1979 Snowmobile Map Gull Lake Area

The heart of the snowmobile world during the sport’s Golden Age.

This ephemeral map identifies the snowmobile trails across a large area in central Minnesota that promotes itself as the Paul Bunyan Vacationland. Centered on Brainer, MN, the heavily forested region features several attractions themed around the folklore of giant logger Paul Bunyan. While fishing, hunting, and camping are emphasized during the summer months, the skyrocketing popularity of the snowmobile (manufacturing was centered in the Upper Midwest) made it possible to offer an alternative recreational activity during winter.

Twelve-foot-wide trails, highlighted in red, traverse dozens of miles of public and private lands – across farms, parks, golf courses, and forests. Cross-country ski routes are also noted. The verso of the sheet presents a similar map of the area around Gull Lake, along with over two dozen advertisements for local restaurants, hotels, retailers, and snow shops.

The map was distributed in 1979 by the Gull Lake Drifters Snowmobile Club, headquartered in Brainerd. Publication was sponsored by Scorpion Industries, Inc. one of the earliest of numerous snowmobile manufacturers that developed across Wisconsin and Minnesota as the vehicles’ popularity surged in the 1960s and 1970s.