I rode from Faribault to a few miles past Madison Lake. Great paved trail in pristine condition. There was HIGHWAY/ROAD closure by Elysian on the road parallel to the trail for a couple miles. BUT, the paved trail is in the trees and NOT on the road…so no problem for riding. I did start at 6am to beat the 97f heat. 63mile round trip.

This is shown on some trail maps and signs as the West Side continuation of the Bruce Vento Trail. And…it connects to the upstream end of the Robert Piram Trail at the edge of Harriet Island.

South of E 54th is rough, and it's steep up to Ft. Snelling. Worth the ride the greenery.

We were visiting Minneapolis from Colorado with our Bromptons in the back of the car, exploring. This exploration was a long afternoon, starting at N 4th Ave and riding down river, stopping for lunch at a coffee shop. Great views of the river. At Minnehaha Park, we wandered around a bit, then headed south to Fort Snelling on the Minnehaha trail. It appeared that Minnehaha intersected a trail that would take us across the river, and we would the ride trails back to the Stone Arch bridge to cross to the starting point. Note that the southern stretch of the Minnehaha is rough surface. When we arrived at the "intersection", the other trail was about 100ft over our heads. It's steep up to Ft. Snelling, and then three flights of stairs down to the bridge (there's a gutter to assist with rolling the bikes). Across the bridge there are stairs up to the trail. Going north was again great views, but then the trail ended at a blockage. We followed the well signed detour through the neighborhoods, and back on to the trail. It did take a little searching just north of the Uni. of Minnesota Twin City to find the trail to the Stone Arch Bridge. Steep at times on the east side through the Uni.

Today we rode the trail from St. Bonis to Mayer. It was a beautiful ride. Great scenery, well kept trail. We’ll definitely do it again.

Very well paved with some rolling hills as other reviewers have mentioned. The trail is gorgeous as it passes over fields and under trees. Easy to moderate difficulty.

The Great Northern Greenway is one of my favorite routes to the Minneapolis riverfront where I can enjoy nature and the ever changing river. Each day and season is a unique sightseeing adventure. On my way there, I pass through vibrant, northeast neighborhoods with historic architecture, outdoor sculptures and unique shops. In addition to riding north or south along the river, I often travel along the Grand Rounds and Victory Memorial Drive before returning home. My rides can be anywhere between five to fifty mile loops pending weather, energy and available time

North of the Mississippi River (it flows EW through downtown St. Paul) the Vento Trail follows an old Phalen Creek railroad to Phalen Lake. South of the river the trail shown on TrailLink as the Cherokee Trail is also signed as part of the Bruce Vento Trail.

The southern section between Cayuga St. and Arlington Ave. in St. Paul, starts with a view of the Trout Brook Nature Preserve (with a fine trail that does not connect at the north end) but quickly becomes sandwiched between junkyards and I-35E. Good it's there. Very urban.