Explore the best rated trails in Apple Valley, MN. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Great Northern Trail and North Mississippi Regional Park Trail . With more than 75 trails covering 717 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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...
Minnetonka boasts over 90 miles of multi-purpose trails and counting. Located just 8 miles of Minneapolis, this city has a growing network of bike and pedestrian infrastructure knitting it together....
At the heart of Minneapolis’ world class trail system is 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 Kenilworth Trail runs through dense forest along the eastern side of Minnesota's Cedar Lake. Occasionally, trail users can catch glimpses of some of the stately residences in the ritzy Minneapolis...
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...
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 West Medicine Lake is a 2.7-mile paved non-motorized pathway connecting two major regional trails: the Medicine Lake Regional Trail in Minneapolis and the Luce Line Trail in Plymouth. The trail...
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 St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail is a 1.8-mile loop along the Minneapolis riverfront within the St. Anthony Falls National Register Historic District. Maps, finding aids, and the area’s...
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 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 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 developing Swedish Immigrant Trail will one day span 22 miles from Taylors Falls on the banks of the St. Croix River to the central Minnesota town of Wyoming. The paved trail will run east-west...
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...
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...
Largely constructed on a former rail corridor running north/south out of the city of Waseca, the Loon Lake Trail is a short but sweet trail that provides residents with off-road access to important...
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...
Unlike its name would suggest, Nine Mile Creek is actually 15 miles from its headwaters at Minnetog Lake to the Minnesota River. This regional trail was constructed to meander alongside the creek as...
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 Cologne Community Trail meanders from the south to the north of the city of Cologne linking residents to important civic and recreational destinations in their community. The asphalt recreational...
Located in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie, Bryant Lake Regional Park offers 2.2 miles of immaculate paved trail cutting a swathe through grassy fields, shady woodlands and wetlands. The trail...
The Waconia Shared Use Path allows residents to get to their neighborhoods parks safely on foot or by bike. The asphalt trail goes from Waterford Park in the west, a small park with passive green...
The Cologne Community Trail meanders from the south to the north of the city of Cologne linking residents to important civic and recreational destinations in their community. The asphalt recreational...
The developing Swedish Immigrant Trail will one day span 22 miles from Taylors Falls on the banks of the St. Croix River to the central Minnesota town of Wyoming. The paved trail will run east-west...
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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 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...
Faribault is a city about half an hour south of Minneapolis-St. Paul, and the eastern endpoint of one of Minnesota's 40-mile Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail. In addition to the regional trails, the...
The Chaska Ravine Trail is a hidden gem for cyclists and pedestrians looking to travel off the beaten path within the suburban community, offering a quiet, natural pathway right in the midst of...
The St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail is a 1.8-mile loop along the Minneapolis riverfront within the St. Anthony Falls National Register Historic District. Maps, finding aids, and the area’s...
The Sunrise Prairie Trail runs north-south atop an unused right-of-way along a Burlington Northern Railroad corridor, traversing residential neighborhoods in the towns and mostly farmland in its...
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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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 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...
The Vermillion River Regional Greenway offers a beautiful, paved loop in the riverfront city of Hastings, which lies on the banks of the Mississippi in southeastern Minnesota. Highlights of the...
Largely constructed on a former rail corridor running north/south out of the city of Waseca, the Loon Lake Trail is a short but sweet trail that provides residents with off-road access to important...
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 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 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...
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 West Medicine Lake is a 2.7-mile paved non-motorized pathway connecting two major regional trails: the Medicine Lake Regional Trail in Minneapolis and the Luce Line Trail in Plymouth. The trail...
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The Brown’s Creek State Trail, which opened in October 2014, is a 5.9-mile addition to Minnesota’s extensive Willard Munger State Trail system. The rail-trail stretches from the St. Croix riverfront...
At one time, flour and grist mills dotted the Cannon River Valley. These mills formed the backbone industry for a number of towns. The Mill Towns State Trail seeks to honor this legacy with a planned...
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...
Closure notice: Beginning Tuesday, May 26, a 6 mile portion of the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail will be closed for reconstruction. The portion of trail affected by this closure is from 5th St. NW...
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 Central Anoka County Regional Trail runs through Anoka County in the suburbs of Minneapolis/Saint Paul. When completed, it will be 26 miles long. As of 2019, four sections have been built,...
The Trout Brook Regional Trail offers nearly 2 miles of paved pathway in the northern suburbs of St. Paul. It's comprised of two disconnected sections with a short gap in the middle. The northern...
