Explore the best rated trails in North Branch, MN. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Soo Line Trail - Southern Route and Gandy Dancer Trail - Southern Section. With more than 61 trails covering 936 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.
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...
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 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...
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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...
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...
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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...
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.)...
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,...
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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...
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 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 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...
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...
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...
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 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 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 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...
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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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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 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...
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...
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 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 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...
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 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 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 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...
This 98-mile, "interstate" trail crosses into Minnesota and then back again into Wisconsin on its way from St. Croix Falls to its connection with the Saunders State Trail just south of Superior. In...
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 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 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 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 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...
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...
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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 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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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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The Willard Munger State Trail is a collection of three multiple use trails roughly stretching between the towns of Hinckley and Duluth. The three trail segments include the Hinckley–Duluth, Alex...
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...
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 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 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...
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 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...
Luce line is now paved from Cty Rd 1 in Winstead along the airport runway and reconnects to the existing trail.
This stretch is difficult for commuting due to competition with auto traffic on narrow stretches of the Parkway. I use inline skates and can’t simply clog a lane for miles. It’s surprisingly stark how little maintenance attention to non-motorized traffic this stretch has received. After crossing the Hiawatha bridge the paths are more recent. Separation from traffic improves, but pedestrian paths are a tangled.
Skated from Duluth to Hinckley & really enjoyed this trail. Very flat, never used the brakes once. The northern 15 miles are beautifully paved and the most scenic I think, but there is still plenty of worthwhile appeal for the rest of the trail. There are some spots of rough pavement but it's manageable. The majority is average as far as pavement quality is concerned.
Water is few and far between, so plan to bring a lot. I got some in Carlton, and then had to go into Moose Lake and Finlayson to find anywhere to get water.
Great paved trails with rolling hills that present a good workout but are very doable. We spent a day here with our kids and they loved biking the trials.
Trail is very well designed and maintained. Can’t wait until it is completed.
The trail from Hinckley to Sandstone is in dire need of resurfacing. Many parallel and perpendicular cracks have widened and pose a safety hazard. There are also numerous places along the trail from Finlayson to Matowa where wash outs have occurred and it’s been a couple years and still no blacktop ....just gravel. This beautiful trail is not getting the attention it needs because no one is demanding it.
I started in Finlayson and rode to Moose Lake and back. This is a well-maintained and very pristine trail. Beautiful views and not a lot of traffic. There is quite a bit in Moose Lake in terms of food and beverages, so I’d recommend a stop there!
It’s a nice escape from the city, but with the view of it. I like that there are restrooms, water fountains and bathrooms. There is also a playground in the middle of the trail, if you’re a parent this is a good place to workout and have fun with your kids as well!
I did the ten mile from Danbury to Webster. The trail surface (pressed dirt and gravel) was fine for my touring bike tires, but would not work for thinner road bike tires. Like all rails-to-trails routes, the grade was very gradual, passing through a mixture of deciduous and pine forests. There were also a few larger lakes off to the side of the trail. But overall, this very straight trail was just a bit dull. The better part of the ride was returning to Danbury from Webster along Country Roads FF and F. These roads were well paved and had almost no traffic. The also afforded better views of the north woods country side.
6-25-2019 trail west of Winstead getting thick, heavy asphalt resurfacing. Can't get past the heavy machinery just outside of town.
June 16, 2019 found the trail head at Battle Creek Park closed and blocked off with no posting/explanation. Drove to Crosby Farm Park and biked to Fish Hatchery Road where a sign was posted saying the section from Fish Hatchery Road to Battle Creek was closed due to unsafe conditions. No mention of when, or if, that section will reopen.
Not a bad ride, some parts of the asphalt trail old, cracked, and bumpy. The ride along the river trail is better than following the trail along Shephard Road. If you want a quieter, more scenic and peaceful trail, bike the Cannon Valley Trail or Dakota Rail Trail (section from St. Bonifacious to Lester Prairie).
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