Explore the best rated trails in Owatonna, MN. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Batchelder Trail and John Wellner Memorial Trail. With more than 65 trails covering 301 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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The 40th Street Bike Path is an asphalt sidepath trail that follows its namesake roadway through a lightly developed stretch of southern Rochester, coasting over rolling hills and the edge of woods to...
A neighborhood offshoot of the longer Zumbro South Trail, the Mayowood Bike Path is an asphalt sidepath trail that parallels Mayowood Road in southern Rochester. The trail is relatively flat, running...
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...
Largely constructed on a former rail corridor running north/south out of the city of Waseca, the Loon Lake Trail is a short but sweet trail that provides residents with off-road access to important...
Linking some of Rochester's most popular parks and recreation sites, the Cascade Creek Trail follows its namesake creek for over three miles, from Manorwoods Lake and Cascade Lake in the west, to the...
The Bandel Road Path is an asphalt sidepath that runs primarily in a utility corridor along the side of Bandel Road in northern Rochester. The pathway provides an alternative option for cyclists to...
At one time, flour and grist mills dotted the Cannon River Valley. These mills formed the backbone industry for a number of towns. The Mill Towns State Trail seeks to honor this legacy with a planned...
The Cedar River Greenbelt Trail snakes along the west side of the river between Osage and Mitchell. The limestone trail is suitable for walking, jogging, biking and horseback riding. The trail is open...
Located within the wooded acres of Quarry Hill Park, a popular recreation destination in Rochester, the Quarry Hill Family Trail is a flat, paved multi-use trail that serves as a connection in the...
The Southern Woods Trail is a short, paved trail that runs through a pretty section of suburban southern Rochester. The trail starts in the north where the 48th Street Bike Path crosses over Willow...
Paralleling South Broadway and 16th Street in the heart of Rochester, the Graham Park Trail provides a nice alternative to the busy roadways for cyclists and pedestrians, leading trail users along a...
Offering nearly 10 miles of paved pathway through Rochester, the Zumbro South Trail serves as both an important transportation route and recreational destination. As the western end of the trail...
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...
Running through the Meadow Park neighborhood in southern Rochester, the Meadow Park Bike Path provides a convenient connection for residents of the nearby neighborhoods to reach popular local parks...
The paved North Minnesota River Trail hugs its namesake river for much of its journey on the western end of Mankato. Along the way, it offers views of the river, limestone cliffs and the city. From...
Running alongside Marion Road in southern Rochester, the Marion Road Bike Path provides an asphalt sidepath trail for cyclists and pedestrians to use - together with the Bear Creek Trail and the...
Circling around the 652-acre lake on the eastern edge of Waseca, the Clear Lake Bike Trail System provides a fun recreational experience and a unique way to explore this pristine body of water. A very...
Closure notice: Beginning Tuesday, May 26, a 6 mile portion of the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail will be closed for reconstruction. The portion of trail affected by this closure is from 5th St. NW...
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...
On the northwestern edge of Rochester, the 50th Avenue Bike Path runs across over two miles of rolling hills, an asphalt sidepath trail that follows the west side of the road as it passes through open...
Running through the Meadow Park neighborhood in southern Rochester, the Meadow Park Bike Path provides a convenient connection for residents of the nearby neighborhoods to reach popular local parks...
Faribault is a city about half an hour south of Minneapolis-St. Paul, and the eastern endpoint of one of Minnesota's 40-mile Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail. In addition to the regional trails, the...
The South Route Trail begins west of Mankato in Minneopa State Park, known for its beautiful waterfalls and views of the Minnesota River Valley. Heading southeast from the park, following County Road...
A short sidepath trail that runs through a neighborhood in the southern reaches of Rochester, the Hart Farms Trail offers a pleasant asphalt path for local residents. Sharing the roadside with a row...
Offering a pleasant path along the southern side of Cascade Lake, the Cascade Lake Trail allows cyclists and pedestrians to explore the grounds around the lakeshore and Cascade Lake Park, home to a...
The Badger Hills Bike Path is a suburban sidepath trail that travels along the side of 41st Street and Badger Hills Drive in northern Rochester. While not much to look at, this asphalt pathway...
Circling around the 652-acre lake on the eastern edge of Waseca, the Clear Lake Bike Trail System provides a fun recreational experience and a unique way to explore this pristine body of water. A very...
