Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Minnetonka, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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This trail is so nice they named it twice: Sakatah is the Dakota word for “singing hills.” The Dakota people of the Great Sioux Nation originally lived in this scenic part of Minnesota, where the Big...
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...
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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 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 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 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...
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 Big Rivers Regional Trail runs along the upper portion of what was originally a two-tiered section of railroad track built for one of the state’s oldest lines, the Minnesota Central Railroad. At...
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 Luce Line Trail occupies the former railbed of the Electric Short Line Railroad, started in 1908. The tracks continued to be expanded into the late 1920s, when the rail line became known as the...
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The Brown’s Creek State Trail, which opened in October 2014, is a 5.9-mile addition to Minnesota’s extensive Willard Munger State Trail system. The rail-trail stretches from the St. Croix riverfront...
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...
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 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 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 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...
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...
The Big Rivers Regional Trail runs along the upper portion of what was originally a two-tiered section of railroad track built for one of the state’s oldest lines, the Minnesota Central Railroad. At...
The Brown’s Creek State Trail, which opened in October 2014, is a 5.9-mile addition to Minnesota’s extensive Willard Munger State Trail system. The rail-trail stretches from the St. Croix riverfront...
The Luce Line Trail occupies the former railbed of the Electric Short Line Railroad, started in 1908. The tracks continued to be expanded into the late 1920s, when the rail line became known as the...
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...
This trail is so nice they named it twice: Sakatah is the Dakota word for “singing hills.” The Dakota people of the Great Sioux Nation originally lived in this scenic part of Minnesota, where the Big...
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 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 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 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 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...
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 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...
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...
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 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 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...
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 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 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...
The Luce Line Trail occupies the former railbed of the Electric Short Line Railroad, started in 1908. The tracks continued to be expanded into the late 1920s, when the rail line became known as the...
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 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 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...
This trail is so nice they named it twice: Sakatah is the Dakota word for “singing hills.” The Dakota people of the Great Sioux Nation originally lived in this scenic part of Minnesota, where the Big...
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 Brown’s Creek State Trail, which opened in October 2014, is a 5.9-mile addition to Minnesota’s extensive Willard Munger State Trail system. The rail-trail stretches from the St. Croix riverfront...
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...
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...
The Big Rivers Regional Trail runs along the upper portion of what was originally a two-tiered section of railroad track built for one of the state’s oldest lines, the Minnesota Central Railroad. At...
The paved trail now goes into Lester Prairie and you can ride a mile or so in town on low traffic city streets. Also there are some nice rest stop areas and stores. One of my favorite MN trails to ride.
As others have stated, the trail is definitely neglected and very rough in some places but the scenery is beautiful. The most negative thing about the trail is that NO ONE has their dogs leashed. I passed SIX unleashed dogs. On a bike, it's not easy to get out of the way of a dog that may dart out- dangerous for me and the dog. Very disappointed in the dog owners sharing the 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.
I'm giving this trail a one-star rating for it's current stage of chaos. Avoid it if you can. This is an otherwise great trail; however, the southwest light rail project makes it next to impossible to enjoy. I would avoid this trail until the project is done AND until the western end of the trail is repaired, which has been in disrepair for years!
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.
Biked the Cannon Valley Trail and before going to the Cannon Falls trailhead, took the Mill Towns Trail to see what it was like. First part of trail is old and rough, and then you have to go on a dirt trail through a park and up a hill in class 5 rock before you get to the smooth, great trail by the fairgrounds. Wonderful ride that takes you past the beautiful waterfalls and dam at Lake Byllesby. Before the dam, if you go left, it's the Goodhue County park section of Lake Byllesby and the trail ends there. If you keep to the right, you cross the bridge and the dam and waterfalls from Lake Byllsbye are beautiful. Past the bridge you enter the Dakota County park section of the lake, and if you follow the path past the RV camping section, you get to the beach. Terrific beach with really nice bathrooms. Great trail - so glad we ventured off to bike it.
Trail is very well designed and maintained. Can’t wait until it is completed.
I've always loved this trail. I don't mind dropping $5 for a wheel pass if it's going straight into maintenance on the trail. Unfortunately, this trail is now in a pretty bad state of disrepair. There are great stretches, but there are sadly several terrible stretches. Most notably about three quarters of the way to Red Wing from Cannon Falls. One rut almost bounced me off my road bike. Please start spending some of that cash you collect!
We road this trail 42 miles from Mankato to Fairbault on a cloudy Sunday afternoon. The trail is mostly flat. About the only true hill you'll encounter is when you go to an overpass near Mankato. There aren't any markings on the trail to tell you distance to the next town. We thought it would be nice if there were either mile markers or signs that stated "Elysian 5.2 miles" just to give some idea of where you were. The trail is in excellent condition except the segment from Elysian to Waterville. Here you'll find ruts, cracks, and holes in the pavement which bounce you around for about 13 miles. We had to slow the pace in this area so as not to rattle our brains. There were plenty of other bikers on the trail as well. If you decide to ride the whole trail in one day you'll be pleased to know that some of the small towns have bar and grill restaurants and ice cream shops right off the trail. Overall a very pleasant ride.
This trail is not smooth... there are rocks, sticks, grass growing and the sticky black tar all in/on the trail! And you have to cross the railway which is not easy with skates! If you want to ride a bike I’m sure it would be no problem or if you really want a challenge while skating go for it, but I won’t be skating this trail again.. oh and it’s poorly marked so I had to turn around a couple times before I found the right direction
Biked from Waterville to Faribault Sunday July 7th. Surface was in excellent shape and we knew we were in Minnesota when there was a Dairy Queen at the end of the trail. Good day of riding. Monday July 8th we biked from Elysian to Mankato. Excellent trail conditions and a fawn was on the trail. We stopped but it kept running towards until almost up to us. It stopped took a closer look and bolted into the woods. Busy trail for a Monday good to see many people out.
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