Find the top rated trails in Apple Valley, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
A segment of the Minnesota River Greenway, spanning just shy of 4 miles, opened in June 2017. The paved trail traces the southern bank of the Minnesota River in Burnsville. A good place to begin your...
Sections of the Dakota Rail Regional Trail, which extends westward from the Minneapolis suburbs situated along Lake Minnetonka, have been opening since June 2009. The trail occupies the former Dakota...
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Shingle Creek Regional Trail branches out of the Rush Creek Regional Trail at Noble Parkway and tracks alongside the road heading south from Brooklyn Park through Brooklyn Center. Passing through...
The Straight River Trail forms a backwards L as it runs north-south through Faribault and then curves west. The paved trail begins at the Cannon River Reservoir, then travels through woodlands in Two...
Beginning at the southern tip of the Crow-Hassan Park Reserve in Hanover, the Lake Independence Regional Trail spends most of its 15.9-mile span paralleling County Road 19, cutting a straight path...
The Courthouse Loop Trail is one of several trails located in the Carver County city of Chaska. As the name suggests, the trail forms a loop around Courthouse Lake, which sits directly behind the...
The Cedar Lake Light Rail Transit (LRT) Regional Trail is an integral component of Hennepin County’s extensive trail network, in which rail-trails feature prominently. The trail directly links four...
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This Mississippi River Regional Trail running through eastern Dakota County is a segment of a larger regional trail system that is itself part of the National Park Service’s Mississippi National River...
The Hardwood Creek Regional Trail is actually two parallel trails running along US 61 in rural Washington County. The paved trail is open for biking, walking, running, and in-line skating, while the...
The Big Rivers Regional Trail runs along the upper portion of what was originally a two-tiered section of railroad track built for one of the state’s oldest lines, the Minnesota Central Railroad. At...
The West River Parkway Trail, also known as the Mississippi River Gorge Regional Trail, extends between Plymouth Avenue North opposite Boom Island and Ford Parkway in Minnehaha Regional Park, where...
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Rush Creek Regional Trail stretches 9.6 miles across forests and farmland, offering a convenient connection to some of Hennepin County’s most interesting parks. The path is smooth, wide and mostly...
Although only stretching a half mile, the paved Red Wing Riverfront Trail, which opened in 2016, offers an important connection between two parks along the Mississippi River in the charming community...
The Minneapolis Diagonal Trail (also known as the Northeast Diagonal Trail) is primarily a commuter route offering grade-separated crossings of Interstate 35W. The trail links an industrial area north...
The Douglas State Trail occupies the railbed of the former Chicago Great Western Railway corridor between the cities of Rochester and Pine Island. Several of the concrete obelisk railroad mile markers...
The mighty Mississippi and Minnesota River are the two waterways connected by the River to River Greenway. (The project was formerly known by the less colorful moniker North Urban Regional Trail.)...
The North Mississippi Regional Park is a fitting place to access and enjoy the Mississippi River. The linear park is walled by the I-94 freeway. The riverine trail follows the west bank of the languid...
As of spring 2016, bridge access to the Minnesota Valley State Trail was still closed at Memorial Park in Shako-pee until further notice. Check the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website...
The 5.9-mile Brown’s Creek State Trail, which opened in October 2014, is the latest addition to Minnesota’s extensive trail system. The rail-trail stretches from the St. Croix riverfront town of...
The mighty Mississippi and Minnesota River are the two waterways connected by the River to River Greenway. (The project was formerly known by the less colorful moniker North Urban Regional Trail.)...
The Minneapolis Diagonal Trail (also known as the Northeast Diagonal Trail) is primarily a commuter route offering grade-separated crossings of Interstate 35W. The trail links an industrial area north...
The Great Northern Trail offers a paved north-south route across the city of Elk River on the fringe of the northwestern outskirts of Minneapolis. For nearly 5 miles, the rail-trail winds through the...
The Wildwood Trail follows a former railroad right-of-way once owned by the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway Company. The trail runs between Woodville and Spring Valley and is open to...
