Minnesota Trails

The riverside trail, linking the Mill Towns Trail to downtown Northfield, was dedicated to Maggie Lee, who cut the purple ribbon officially opening the trail.  

A long-awaited overlay of new asphalt is the focus of maintenance work on the Root River Trail this summer. Parts of the original trail are being rehabilitated between Fountain Lanesboro.

By Jason Sannes VenhuizenTrip organizer

Great River Ridge Trail will hold a ribbon cutting to celebrate the eight new miles of dual tread way trail on Saturday, June 19, approximately 2 PM, at the gazebo on Elgin’s Main Street among the art scluptures.   

  The event coincides with Elgin Cheese Days. 

Minnestoa ranks Fourth in Nation as Bike Friendly State;

Ranks first in bike programs and facilities 

Want to get out there and enjoy the bike trails, but you don’t have a bike? 

Rochester has sped away with a “Bicycle Friendly Community” award from the American League of Bicyclists.  The city is one of only 21 communities nationwide to be honored by the organization and among just five west of the Mississippi River.

Eli Golden was impressed at how straight and fast ten people could paddle down the Mississippi River when everyone worked together.

            “I’m big on nature and there was some big nature on this river today,” said Golden of his three and half hours of paddling in a 23-foot Voyageur styled 10-passenger canoe.

The gold finches have turned yellow, the buds on the trees are turning to leaves and a paving machine has laid new asphalt on a major portion of the Paul Bunyan Trail between Guthrie to Walker.

by Chris Weiss

A new mountain biking trail currently underway in Minnesota won’t be the choice of hammerheads that live for the tightest, most technical singletrack in the forest, but it will provide new opportunities for handicapped cyclists. Set to be built later this year in Elm Creek Park Reserve in Maple Grove, MN, the trail is the state’s first purposely-built accessible mountain bike trail.