Named after a Seneca Indian chief who lived in the area until the 1830s, the Red Jacket Trail runs along an old Milwaukee Road (formerly the Minnesota Railroad and the Central Railroad) right-of-way...
Rochester, Minnesota is home to a whole host of excellent multi-use pathways and trails, giving cyclists and pedestrians ample opportunity to explore the outdoors and get in plenty of safe recreation...
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...
Largely constructed on a former rail corridor running north/south out of the city of Waseca, the Loon Lake Trail is a short but sweet trail that provides residents with off-road access to important...
At one time, flour and grist mills dotted the Cannon River Valley. These mills formed the backbone industry for a number of towns. The Mill Towns State Trail seeks to honor this legacy with a planned...
Running alongside Marion Road in southern Rochester, the Marion Road Bike Path provides an asphalt sidepath trail for cyclists and pedestrians to use - together with the Bear Creek Trail and the...
The East Circle Drive Bike Path is an asphalt sidepath in northern Rochester that helps provide a connection between the John Wellner Memorial Trail and the Zumbro North Trail, two key components of...
The Foster-Arend Trail helps connect residents in northern Rochester with the rest of the city's network of trails and bike paths, and leads into Foster-Arend Park, a popular local park that offers...
One of Rochester's many suburban sidepath trails, the Overland Drive Trail runs along a roadside near the northern limits of the city. Passing over rolling hills and through the edges of residential...
The East 55th Street Path is an asphalt sidepath that runs along the side of 55th Street through a suburban stretch of northern Rochester, providing a key connection in the area's bike and pedestrian...
The Bandel Road Path is an asphalt sidepath that runs primarily in a utility corridor along the side of Bandel Road in northern Rochester. The pathway provides an alternative option for cyclists to...
A short neighborhood trail that runs through Summit Pointe Park in northwest Rochester, the Summit Pointe Trail provides a great outlet for cyclists and pedestrians to get some exercise and outdoor...
The Minneopa Trail is part of Mankato's catalogue of trails including Red Jacket Trail, the South Route Trail, the North Minnesota River Trail and the nearly 40-mile Skatah Singing Hills State...
Closure notice: Beginning Tuesday, May 26, a 6 mile portion of the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail will be closed for reconstruction. The portion of trail affected by this closure is from 5th St. NW...
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...
Named in the memory of Arianna Celeste Macnamara, a 7-year old girl who was tragically killed when she was struck by a car while crossing a nearby intersection, the Arianna Celeste Macnamara Memorial...
The Great River Ridge State Trail runs for 13 miles between County Road 9 just north of Eyota and Third Street Southwest just north of Wabasha Street in the town of Plainview, which serves as the...
A neighborhood offshoot of the longer Zumbro South Trail, the Mayowood Bike Path is an asphalt sidepath trail that parallels Mayowood Road in southern Rochester. The trail is relatively flat, running...
The 40th Street Bike Path is an asphalt sidepath trail that follows its namesake roadway through a lightly developed stretch of southern Rochester, coasting over rolling hills and the edge of woods to...
The Blazing Star State Trail is located in Albert Lea, near Minnesota’s southern border. The town is known as “The Land Between the Lakes,” and the trail begins on the northern shore of one of the...
At one time, flour and grist mills dotted the Cannon River Valley. These mills formed the backbone industry for a number of towns. The Mill Towns State Trail seeks to honor this legacy with a planned...
The Minneopa Trail is part of Mankato's catalogue of trails including Red Jacket Trail, the South Route Trail, the North Minnesota River Trail and the nearly 40-mile Skatah Singing Hills State...
One of Rochester's many suburban sidepath trails, the Overland Drive Trail runs along a roadside near the northern limits of the city. Passing over rolling hills and through the edges of residential...
Running alongside Marion Road in southern Rochester, the Marion Road Bike Path provides an asphalt sidepath trail for cyclists and pedestrians to use - together with the Bear Creek Trail and the...
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The great thing about Rochester's extensive trail system is that it gives you the best of both words: not only are the trails great for recreation out in nature, they are also convenient for commuters...
The paved North Minnesota River Trail hugs its namesake river for much of its journey on the western end of Mankato. Along the way, it offers views of the river, limestone cliffs and the city. From...
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...
A short offshoot of the longer Zumbro North Trail, the Elton Hills Run Trail provides a quick and convenient connection to the neighborhoods to the west of the river, as well as the small local park...
Paralleling South Broadway and 16th Street in the heart of Rochester, the Graham Park Trail provides a nice alternative to the busy roadways for cyclists and pedestrians, leading trail users along a...