Minnehaha Trail connects two popular parks in the Twin Cities as it follows the course of the Mississippi River through a corridor that is a mix of woodland and open areas. At the trail’s southern...
Sections of the Dakota Rail Regional Trail, which extends westward from the Minneapolis suburbs situated along Lake Minnetonka, have been opening since June 2009. The trail occupies the former Dakota...
The Big Rivers Regional Trail runs along the upper portion of what was originally a two-tiered section of railroad track built for one of the state’s oldest lines, the Minnesota Central Railroad. At...
Rush Creek Regional Trail stretches 9.6 miles across forests and farmland, offering a convenient connection to some of Hennepin County’s most interesting parks. The path is smooth, wide and mostly...
The West River Parkway Trail, also known as the Mississippi River Gorge Regional Trail, extends between Plymouth Avenue North opposite Boom Island and Ford Parkway in Minnehaha Regional Park, where...
The trail is named in honor of Bruce Frank Vento, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 until his death in 2000, representing Minnesota’s fourth congressional district. Vento is...
The Douglas State Trail occupies the railbed of the former Chicago Great Western Railway corridor between the cities of Rochester and Pine Island. Several of the concrete obelisk railroad mile markers...
The Courthouse Loop Trail is one of several trails located in the Carver County city of Chaska. As the name suggests, the trail forms a loop around Courthouse Lake, which sits directly behind the...
At the heart of Minneapolis’ world class trail system in the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, a series of interconnected parks and parkways that loop around the city, acting as a key connector to the entire...
The Goodhue Pioneer State Trail is a work in progress as part of a planned 47-mile trail linking the cities of Red Wing, Goodhue, Zumbrota, Mazeppa, Bellechester, and Pine Island along an inactive...
The Hardwood Creek Regional Trail is actually two parallel trails running along US 61 in rural Washington County. The paved trail is open for biking, walking, running, and in-line skating, while the...
As of spring 2016, bridge access to the Minnesota Valley State Trail was still closed at Memorial Park in Shako-pee until further notice. Check the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website...
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The 5.5-mile Midtown Greenway follows a former railroad corridor through the heart of south Minneapolis, heading due west from the Mississippi River to the neighborhood of West Calhoun in the scenic...
A segment of the Minnesota River Greenway, spanning just shy of 4 miles, opened in June 2017. The paved trail traces the southern bank of the Minnesota River in Burnsville. A good place to begin your...
The trail links the southeast Minnesota communities of Red Wing, Welch, and Cannon Falls along a path that follows the former route of the Chicago Great Western Railway line that once ran through this...
The mighty Mississippi and Minnesota River are the two waterways connected by the River to River Greenway. (The project was formerly known by the less colorful moniker North Urban Regional Trail.)...
Shingle Creek Regional Trail branches out of the Rush Creek Regional Trail at Noble Parkway and tracks alongside the road heading south from Brooklyn Park through Brooklyn Center. Passing through...
The Gateway State Trail is an 18.3-mile-long pathway that offers an urban link to the countryside. The western end of this paved trail begins on the north end of Saint Paul and heads northeast through...
The Luce Line Trail occupies the former railbed of the Electric Short Line Railroad, started in 1908. The tracks continued to be expanded into the late 1920s, when the rail line became known as the...
The Straight River Trail forms a backwards L as it runs north-south through Faribault and then curves west. The paved trail begins at the Cannon River Reservoir, then travels through woodlands in Two...
The Bassett Creek Regional Trail is envisioned as an important connector between French Regional Park and Theodore Wirth Regional Park through the cities of Plymouth, New Hope, Crystal and Golden...
The North Mississippi Regional Park is a fitting place to access and enjoy the Mississippi River. The linear park is walled by the I-94 freeway. The riverine trail follows the west bank of the languid...
This paved trail links Minneapolis’s Warehouse District to both the Minnesota River Bluffs LRT Regional Trail and the Cedar Lake LRT Regional Trail in Hopkins. It also intersects the Kenilworth Trail...
The 5.5-mile Midtown Greenway follows a former railroad corridor through the heart of south Minneapolis, heading due west from the Mississippi River to the neighborhood of West Calhoun in the scenic...
