Northern Minnesota’s most famous resident is 18 feet tall, holds an axe, and will not charge you a dime

America’s oldest Paul Bunyan is free to visit

On the shore of Lake Bemidji in northern Minnesota, two giant figures have been drawing road-trippers off the highway for nearly 90 years. One stands 18 feet tall and holds an axe.

The other, a blue ox named Babe, stands 10 feet at the shoulder.

They’ve been here since 1937, they’re listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and Eastman Kodak once ranked them the second-most-photographed statues in America, right behind Mount Rushmore.

The story of how they got here starts with a Minnesota winter and a town that needed visitors.

Built in a January cold snap for the 1937 Winter Carnival

Bemidji was in the grip of the Great Depression when city leaders decided they needed something to pull people in. The occasion was the 1937 Winter Carnival, and the idea was to build something big.

Cyril Dickinson, from a local lumber company, oversaw Paul’s construction and used then-Mayor Earl Bucklen as the model for the face.

Jim Payton of Bemidji Electric Company built Babe from a real ox he found at a nearby logging camp.

Both figures went up on a three-to-one scale, though Paul’s neck came out too short because of poor light during the January build. A full-page spread in Life magazine the following month put Bemidji on the map.

The tall tales go back to 1800s logging camps

Paul Bunyan didn’t start as a statue. He started as a story, passed around lumber camps across the Upper Midwest in the mid-1800s.

Loggers swapped tales about a giant lumberjack and his enormous blue ox, and the legend grew with each telling.

It spread through the camps of northern Minnesota and eventually caught the attention of William B. Laughead, a former lumberjack who went into advertising.

Starting in 1914, he turned the stories into illustrated pamphlets for the Red River Lumber Company, and Paul Bunyan became a national figure.

According to the old tales, Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes formed where Paul’s footprints filled with rainwater.

Step inside and sign your name with a giant pencil

The Tourist Information Center sits right next to the statues, and it’s worth going inside.

The Fireplace of States takes up one wall, built in 1934 using 900 rocks collected from every U.S. state, every Canadian province, and all 87 Minnesota counties.

Stones from the U.S. Capitol, national parks, and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s home in Hyde Park, New York, also went into it.

The rest of the room fills out with oversized Paul Bunyan memorabilia: a giant toothbrush, boxer shorts, a telephone, and a rifle replica.

Before you leave, sign the guest registry with the Paul Bunyan-sized pencil they keep on the counter.

Six thousand acres of lake right outside the door

Lake Bemidji covers 6,765 acres, and the waterfront stretches right out from where the statues stand.

Paul Bunyan Park and Library Park line the shore, both open to the public, and a walking path connects the lakefront to downtown. On the water, walleye fishing draws anglers from across the state.

Kayakers and canoe paddlers work the quieter coves, and pontoon cruises run through summer.

Each year, the lake also hosts the Dragon Boat Festival, which fills the waterfront with racing teams and spectators from around the region.

Walk to downtown and browse a wool mill that’s been open for a century

Downtown Bemidji sits close enough to the statues that you can walk there.

Bemidji Woolen Mills has been running for close to 100 years, selling locally made wool blankets, coats, and Paul Bunyan souvenirs.

The Bemidji Sculpture Walk puts dozens of artworks along the downtown streets in front of local businesses, so you’re looking at art just by walking around.

Four Pines Bookstore, 218 Clothing + Gift, and Compass Rose are all worth a look. The whole downtown stays manageable, with locally owned shops that don’t feel like anywhere else.

Indigenous art, old theaters and Finnish villages nearby

The Watermark Art Center keeps a dedicated gallery for Indigenous artwork called the Miikanan Gallery alongside its contemporary exhibits.

The Beltrami County History Center covers everything from the area’s earliest inhabitants and Ojibwe culture through the fur trade and logging eras.

Downtown, the Historic Chief Theater is home to the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, Minnesota’s oldest professional summer stock theater.

A short drive out of town, Concordia Language Villages runs cultural immersion programs in replicated Finnish, Norwegian, German, French and Spanish villages, and the programs draw participants from across the country.

Four hundred fishing lakes and 500 miles of snowmobile trails

Bemidji doesn’t run out of outdoor options. There are 400 fishing lakes within 25 miles of town.

Lake Bemidji State Park covers more than 1,600 acres of pine forest with trails for hiking, biking and cross-country skiing, plus shoreline access for kayaking, swimming and birdwatching.

Come winter, more than 500 miles of snowmobile trails open up across the area, along with 160 kilometers of cross-country ski trails.

The park is a few minutes from downtown, so you’re not driving far to get into the woods.

Walk across the start of the Mississippi River

About 35 miles south of Bemidji, Itasca State Park is where the Mississippi River begins. At its headwaters, the river runs about 18 feet wide and knee-deep.

You can walk across it on stepping stones. From here, the water travels 2,552 miles before it reaches the Gulf of Mexico, but right at the source, it’s barely a creek.

Itasca was established in 1891, making it Minnesota’s oldest state park. It spans 32,000 acres and holds more than 100 lakes inside its boundaries.

Climb a fire tower and drive through old-growth pines

Itasca gives you a lot to do beyond the headwaters crossing.

The park has 49 miles of hiking trails running through old-growth pine forests that have stood for hundreds of years.

The Aiton Heights fire tower climbs 100 feet, and when you get to the top, the forest canopy spreads in every direction.

The 10-mile Wilderness Drive passes through forest and lakes, including a 2,000-acre Wilderness Sanctuary designated as a National Natural Landmark.

Kayak, canoe, paddleboard and bike rentals are all available at Itasca Sports inside the park.

Other Paul Bunyans are scattered across the Northwoods

Bemidji isn’t the only stop on Minnesota’s Paul Bunyan Trail.

About 60 miles southeast in Akeley, you can sit in the outstretched palm of a giant kneeling Paul Bunyan statue that went up in 1985, with the Paul Bunyan Historical Museum close by.

In Brainerd, a talking statue has been answering visitor questions since 1954.

In Hackensack, there’s a statue of Lucette, Paul’s girlfriend, standing on the shores of Birch Lake.

The 115-mile Paul Bunyan State Trail, one of the longest paved rail-trails in the country, links several of these landmarks through the Northwoods.

Nearly 90 years on the shore and they’re not going anywhere

Paul and Babe have needed some work over the decades.

A major restoration in 2006 came after a widening crack appeared in Babe’s base, and the Rotary Club raised funds matched by a federal grant to stabilize the ground and make the repairs.

Both statues went through another round of restoration in 2022.

For millions of people who grew up in Minnesota, getting your photo taken with Paul and Babe is something you just do, the same way your parents did, and their parents before them.

The statues have been here since 1937, and they’re built to stay.

Visit Paul Bunyan Park in Bemidji, Minnesota

You can find the statues at Paul Bunyan Park on the southwestern shore of Lake Bemidji, right next to the Tourist Information Center at 300 Bemidji Ave. N. The statues and the park are free and open year-round.

The visitor center keeps seasonal hours, so check the official website before you go. Itasca State Park, about 35 miles south on U.S. Highway 71, charges a vehicle permit fee for entry.

Bemidji sits about four hours north of Minneapolis, making it a solid weekend trip from the Twin Cities.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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