The developing Swedish Immigrant Trail will one day span 22 miles from Taylors Falls on the banks of the St. Croix River to the central Minnesota town of Wyoming. The paved trail will run east-west...
Nestled alongside Coon Creek, this two-lane asphalt trail runs between Northdale Boulevard and Coon Rapids Boulevard. The trail mostly travels within the wooded confines of two city parks: Erlander...
The Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail begins in the vicinity of Eighth Avenue North in downtown Hopkins, just a few blocks north of the eastern endpoint of the Minnesota River Bluffs LRT Regional...
Circling around the 652-acre lake on the eastern edge of Waseca, the Clear Lake Bike Trail System provides a fun recreational experience and a unique way to explore this pristine body of water. A very...
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...
Lake Phalen Trail offers a 3-mile paved loop around a popular lake in St. Paul. The tree-dotted pathway offers views of the lake on one side and pleasant neighborhoods on the other. It is nestled...
The West Medicine Lake is a 2.7-mile paved non-motorized pathway connecting two major regional trails: the Medicine Lake Regional Trail in Minneapolis and the Luce Line Trail in Plymouth. The trail...
The Cannon Valley Trail, which became a National Recreation Trail in 2018, links the southeastern Minnesota communities of Red Wing, Welch, and Cannon Falls along the former route of the Chicago Great...
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...
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 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 Minnesota River Bluffs LRT Regional Trail runs southwest from the Minneapolis suburb of Hopkins to Carver Bluffs Parkway and Carver Creek Circle. The trail is over 19 miles in length and occupies...
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...
Good biking with parks and a nice military memorial by the trail. Did 20 miles in this area. The trees were at their peak colors, beautiful.
I have done both sections of the trail several times. For the So. St. Paul to Pine Bend Trail End I like to start at Simon's Ravine because their are usually parking spots available. This section is a good day's ride for me and it is very interesting because of the mix of river and woods trails with fun street trails.
For the Hastings section I like to start at the Lower Spring Lake Park Reserve Trailhead. It is a huge parking lot and it is where the Hastings section starts. It is about 4 miles of beautiful trail and it runs through Schaar's Bluff. Then it is around 7 miles from there to Hastings. It is a good mix of open country, woods, and street trails. I love where the trail drops through a hillside settlement on to a levee going across the Mississippi then along the locks into the city. There are many great places to eat and drink close to the trail.
This is a beautiful trail and I can't wait for the Pine Bend section to be connected to the Lower Spring Lake Park section. That would make it world class!
This was a great trail and like other reviews stated there is one stretch of it that isn’t great, but doesn’t last long. I would personally start at Lake Phalen and ride north to the end instead of starting in St Paul.
The trail was great!!! Not alot of people so very peaceful
Went with my dog and we had a blast! It goes along the creek with a lot of bridges. Really pulls you out of the city. Can’t say enough good things
I average about 3,500 miles per year of Rollerblading on the Dakota Rail Trail. Today I just got my 125th day in a row of Rollerblading a marathon. I'm hoping to get to 150, but it's getting more challenging as all the leaves fall and cover the trail completely. The Hennepin County portion of the trail is beautifully maintained from Hunter's Trail to Wayzata. The west portion to Lester Prairie is horribly maintained for Rollerblading with jarring trail patches, and tons of rocks, sticks, and leaves.
The pavement around the lake was in good condition. A section was thru city streets but marked. In the south east is Mable Wood Park, on a huge wooded hill for hiking.
I parked in front of the MN Zephyr and hopped on the trail on a Sunday afternoon in mid-September. It was a sunny day, so people were out in droves. That was the ONLY drawback to this ride, as I could never really gain momentum having to stop often for pedestrians, often small children. But it was stunning! The slow climb was hardly noticed on my road bike. Where hills exist, they level out quickly. I joined the Gateway trail at the 7 mile mark and went northeast to Pine Park. Stopping at the Trail Side for a lemonade was enjoyable. It’s a nice 21 mile ride round trip trek!
Beautiful ride with a few busy street crossings, but scenery and path through woods are lovely. Downside is only the walkers who won’t go single file when the path is narrow. Appreciate the rest stops throughout the trail.
Became one of my favorites.
We parked at Brown’s Creek Park 8312 Neal Ave N, Stillwater to bike into downtown Stillwater but as we were preparing our bikes we got word of a Trump parade in Stillwater ¿¿ so we headed west instead toward Grant, MN and then NE for 4 miles to Pine Point Regional Park. On our way back we stopped at the cutest Beer Garden at Gasthaus Bavarian for a beer and pretzels and see the goats and chickens. Total trip was about 15 miles.
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