The ATV enthusiast can be assured of great trails and beautiful sights as they travel the area at Lake of the Woods. This activity has become a growing sport for young and old alike. Lake of the Woods has a new website at www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com. When you go to that site, click on Outdoor Adventures and find info on ATVs, Biking, Motorcycling and the like. Click on Maps and Trails and you will find Historic Trails, Scenic Drives, The Bog Drive and the Forest Management Drive. You’ll find a vast amount of information to make you trip to Lake of the Woods so enjoyable.
Off-highway vehicles can be driven on all state forest trails that are not designated as off limits for environmental or safety reasons. 
Legislation effective August 1, 2005 allows a greater freedom for all-terrain vehicle riders choosing to ride in Minnesota state forests in our region. Off-highway vehicles can be driven on all state forest trails that are not designated as off limits for environmental or safety reasons.
Beltrami Island State Forest is just west of Baudette and spans an area of 66,903 acres. Pine Island State Forest is just east of Baudette and encompasses 878,040 acres. Northwest Angle State Forest in the north end of Lake of the Woods county has 144,412 acres to explore.
Many visitors come to experience the vast wilderness trails via ATV during the summer and fall months. Beltrami State Forest and the Bankton roads south of Williams and Roosevelt have hundreds of miles of trails, 238 to be exact; not to mention the great hunting that goes with it. Much of this trail system follows county roads, township roads, ditch banks and existing trails. Local people also know back roads that are accessible for travel even from the lake area.
Off highway vehicles can be driven on all state forest trails that are not designates as off limits for environmental or safety reasons. For more information and trail maps check out our ATV PAGE or the MN DNR website.
When looking at the Homesteader’s Trail, you’ll find remnants of a time past when pioneers were able to secure free land. At one time 0 fam4ilies lived along the present day Bankton Forest Road. They accessed the area on forest trails that followed sandy ridges. They also traveled by boat in the summer and on the ice in the winter.
The homesteaders’ livelihood was based on the resources of the area. They logged sawtimber and poles, worked in sawmills, trapped fur, and provided their own food by subsistence farming and hunting.
The community of Bankton had a post office, school, and a community hall. Most of the people that lived in the Bankton area relocated to other parts of Lake of the Woods county during the federal Resettlement Program of 1935.
The openings along the Bankton Forest Road are all vestiges of the farm fields left by the homesteaders. The location of the homesite is often marked with a willow tree or lilac bush planted by the settlers. Two cemeteries established by the homesteaders remain along the Bankton Forest Road. Records are a bit fuzzy, but at least 5 people are buried in each cemetery. The Hamilton Farm Cemetery is also referred to as the Germanson Cemetery in early township records. The Bankton Cemetery is called God’s Acre Cemetery in the obituary of one of the people buried there.
Informational signs along the Bankton Forest Road identify the two cemeteries and the location of a few of the homestead sites where evidence of buildings remain.
For more information see our website at: www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com
For Lodging see: www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com/lodging
Also see our FaceBook page at: www.facebook.com/lakeofthewoodsmn
