Brainerd Golf Trail
Winding its way throughout this fabulous lakes area is the 54-mile Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway, where Gull Lake and the Whitefish Chain provide a superb background for some of the state’s best golf. The 27-hole Pines and The Preserve at Grand View Lodge set the bar for golf on this trail. The two Robert Trent Jones Jr. designs at Cragun’s Resort are impressive, and The Traditional, Whitebirch and Arnold Palmer-designed Deacon’s Lodge at Breezy Point Resort keep players returning.
Wild North Golf
This trail encompasses eight courses along the North Shore Scenic Drive and the Superior National Forest Scenic Byway. Along the 154-mile North Shore byway, the Silver Bay 9–hole is a popular prelude to Superior National‘s dramatic 27 holes at Lutsen. After years of renovations, Superior National unveiled its completed project in 2018, designed by Jeffrey Brauer and featuring white sand, five sets of tees, wider fairways and idyllic greens. You may be lucky enough to spot a moose while playing Gunflint Hills, 4 miles north of the Grand Marais harbor.
Minnesota River Valley
Shoreland Country Club in St. Peter presents itself where the Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway turns from south to west. It’s a short par-69 with seven par-3s, views of the river valley and routes along Lake Emily. Le Sueur’s course is relatively short by today’s standards but compensates with pesky hillside lies. Mankato offers two courses on this trail. One, North Links, boasts a large driving range and two practice holes. Thirsty New Ulm Country Club patrons can opt for après golf at the nearby Schell’s Brewery or Morgan Creek Vineyards, and then peruse the town’s Germanic features.
Mississippi Bluffs
True to its moniker, this trail rides along the Mississippi River with the river bluffs on its wing, along the southern stretch of Minnesota’s Great River Road. The trail begins with three courses in Hastings, which lies at the confluence of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers. In Red Wing, the Red Wing Golf Club and the two courses at Mississippi National are championship golf options. Just down shore, Mount Frontenac Golf Course tracks up and down the bluff, where deer are plentiful.
Waters of the Dancing Sky
This golf trail follows the scenic byway of the same name just south of the Canadian border from Hallock to Voyageurs National Park. The trail begins with courses at Hallock, Karlstad and Greenbush before the 18-hole Oakcrest Golf Course in Roseau. Warroad Estates is a regulation woodland course popular with Canadian golfers, and its ninth green is the shape of the state of Minnesota.
Learn more and get help from the experts to plan your trip: https://www.exploreminnesota.com/dreamstate
