Find the top rated birding trails in Hutchinson, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Not a bad trail. Pleasantly paved with few bumps. Parked at the trailhead near Molly’s restaurant, rode to Mayer and back to the 6 mile marsh for a cooldown before rain hit. The standout was the chef owned restaurant adjacent to the trail and their outstanding crafted menu using fresh local ingredients. A pleasant surprise that makes bike touring such a joy. The area felt safe and family friendly.
I grew up in Plymouth with the Luce line behind my house. When I was little, I still remember the trains going by and in middle school we’d run down the tracks to the trestle on Gleason Lake and go fishing or jump off into the lake. I remember when they pulled the tracks up and turned it into this walking path. There were still gravel pits on the opposite side and now it’s all townhomes. This trail has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My office now sits on the trail on the other side of Parker’s lake. I live in southern Wright County, and I can access the loose line trail 9 miles to south. It’s a great trail. It’s quiet well maintained and it’s like walking through the woods.
A fantastic trail from the St Cloud State campus all the way to and through Clearwater. Very smooth from St Cloud, a little rough on the way into Clearwater. Much longer than expected.
Note: The south end of the route between Chaska and Carver has been rerouted. The TrailLink map is no longer accurate. The trail now runs through downtown Chaska and will cross the Minnesota River at the new bridge. Signs are scarce in this section.
The trail is incomplete in several sections, and route you through some neighborhoods and along some busier roads. There is also a construction project by Coons Dam without a very good reroute available. (Summer 2026) but we look forward to writing her again.
The trail runs along a fairly busy road and it can be a bit loud. Paved areas are in good shape and some older sidewalk is in lesser shape and a bit rough. Nice views of Buffalo Lake and the North Fork Crow River.
The portion of the trail near Cedar Lake has been in pretty good shape, except for a few asphalt heaves, as the LRT trail is getting done. The access has gotten better and as a whole, it is a nice. Trail, like most of these trails it’s flat, does head out west, which is kind of fun.
This was once an amazing, peaceful, scenic trail but it’s been taken over by kids on motorized bikes. I used be use the trail daily but the traffic is so bad, it’s no longer a trail but a highway for “motorcycles”.
TV Rode this trail from Hopkins to Carver and back, a total of 40.2 miles. While the trail is mostly smooth, it is a mixed bag of Surfaces ranging from brand new asphalt to gravel/dirt. Some of it is perfect, some of it is neglected, cracked and bumpy asphalt with weeds growing up through it. Based upon the name I expected the trail to be more scenic than it was with the first half of the trail running along the light rail line and through industrial and residential areas. The second half wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t very dramatic. If you do decide to ride this trail, I’d recommend using GPS on your cell phone as the signage is lacking and it’s easy to make a wrong turn onto an adjacent trail
This was the first time on this trail for our group of three. We started at the Bryant Lake dog park, which was a nice little ride in itself. The weather was gorgeous, a little cool, but bright and sunny. The trail conditions were good to great. At least half of the leaves were down, which made it great for deer watching. We jumped one massive buck with a huge rack. Then a little further down the trail on the opposite side was another smaller buck. Our trip down the trail brought us to Chaska, On our return trip was when we saw the two younger deer snacking on an “after Halloween” pumpkin. I’d recommend this trail to anyone who’s looking to see a little wildlife. This ride was a perfect “almost” end of season ride
Elm Creek has always been a fun place for us to ride and it’s close to where we are. The trails are maintained nicely a lot of variance in wooded to prairie, rides by the water, there are small hills and curves. We don’t see deer a lot but they are out there. We’ve seen them a few times if we want to put on 20 miles that’s just about a loop around. There are many off ramps that will put you into Champlin and Anoka neighborhood trails as well. On the north end there’s a BMX track that seems pretty lengthy. We did a piece of it with our E bikes but it’s not really designed for that and especially not for 70-year-old people on E bikes, but it was an adventure if you add in the playground and the swimming area and the frisbee golf you can easily spend a day out there
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