Find the top rated trails in Menomonie, 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.
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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 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 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...
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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 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...
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 30.4-mile Chippewa River State Trail kicks off at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers in downtown Eau Claire’s Phoenix Park, where visitors can access a walking labyrinth,...
Chippewa Falls’ Duncan Creek Trail—also known as the Duncan Creek Parkway Trail—is a scenic loop around the city. While the vast majority of the trail is off-road, some portions are actually signed...
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 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 Eau Claire Rail-Trail is a paved, mile-long route from Roosevelt Elementary School to the High Bridge over the Chippewa River in the city’s northwest neighborhoods. The former railroad bridge,...
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 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...
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 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 Old Abe State Trail rolls for 28 miles along a paved surface from Eau Claire to Cornell. A 3-mile gap (which will one day be closed) between Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls splits the trail into...
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 Cattail State Trail runs for nearly 18 miles along an old railroad corridor between the communities of Amery and Almena, passing through the village of Turtle Lake in between. The trail traverses...
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 30.4-mile Chippewa River State Trail kicks off at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers in downtown Eau Claire’s Phoenix Park, where visitors can access a walking labyrinth,...
The Old Abe State Trail rolls for 28 miles along a paved surface from Eau Claire to Cornell. A 3-mile gap (which will one day be closed) between Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls splits the trail into...
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 Eau Claire Rail-Trail is a paved, mile-long route from Roosevelt Elementary School to the High Bridge over the Chippewa River in the city’s northwest neighborhoods. The former railroad bridge,...
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 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 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 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 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 Buffalo River State Trail connects the towns of Fairchild and Mondovi along US 10 in scenic central Wisconsin. Although the rail-trail closely follows the Buffalo River, the winding waterway is...
The Wild Rivers State Trail runs for 104 miles through Douglas, Washburn and Barron counties in northwest Wisconsin along an old railroad route between Superior and Rice Lake. The surface is compacted...
Chippewa Falls’ Duncan Creek Trail—also known as the Duncan Creek Parkway Trail—is a scenic loop around the city. While the vast majority of the trail is off-road, some portions are actually signed...
From Rice Lake to Park Falls, the Tuscobia State Trail travels 74 miles through the Flambeau State Forest and Chequamegon National Forest in northern Wisconsin. Enjoy the rugged wilderness of the Blue...
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...
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 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...
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...
From Rice Lake to Park Falls, the Tuscobia State Trail travels 74 miles through the Flambeau State Forest and Chequamegon National Forest in northern Wisconsin. Enjoy the rugged wilderness of the Blue...
The Buffalo River State Trail connects the towns of Fairchild and Mondovi along US 10 in scenic central Wisconsin. Although the rail-trail closely follows the Buffalo River, the winding waterway is...
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 Wild Rivers State Trail runs for 104 miles through Douglas, Washburn and Barron counties in northwest Wisconsin along an old railroad route between Superior and Rice Lake. The surface is compacted...
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 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 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 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 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 Eau Claire Rail-Trail is a paved, mile-long route from Roosevelt Elementary School to the High Bridge over the Chippewa River in the city’s northwest neighborhoods. The former railroad bridge,...
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 30.4-mile Chippewa River State Trail kicks off at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers in downtown Eau Claire’s Phoenix Park, where visitors can access a walking labyrinth,...
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 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 Cattail State Trail runs for nearly 18 miles along an old railroad corridor between the communities of Amery and Almena, passing through the village of Turtle Lake in between. The trail traverses...
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 Old Abe State Trail rolls for 28 miles along a paved surface from Eau Claire to Cornell. A 3-mile gap (which will one day be closed) between Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls splits the trail into...
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...
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...
Chippewa Falls’ Duncan Creek Trail—also known as the Duncan Creek Parkway Trail—is a scenic loop around the city. While the vast majority of the trail is off-road, some portions are actually signed...
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.
Rode this great trail from Cornell to Chippewa Falls and back. Great scenery especially along the river between Cornell and Jim Falls. I was under the assumption that this trail linked up to the Eau Claire section but trail markings end on the outskirts of Chippewa Falls. There are facilities in Jim Falls via the Hometown gas station. Went to Leinenkugel Brewery Visitor's Center hoping for lunch, but they only serve beer and pretzels. We look forward to riding again, especially in autumn!
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.
Estimatehub's 2017 review is very accurate and makes many good detailed points in ways this beautiful trail should be improved. The Old Abe State Trail could use more signage reference points as this is a long trail and people traveling do not reference points as to where stuff is. There are NO BATHROOMS, WATER FOUNTAINS or TIRE PUMPS at the trailheads in Chippewa Falls, Jim Falls or Cornell as they consisted of a posted map, bench with a little sun protection and a parking lot....nothing special or unique at all. It's amazing to think that the state spent so much money on a nicely paved path and so little to welcome or comfort travelers. Much of the trail has 3 and 4G cellular coverage. You must ride through Brunet Island State Park at the Cornell end of the trail as it is breath taking and provides quality miles. There is a short connecting route to Lake Wissota State Park for additional mileage if one chooses. The Old Abe is a road biker's dream as it is very smooth, except for a few unexpected big bumps between miles 2 and 4. The trail was clear of any debris and had very few low hanging branches...hats off to the crew that maintain this trail. Thirty-three of the forty round trip miles I road on on July 25 were in the rain, many of which were poring, and the trail was safe and a great ride...no regrets.
