Find the top rated trails in Hopkins, 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 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...
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...
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 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...
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 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 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...
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 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...
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 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...
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...
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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...
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 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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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...
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 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...
Although short, the River Bend Trail provides access to a recreational gem, the River Bend Nature Center, a 750-acre park with woodlands, prairie, rivers, and ponds. Along the way, the paved trail...
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 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 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...
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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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 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...
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 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...
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 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 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 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...
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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 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...
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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...
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 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...
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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...
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 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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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.)...
Rode this once last year and it’s very pretty. Easy connection from Saint Paul to Stillwater via the Gateway State. If you’re up in the area it’s definitely something to explore.
Lake Phalen is a beautiful lake+park with events during the year. There’s many trees and pretty wildlife to see around the lake. You could ride the lake every day and not get bored. Has access to the Bruce Vento Regional Trail and the Gateway State Trail with easy accessibility.
The Gateway State is something everyone should experience. Heading east past 35E there’s a ton of scenery to soak in and trail to cover. Easy to access and easy to lose track of time exploring up to Stillwater and back. Easily my favorite trail to ride.
Nice little park on the south bank of the Mississippi. Lots of interesting items to see and observe. Feel free to venture into Lilydale as it adds a lot more trail to explore
Has to be one of the best trails in Saint Paul. It has a variety of scenery and a good view of the Mississippi. Looks real pretty during the summer. Past 7th Street heading north might be the best part.
I’ve ridden this trail a few times now. It’s really nice, with smooth surfaces and pretty scenery, including Swede Hollow and the Hamm’s brewery. It’s easily accessible. Definitely a trail to check out.
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.
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.
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