Explore the best rated trails in Elk River, MN. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Gandy Dancer Trail - Southern Section and Interlink Trail. With more than 86 trails covering 821 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.
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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...
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The Gateway State Trail is an 18.3-mile-long segment of the Willard Munger State Trail that offers an urban link to the countryside. The western end of this paved trail begins on the north end of...
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....
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 Twin Lakes Regional Trail provides a conduit for both recreation and commuting between Brooklyn Center and Robbinsdale. This urban trail begins in the commercial area of Brooklyn Center, splitting...
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...
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 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 Wilderness Trail is located along an active BNSF railway line in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. The trail connects users to the Bunker Hills Regional Park on the north side, while it meets the Sand Creek...
The Mark Sather Trail is part of a 10-mile bike and pedestrian route around White Bear Lake that is known as Lake Links Trail that includes on- and off-street segments. The trail is an example of the...
Minnesota’s Rocori Trail, named for the three small towns through which it will eventually run (Rockville, Cold Spring, and Richmond), currently has two disconnected segments open for use. The...
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...
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...
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...
Eastern Star Trail is over a half-mile long and is located in a Sauk Rapids subdivision. The non-motorized trail sits between homes, allowing neighbors to explore the nearby wetlands as well as access...
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 Kane Meadows Trail is a multi-use path located in Blaine, Anoka County. The trail begins in Kane Meadows Park, a neighborhood park on the west side of I-35W that includes a playground, a...
The Rice Creek North Regional Trail serves multiple purposes: it’s a connector, running through the two counties (Anoka and Ramsey) and five cities: Lino Lakes, Circle Pines, Blaine, Shoreview and...
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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...
The Rice Creek West Regional Trail travels the final five miles of the creek’s 46-mile journey to the Mississippi River. The trail connects the residents living along its length to creek’s rich...
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...
Closure Notice: Beginning Oct.28, 2020 through Fall 2021, segments of this trail north and south of Upper Afton Road will be closed to allow for a regional sewer rehabilitation project. The Point...
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...
Eastern Star Trail is over a half-mile long and is located in a Sauk Rapids subdivision. The non-motorized trail sits between homes, allowing neighbors to explore the nearby wetlands as well as access...
The St. Cloud River Walk, stretching just over a half mile, is nestled between the St. Cloud State University campus and the tree-lined western bank of the Mississippi River. For a longer trip, you...
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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 Johnson Parkway Regional Trail is a long overdue offroad bike trail that is now an integral part of St. Paul's Grand Round. Most of the trail runs through residential areas of St. Paul's East...
The Rice Creek West Regional Trail travels the final five miles of the creek’s 46-mile journey to the Mississippi River. The trail connects the residents living along its length to creek’s rich...
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...
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....
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...
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 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...
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 Rum River Regional Trail in Anoka, the trail stretches near three miles, including two-short on-road segments. The trail begins in the Akin Riverside Park, at the intersection with the Mississippi...
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 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 Kane Meadows Trail is a multi-use path located in Blaine, Anoka County. The trail begins in Kane Meadows Park, a neighborhood park on the west side of I-35W that includes a playground, a...
The Twin Lakes Regional Trail provides a conduit for both recreation and commuting between Brooklyn Center and Robbinsdale. This urban trail begins in the commercial area of Brooklyn Center, splitting...
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 Rice Creek West Regional Trail travels the final five miles of the creek’s 46-mile journey to the Mississippi River. The trail connects the residents living along its length to creek’s rich...
The Scenic River Trail doesn't actually provide any scenic river views, as its name implies. It does however connect to the Beaver Island Trail and the St. Cloud River Bluffs Regional Park, which do....
The Kane Meadows Trail is a multi-use path located in Blaine, Anoka County. The trail begins in Kane Meadows Park, a neighborhood park on the west side of I-35W that includes a playground, a...
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As its name suggests, the trail is nestled in the woods along Sand Creek in Coon Rapids. Thickly shrouded by trees, the trail has a secluded feel despite its urban/ suburban location. The trail...
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 Gateway State Trail is an 18.3-mile-long segment of the Willard Munger State Trail that offers an urban link to the countryside. The western end of this paved trail begins on the north end of...
The Wilderness Trail is located along an active BNSF railway line in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. The trail connects users to the Bunker Hills Regional Park on the north side, while it meets the Sand Creek...
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 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...
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...
Minnehaha Trail connects two popular parks in the Twin Cities as it follows Minnehaha Creek through a corridor that is a mix of woodland and open areas. It is sometimes referred to as Minnehaha Creek...
Minnesota’s Rocori Trail, named for the three small towns through which it will eventually run (Rockville, Cold Spring, and Richmond), currently has two disconnected segments open for use. The...
A recent addition to the region's impressive network of bike trails, the Robert Piram Regional Trail runs from Harriet Island Regional Park to the Kaposia Landing Fields in South St. Paul. The highly...
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The Mississippi River Regional Trail in Anoka County stretches over 19 miles along the the east side of the river. The trail crosses the county from north to south, running through the communities 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...
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 22-mile original section of the paved Glacial Lakes State Trail follows the former right-of-way of the Burlington Northern Railroad between Willmar and about 1 mile west of Paynesville at...
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 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...
Beautiful scenery around Fort Snelling State Park and Minnehaha Falls to ride along. The path from the base of the old fort to the start of the Falls area is a bit of a rough ride with some bumps from tree routes breaking through
The path is paved but in need of repair. It is fine for walking and perhaps running. Watch your step. It's a little rough for biking. The trail runs along McKnight Road, as the name implies. It's not very scenic. It can be loud at times.
Today was 60 degrees, the warmest day of 2022 so far. Got out there to run. Lots of other people using the trail. Beautiful overlooks! The path into Eden Prairie from Chaska is largely unpaved. Some snow and ice still covers the ground.
Enjoy this trail very much for a beautiful walk along the Mississippi!
I’ve been using this trail across the Saint Croix River for 40 years and every time I have to stop in the middle and look north all the beautiful islands and sailboats moored in front of Hudson. The trail is next to I94 so you’ll have noise but it’s worth it.
We start from Gale Woods Farm and bike West to trail end at Babcock Avenue in Lester Prairie, where trail becomes ATV trail. Tried biking that unpaved part but it is full of the ballast rock from former railroad which made for bad ride. Trail section in Carver County has some bad pavement sections, but otherwise a smooth and flat trail. Near Lake Waconia a family has created a fantastic trail stop on their hobby farm with playground type equipment for the kids, animals to pet and feed, and benches to relax on. The best part is they have a refrigerator and freezer where you can buy a cold bottled water, popsicles, or Schwans ice cream bars for 50 cents to $1.00. We always stop to buy ice cream, pet the goats, cats, and miniature horses. Bring some nickles and you can buy corn to feed the animals. Stop in one of the towns along the trail to eat - we have a favorite in New Germany that has an outdoor patio and great pizza.
Would be great for biking or running, scary at many pets for rollerblading
straight and wide. it ends up by kwik trip on the north end which is good and on us 61 which sucks. other reviews say the trail is smooth. it is not. st paul trails are generally poorly cared for. the cracks are occasionally filled with tar but not filler so the bumps remain. contacting the city is worthless. they simply reply that your email has been forwarded to the responsible department.
The trail path is in excellent condition, no bumps or potholes. The terrain is level, the path is straight. A nice trail to just ride and enjoy being outside and riding.
I chose to ride Elm Creek expecting a great ride. It was so beautiful. I TrueType enjoyed the nicely maintained paved paths thru woodlands, meadows, lakes, and low land areas. Would I go again? In a heart beat. Tom
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