For centuries, people have traveled this region by river, rail, and road, and today it welcomes thousands of vacationers who bike, golf, fish, watch birds, and explore routes inspired by the river through Grand Rapids, Aitkin, the towns of the Cuyuna Range, Brainerd, and Little Falls. In Crow Wing County, Common Loons call from lakes and ponds, ospreys hunt fish with spicule-covered feet, and Great Blue Herons stalk shallow waters and nest in large colonies before migrating to South America for the winter. The Crow Wing River takes its name from a sandbar at its mouth that the Dakota believed resembled a crow's wing. Crow Wing village, once a strategic point in territorial contests between the Ojibwe and Dakota, became the site of an American Fur Company trading post in 1823 and an important stop on the Red River Trail, which carried furs from Canada, the Dakotas, and western Minnesota to steamboat landings in St. Paul. The Brainerd lakes area is a diverse patchwork of oak savanna and prairie habitats whose vegetation supports bees and birds while controlling erosion and enriching the soil. As visitors came to hunt and fish in Minnesota's lakes, fields, and woods, local residents first offered simple lodging and meals, then built cabins with docks, boat rentals, and icehouses, helping give rise to Minnesota's resort industry.