Column for 08-26-26 As this issue of the Paynesville Press went to print, our Trail Guard kids were deep in the BWCA on our 31st annual wilderness paddling adventure. Five young girls, ages 12-14, joined two adult trip leaders and one special guest on a trip that tried its best to not happen. As nearly everyone knows, it’s been a devastating year for wildfires – including over a dozen within the Superior National Forest and BWCA in northern Minnesota. The entry

Column for 02-04-26 This is a reminder that we keep the Crow River Nature Park (200 Burr St. N.) open year-round. The parking lot is plowed, the trails cleared, and, for us hardy Minnesotans, one unheated restroom is kept open and stocked. The park gets a considerable amount of use in the winter. And why not – it is incredibly beautiful down there this time of year. The silent, sleeping, and snow-filled woods, the frozen river with sparkling flowing water in ar

Column for 10-29-30 We finished up our Trail Guard season last Saturday with a fun trip to Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center for team building, wall climbing, trip presentations, medallion awards, and good food. It was a nice celebration of another successful year - our 34th. Prairie Woods is such a treasure! If you haven’t been there, I highly recommend that you find a reason to go. They have an incredible group of facilities and activities scattere

Column for 09-10-25 It was a tough summer for trail maintenance at the Nature Park – to say the least! It’s pretty hard to spread...

Trail Guards meets every Saturday morning at the Crow River Nature Park (200 Burr St., Paynesville) from early May to the end of October...

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy while having a chance (for some of us) to slow down and catch up on things at home. I’m not...

MIKE: PLEASE USE THIS ONE Column for 02-05-20 Everyone always says that summer goes by so quickly. “Summer’s almost over, and it seems...

At the end of 2018 last December, I wrote a letter to our email subscribers that listed many of our accomplishments since Trail Guards...

Some of what we do at Trail Guards has been with us from the start. A lot has changed since those exciting first efforts back in May of...

Years ago, Trail Guards was a rain or shine event. We didn’t care what the weather was doing, and today’s kids would still not care. ...

One of the many joys of Trail Guards is the opportunity to introduce kids (and often adults) to things they might not otherwise...

Youth outdoor adventure trips, like many things, can be affected in many ways. Things like weather, equipment failures, injuries, and...