Voters pick name for bicycle route from Moorhead to St. Cloud

MOORHEAD — Voters have chosen a name for Minnesota’s new 188-mile bike route that links St. Cloud to Moorhead.

“Prairie Lakes Bicycle Route” received 34% of the 3,655 votes cast in the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s effort to include the public in naming U.S. Bike Route 20.

“Glacier Lakes Bicycle Route” came in second, with 33% of the votes cast. Here's how the other name options did:

• MiddleSota Bicycle Route, 21%
• Rivers to Prairies Bicycle Route, 7%
• Towns and Fields Bicycle Route, 2%

The names were suggested by participants who attended a MnDOT event last year. Voting closed July 12.

The U.S. Bicycle Route System is a network of numbered cross-country routes. There are over 18,000 miles of such routes in 31 states.

The bike routes use existing paths separate from car and truck traffic, as well as roads, preferably ones with bicycle lanes or wide shoulders.

To learn more about U.S. Bike Route 20 and other Minnesota bike routes, visit mndot.gov/bike/routes-maps.html.

Image provided by the Minnesota Department of Transportation