Find the top rated trails in Cottage Grove, 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.
Opened in the summer of 2017, the Point Douglas Regional Trail offers a picturesque link along the Mississippi River between Prescott, WI, and Hastings, MN, on a former railroad called the Peanut...
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 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 Afton to Lakeland Trail links its namesake towns on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River. The trail runs between Quinlan Avenue North/Eighth Street at Crocker Park in Lakeland and Pike Avenue...
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 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...
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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...
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...
Minnesota’s Hiawatha LRT Trail runs along a north-south route paralleling both Hiawatha Avenue and the Metro Transit Blue Line in Minneapolis. The trail connects downtown Minneapolis and the vibrant...
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 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...
Nokomis-Minnesota River Regional Trail contributes 7 miles to the Twin Cities’ extensive network of regional trails. The paved path is 10-foot wide, providing room for a variety of trail users...
One of Wisconsin’s earliest rail-trail conversions, the 14.5-mile Red Cedar State Trail is built on the former corridor of the Red Cedar Junction railway, which served Knapp, Stout & Co. in the...
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 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 47-mile Gandy Dancer State Trail: Southern Section, between St. Croix Falls and Danbury, commemorates gandy dancers, those hardworking section crews who manually restored the railroad tracks in...
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...
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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...
A quintessential part of St. Paul's extensive trails system, the Samuel H. Morgan Regional Trail offers a variety of sights and sounds along its nine-mile path, from gorgeous views of the Mississippi...
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...
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...
Until it became inactive in 1948, visitors used a rail spur to come to Taylors Falls from Minneapolis and Saint Paul to find relaxation, enjoy recreation, and see the rare Glacial Gardens of...
The Stower Seven Lakes State Trail runs for nearly 14 miles along an old railroad corridor between Amery and Dresser, passing through the towns of Deronda, Wanderoos and Nye. In Amery, the trail...
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...
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 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 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...
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 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 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 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...
Medicine Lake Regional Trail offers a plethora of experiences along its nearly 16-mile length. Kicking off in the Elm Creek Park Reserve in the north, the trail cuts a swath through the Maple Grove...
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...
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...
Opened in the summer of 2017, the Point Douglas Regional Trail offers a picturesque link along the Mississippi River between Prescott, WI, and Hastings, MN, on a former railroad called the Peanut...
The Hudson to Lakeland/Afton Trail begins at Buckeye Street in Hudson, Wisconsin, not far from the eastern bank of the St. Croix River. The paved trail parallels 2nd Street, heading south through...
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...
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.)...
This trail is so nice they named it twice: Sakatah is the Dakota word for “singing hills.” The Dakota people of the Great Sioux Nation originally lived in this scenic part of Minnesota, where the Big...
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 47-mile Gandy Dancer State Trail: Southern Section, between St. Croix Falls and Danbury, commemorates gandy dancers, those hardworking section crews who manually restored the railroad tracks in...
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 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...
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 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 Afton to Lakeland Trail links its namesake towns on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River. The trail runs between Quinlan Avenue North/Eighth Street at Crocker Park in Lakeland and Pike Avenue...
The St. Paul Grand Round is a 26-mile route encircling Minnesota's capital. The loop was designed by Horace Cleveland, the landscape architect who also designed the Grand Rounds in neighboring...
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 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 Hudson to Lakeland/Afton Trail begins at Buckeye Street in Hudson, Wisconsin, not far from the eastern bank of the St. Croix River. The paved trail parallels 2nd Street, heading south through...
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 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 Stower Seven Lakes State Trail runs for nearly 14 miles along an old railroad corridor between Amery and Dresser, passing through the towns of Deronda, Wanderoos and Nye. In Amery, the trail...
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 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...
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...
One of Wisconsin’s earliest rail-trail conversions, the 14.5-mile Red Cedar State Trail is built on the former corridor of the Red Cedar Junction railway, which served Knapp, Stout & Co. in the...
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...
A quintessential part of St. Paul's extensive trails system, the Samuel H. Morgan Regional Trail offers a variety of sights and sounds along its nine-mile path, from gorgeous views of the Mississippi...
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...
A friend and I visited the trail a few years ago and it was wonderful. This year the trail was full of cracks and tar patches and bad spots marked with paint. This was not due to the storms that recently went through the area. Not sure what they're using the $4 per person for but it's not to repair the trail.
For almost 2 years there was an "on road" detour just west of Mound but it is now open with new, smooth pavement. East of Mound there are a lot of intersections with busy roads so clip out & be ready with your brakes.
West of St. Boni it's much quieter & more rural with fewer intersections. There's a new Caseys in Mayer for snacks & water refills. You can also go into Lester Prairie on a limestone trail but the road into LP also has a wide shoulder with little traffic, only a mile either way. Lester Prairie is a quiet, peaceful quaint town worth cruising around and maybe stopping for lunch or snack. Maybe some day they'll push it further west to Hutch?
The section from Madison Lake east to Elysian has now been re-paved & is very wide & smooth. Unfortunately, from Elysian to Waterville it's still the same old washboard . . . ruts, holes, cracks, weeds, etc. Rough ride!
It looks like they are planning to re-do this part but who knows when? So except for 6 miles this trail is pretty smooth sailing from Faribault to Mankato. Once in Mankato you can stretch it out on some local trails & the Red Jacket.
Loaded up two small children and our bikes and drove a short distance to Lawrence. There was a sign at the trail head stating that it was closed. :(
Very nice trail for a hot summer day. Very shady and cool. The trail is very well maintained with a smooth gravel surface. Pretty much a straight run through deep woods with not a lot of scenery. While not spectacular, very quiet and pleasant. The ride south from Woodville is slightly more downhill than riding north from the southern trail end. Parking on the south end is non existent except for beside a country road. Plenty of parking in Woodville near the trail head, although not right at trail head.
So excited to have found a smooth trail!! Asphalt is in great condition, perfect for rollerblading. It only gets a bit rocky around the Xcel Energy plant. Beautiful scenery and very secluded. River overlook and benches along the way, too! -KR
This is a great off road crushed gravel trail, peaceful and quiet. For directions to the trail we followed what is really the end of the trail and there was no parking except on the side of the road. We road to Woodville which is the main trailhead but still not too much room to park. This was a good training trail as there is rolling hills to break the monotony of the flats. What keeps the review from getting 5 stars was lack of signage and parking. I’ll go back again.
This is a beautiful, short trail that links to some longer trails in the area. If you can, I recommend passing through it, especially in the Fall! Lots of tree cover, and a cool old train tack that still gets some use. It really takes you out of the city for a couple miles.
Very good bike and jalk/walk trail
great views, mostly shaded for warm sunny days, enjoyed being able to ride to old town Red Wing where there were multiple restaurant options for lunch.
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