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.
Having riden most trails in SE MN we thought we’d give the Vermillion River Regional Greenway a try since we were passing by and we prefer loop trails. TrailLink parking info directed us to Vermillion Falls Park, which was very well kept and had ample parking. The map board at the trailhead entrance was cryptic and offered no indication that there was a contiguous loop trail around Hastings. The first couple miles were well paved and traversed along the edge of the city. Unfortunately, the trail meandered into the city and was poorly marked. We eventually lost any semblance of a bicycle trail and ended up utilizing our phone gps to direct us back to Vermillion Falls Park. Having biked thousands of miles across countless trails throughout the US, this was the first time we’ve had to use gps. While the region offers excellent scenery, until the trail offers better directions we probably will not return.
I echo all of the previous reviews. Absolutely breathtaking views on my fat bike of both the Red Cedar and Chippewa Rivers. Trail conditions were overall great however keep your eyes open for unexpected gopher holes. The path is fairly wide at all points. Some of the people on road bikes mentioned they had a bumpy ride. I started at Meridean on the CRST, biked up to Menomonie (nice trailhead welcoming center), back down the RCST, proceeded to Durand and then back to Meridean for a total of 51 miles. There were nice logical scenic spots to take a break along the way with clean restrooms, water and tire pumps. There were deer along several spots along the trail. While on my ride, a DNR worker with a polite disposition was busily performing maintenance on a culvert on the trail...good to see. BE SURE TO PACK BUG SPRAY if you plan on stopping for more than 10-15 seconds on the lower end of the trail. Definite 5* must ride, scenic and peaceful trail.
Fabulous trail—beautiful and peaceful. But my wife and I suffered our second worst bug attack of our 50 years—mosquitos and and deer flies. Bring spray and be ready to ride quickly with no breaks.
We've ridden this trail at least once a year and it's a local favorite. It connects with the Gateway Trail and follows the creek down to Stillwater. Its popular with the locals and well as tourists. There's no parking in the western start of the trail, so I would recommend parking at the Pine Point trailhead (tons of parking, water and bathrooms). There is a tiny parking lot off of Highway 96, but it's almost always full on weekends, even early in the morning.
If you start at the western trailhead off of the Gateway, the trip to Stillwater is downhill, but you really don't notice it too much, even the trip back is pleasant. There are a few places where you traverse a local golf course but the majority of the trail is through some lovely wooded areas. I've almost ridden off into the trees because I've been gawking at the beautiful scenery!
You can continue to explore Stillwater at the trail's end, or head north to William O'Brien State Park and the lovely river towns of Marine on St. Croix and Copas. It's a great little trail!
We rode the western half of the trail on a humid and hot weekend but we were pleasantly surprised at the amount of shade and tree coverage. It cut the heat and also the headwinds from the west which made our ride very comfortable. This part of the trial is nicely paved, which makes it fast and flat. There are at least a half-dozen small bridges over farmland creeks and at one point, you come across a large bend in the Chippewa River which is beautiful. It intersects with the Red Cedar Trail, which is a nice detour to Menomonie, or you can continue east towards Eau Claire.
After 7 or so miles, the trail turns to crushed gravel, which is pretty easy to ride over, but they've patched the potholes with asphalt, which makes it bumpy. It's fairly maintained but could use a little more maintenance. We have hybrid bikes and made it just fine, and there were several riders with skinny road bikes and they seemed to be doing okay. It is a slight disappointment after the perfect grooming of the western part of the trail.
The trailhead out of Durand has a lot of parking, rest rooms with running water and a drinking fountain, so you can fill your water bottles. Durand has a few places to eat, there's not much along the trail.
We stopped in Meridean, a historic village with an intriguing history. There's a parking lot and porto-potti, but I didn't see any water fountains. Next time we'll start in Meridean and finish the trail to Eau Claire. It was a great trail for a summer's day - lush surroundings and tons of wildflowers.
We started at the Petro Truck stop just off of Hwy 52 and 117th Street. Upon finishing our ride, we determined that there is a nice trailhead, appears to be just north of this truck stop. We used the truck stop and headed out on the trail just out of the south end of the parking lot.
Overall the trail was in great condition and well marked. The only spot that we did not see any marking was at the intersection of Cahill and Concord Boulevard. We continued north and went up into the neighborhoods of Inver Grove Heights - also a nice continuance of the trail. One of the riders in our party did head "east" along Concord down to the Swing Bridge Park. This was also a great section of trail, challenge is that you are going down hill to the river, so the return means that is UP hill from the river. Manageable but a good climb.
I will be back again to ride further into St Paul via the trail!
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