Historical Pembina Trail
Photos by D. Arscott
Summer 2002

The Pembina Trail is on of the historic oxcart trail routes. Several routes from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Winnepeg were pioneered from about 1860 to 1900 by fur traders and supply "trains". Some portions of these trails are actually still visable in NW Minnesota. The Woods Trail, so named because it followed the eastern edge of the forest where the "prairie meets the pine" in NW Minnesota, was one route that was cut by oxcarts traveling from Pembina ND to the Minneapolis (or areas in between). Today, several county and state roads follow portions of the historic trails. Typically, these trails were cut on top of the sand and gravel beach ridges created by the ancient glacial lake Agassiz. The portion of the trail shown below is located in Marshall County halfway between Newfolden (to the east) and Argyle (to the west) just east of Old Mill State Park. Travel Marshall County Route 114 and cross Tamarac and Middle Rivers ending just north of the Snake River.