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...
This multiuse trail is named in honor of a man who worked to make sure Rochester residents had safe places to walk and cycle. John Wellner was the city's infrastructure manager for 18 years, during...
The Bandel Road Path is an asphalt sidepath that runs primarily in a utility corridor along the side of Bandel Road in northern Rochester. The pathway provides an alternative option for cyclists to...
Running through the Meadow Park neighborhood in southern Rochester, the Meadow Park Bike Path provides a convenient connection for residents of the nearby neighborhoods to reach popular local parks...
I have done both sections of the trail several times. For the So. St. Paul to Pine Bend Trail End I like to start at Simon's Ravine because their are usually parking spots available. This section is a good day's ride for me and it is very interesting because of the mix of river and woods trails with fun street trails.
For the Hastings section I like to start at the Lower Spring Lake Park Reserve Trailhead. It is a huge parking lot and it is where the Hastings section starts. It is about 4 miles of beautiful trail and it runs through Schaar's Bluff. Then it is around 7 miles from there to Hastings. It is a good mix of open country, woods, and street trails. I love where the trail drops through a hillside settlement on to a levee going across the Mississippi then along the locks into the city. There are many great places to eat and drink close to the trail.
This is a beautiful trail and I can't wait for the Pine Bend section to be connected to the Lower Spring Lake Park section. That would make it world class!
The trail was great!!! Not alot of people so very peaceful
The trail is very nice - lots of variety of scenery. In town, neighborhoods, but also parks, prairie, river, ponds, and woods. There’s also lots of little fun detours. Makes for a nice leisurely ride. The trail is not marked particularly well, but it is t as bad as the other reviewer indicates. We used this app to stay on course (or get back on course if we Took a detour).
The path wasn’t always super well marked, but it’s not as bad as the other reviewer said. This app was VERY helpful in guiding us. Some in town, neighborhoods, prairie, woods, ponds, river - and lots of little detours to take advantage of. A very nice leisurely ride.
I fairly level ride along the river. Can be a bit on the busy side, especially on the northern end, but still worthwhile. Some stops along the way for water and for scenic overlooks.
I am not sure what they are doing with everyone's $5 as both trail heads were a very rough ride. The trail is mostly flat and straight which gets quite boring. Our ride was less than 700ft of elevation for a 50+ mile ride if you go down the Hayward trail as well (which was smoother than the CVT).
The trail was very busy to the point of being a nuisance.
Pros would be a view of the river, few road crossing and the trail is sheltered/shaded for 95% of the ride.
I will not do this ride again, there are too many better rides out there.
Rode from Hay Creek Campground along riverbank and horse trail. In good condition and a fun pig tail under Pioneer Road.
The whole thing is a circle, so getting back is easy
I rode this trail as it branched off of the Cannon Valley Trail going into Cannon Falls. The first segment looks like an ancient city trail that is very narrow with rough pavement. After a mile or so it sends you into a little park on dirt, down a hill then back up on gravel. I bypass this by going through the parking lot and then the road where the new segment starts which has smooth pavement and a few hills with an underpass under Hwy 52 and a view of the Cannon River.
This leads to a nice park/campground--Lake Byllesby. It has recently been re-modeled. There are a few old sites along the lake that have shade & grass. The rest of the new sites (over 60 of them) have no shade or grass, just an asphalt pad, some gravel, electricity and a grill or fire pit. It has very nice bathroom facilities. The swimming beach was closed when I was here in late July, although you can swim on the Goodhue side of the park.
As far as the rest of the trail goes there are some huge gaps once you're done with Northfield and Cannon Falls. Some day when it's all connected it will be worth the extra effort.
This is a nice, pleasant trail but is in need of TLC. Lots of ruts & broken cracked pavement. There are several very nice new bridges west of Welch into Cannon Falls which also have new pavement nearby. It's mostly uphill towards Cannon, so if the wind isn't opposing you it will be almost a coast back to Welch.
The trail fee at least keeps up basic maintenance such as mowing, blowing, cutting fallen branches, etc. The trail head at Welch could definatly use some upgrades such as the rest rooms which probably go back 30-40 years. The water is awful but there probably isn't much that can be done about that. The cell coverage is very poor at Welch but improves at both ends.
As far as any amenities along the way, there isn't much--bring your own water & snacks. Much better choices are available if you ride into Red Wing which also has some scenic trails along the Mississippi River.
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