The trail is named in honor of Bruce Frank Vento, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 until his death in 2000, representing Minnesota’s fourth congressional district. Vento is...
The trail links the southeast Minnesota communities of Red Wing, Welch, and Cannon Falls along a path that follows the former route of the Chicago Great Western Railway line that once ran through this...
The Minneapolis Diagonal Trail (also known as the Northeast Diagonal Trail) is primarily a commuter route offering grade-separated crossings of Interstate 35W. The trail links an industrial area north...
The Elm Creek Park Reserve is an outdoor lovers’ dream. At 4,900 acres, it’s the largest park in Hennepin County. The park provides enough amenities to keep people coming all year round. Cyclists...
Although only stretching a half mile, the paved Red Wing Riverfront Trail, which opened in 2016, offers an important connection between two parks along the Mississippi River in the charming community...
Although only 1 mile long, the Dinkytown Greenway provides an important link in a biking network connecting Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The trail begins near TCF Bank Stadium and runs through the...
This Mississippi River Regional Trail running through eastern Dakota County is a segment of a larger regional trail system that is itself part of the National Park Service’s Mississippi National River...
The Courthouse Loop Trail is one of several trails located in the Carver County city of Chaska. As the name suggests, the trail forms a loop around Courthouse Lake, which sits directly behind the...
At the heart of Minneapolis’ world class trail system in the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, a series of interconnected parks and parkways that loop around the city, acting as a key connector to the entire...
The Wildwood Trail follows a former railroad right-of-way once owned by the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway Company. The trail runs between Woodville and Spring Valley and is open to...
I have traveled to many major metropolitan cities throughout the United States and have biked their local trails. The Grand Rounds Scenic Byway trail network here in the Twin Cities is perhaps one of the nicest and most scenic you will ever ride on.
The seven miles in Washington County are in great shape as of 6/2107. Many of the stop signs have been replaced with YIELD signs and the crossings are in good shape. Only one risky intersection on Hwy 8 going to I35.
A major jewel in Minnesota's biking crown.
This was our 2nd trail on the way of Wisconsin Dells. I would definitely recommend this trail. I couldn`t see any issue on surface. The trip was so peaceful and joyful.
This trail was our first trail on the way of wisconsin dells from Mankato. We totally passed 6 trails. I would put this trail on 2nd rank after Cannon Valley. I would put this trail on the first rank if the surface was same from Madison Lake to Waterville. The surface between 2 towns need to be repaired. Too much cracks on the trail. But the rest of them is amazing. Plus you can make decent speed on this trail. There is no steep at all.
Fairly well maintained. Went 5 miles out of Hastings and back with our son. Goes right along the Mississippi River. Lots of birds to watch and wasn't crowded despite being a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
If you want to ride this, do it from North to South. The poor condition of the trail in the woods will be all down hill. If you choose the South to North, buckle down and go straight up the VERY steep trail to the left after passing the Fort Snelling visitors center building.before you start the woods trail.
The Greenway is an amazing place to ride! 10/10! The flatness of the path as well as the infrequent car crossings make it perfect for getting on your bike and flying down the path.
Be sure to check out the murals along the way! However, don't stop at Freewheel, bad service and are not WTF friendly.
Great for families, friends, and dogs. Can't wait to bike this trail everyday in the summer!
You can now ride this trail from SW Bloomington out to Carver. A short section between Chaska & Carver has new, smooth pavement. Just follow the Chaska dike trail, when you get west near the ball park you go on a street for a short ways & then the trail is there--maybe they'll put up signs someday? Carver is a cute little town. There is a Casey's near the trailhead.
Once you get in to Carver you can take the trail a little farther, then a road for a mile & then you can pick up on another trail & go up some steep hills & loop back to Carver or Chaska.
The trail should be paved to County 1 to the West edge of Lester Prairie sometime this early summer!
The Bruce Veto trail is always a wonderful ride, but once the EXPRESS BUS LINE (from WBL to downtown St. Paul) is built on the trail it will die. Who wants to ride next to huge stinking diesel busses? Not Me! Don't build on our trail.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
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