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.
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...
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...
Highway 96 Regional Trail parallels the roadway of the same name. The trail crosses Ramsey county, traveling west from White Bear Lake to New Brighton. The scenery alternates between residential and...
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 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...
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 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 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...
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 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...
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...
The Interlink Trail connects the southern end of Wisconsin’s portion of the 47-mile Gandy Dancer Trail with Interstate Park in St. Croix Falls. Along the way, the Polk County Information Center offers...
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 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...
_137413_sc.jpg)
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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 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 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 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...
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 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...
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 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 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 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...
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 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...
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 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...
The Interlink Trail connects the southern end of Wisconsin’s portion of the 47-mile Gandy Dancer Trail with Interstate Park in St. Croix Falls. Along the way, the Polk County Information Center offers...
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...
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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...
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...
Highway 96 Regional Trail parallels the roadway of the same name. The trail crosses Ramsey county, traveling west from White Bear Lake to New Brighton. The scenery alternates between residential and...
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...
Harriet Island Regional Park offers a beautiful recreational space along the Mississippi River in St. Paul, just across the river from downtown. A paved trail runs the length of the park spanning just...
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 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...
Crystal Lake Regional Trail connects two cities—Robbinsdale and Crystal—in the northwestern suburbs of Minneapolis. It also links to the Twin Lakes Regional Trail and the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway,...
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...
nice that this portion is paved making it easy to access the Gandy Dancer trail.
My two boys and I ride this trail Labor Day weekend. Loved the shady trail and the bridges over the water. There were stop signs at every driveway. The focus of this trail is obviously motorist convenience not cyclist and pedestrian safety as you find with most trails. We rode the first 10 miles from Wayzata and found a few very busy intersections that were difficult to cross safely. The final kicker was a police trap to write tickets to cyclist for failing to “stop completely enough” at one of the driveway stop signs. We’ll hit a trail that is more cyclist focused next time we’re out
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
Get Your 2018 RTC TrailNation Jersey!
Download the TrailLink mobile app and take TrailLink with you!
Donate and Get a FREE 2018 RTC Guidebook!
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Map Search
_157773_st.jpg)
_133790_st.jpg)
_137412_st.jpg)
_137413_st.jpg)
