LITTLE FALLS — If all goes as planned, bike enthusiasts in the Brainerd lakes area and beyond will have another trail to enjoy — the Mississippi River Trail.

The Mississippi River Trail is a bikeway trail that follows the river, starting at the source at Itasca State Park, winding almost 500 miles within the state and ending nearly 3,000 miles downstream in the Delta Region at the Gulf of Mexico. The trail will run through the Brainerd lakes area including the cities of Brainerd, Little Falls, Nisswa, Walker, Aitkin and Cass Lake.

The creation of the Mississippi River Trail has been discussed for more than 10 years and the Minnesota Department of Transportation has taken the project under its wing. Steve Markuson of Preferred Results of St. Paul is contracted with MnDOT to help market the Mississippi River Trail project. Markuson has hosted informational/marketing meetings across the state to help get the trail project in the spotlight. One of the goals of the meetings is to identify future management of the trail and discuss how communities may benefit from it.

There are 66 cities in the 10 states where the Mississippi River flows and these cities may be host cities. Markuson said because of the trail, these cities may benefit economically. The trails also promote healthy living.

Markuson spoke Tuesday at Little Falls City Hall and at 10 a.m. Friday he’ll host a meeting at the Cuyuna Chamber of Commerce where the cities of Aitkin, Crosby and Brainerd will take part.

“These three cities decided to partner together to be a host of the project,” said Markuson. Markuson said funding for maintaining the trail has not been completed, but the hope is that the host cities and municipalities would help.

Markuson said at this time, 95 percent of the trail is complete. He said Minnesota’s route primarily relies on road shoulders and low-traffic roads, but also includes relatively long segments of scenic state and regional trails. He said 5 percent of the trail is off-road and 26 percent of the trails is on state highways.

Markuson said the signage for the Mississippi River Trail is expected to be up this spring and the trail is slated to open in June.

About 20 people attended Monday’s meeting sponsored by the Little Falls Tourism Bureau, which included city council members and bike club members. The trail in Little Falls would travel down the Great River Road.

Little Falls Mayor Cathy VanRisseghem said the Mississippi River Trail would benefit the city because of its national significance.

“This will make (the city) more attractive and attract more people from out of town,” said VanRisseghem. “It will help our local economy and bring more people to Little Falls.”

Deb Boelz, Little Falls Chamber of Commerce director, said “It can’t be completed soon enough. We see this as a great economic boost up and down Main Street and beyond.”

At the meeting, the group went over the strengths and weaknesses of being part of the bikeway. The main strength identified Tuesday was the economic boost since it was expected to bring more people to the city. Weaknesses included the possibility the city would need more bike racks, a community center, more shelters and businesses might have to stay open longer and provide weekend hours.

The group also discussed disadvantages of the project that included the taxpayers’ cost, shortage of volunteers and coordinating with all the cities along the Mississippi River.

Markuson also told the group not to mix up the Mississippi River Trail with Camp Ripley’s Veteran’s Trail, since the trails are separate. The Camp Ripley trail was legislatively authorized in 2009 as part of the state trail system, with the intent to connect with Crow Wing State Park and the Paul Bunyan State Trail, Camp Ripley, the Soo Line Trail and the cities of Pillager and Little Falls.

JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851