Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in North Mankato, 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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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 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...
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...
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...
Fun enough for a little trail linking some suburban communities. The section of the trail in Cologne itself is prettiest, with a nicr downtown and lake view.
My 14 year old daughter and I rode this trail from Mankato to Elysian and back. There are a few places where the trail was out in the open sun, but it was mostly shaded and in good shape. There were a few short patches close to Mankato where they appear to be resurfacing. It would be dirt or rock for about 20 feet or so. No big deal as the rest of the trail was in great shape. There are not a lot of services on this segment of the trail. A port-a-potty in Madison lake. No water until Elysian. It seems the trail was slightly uphill heading east. My daughter struggled a bit on the way to Elysian -- there was also a slight headwind. But the return trip was smooth sailing.
In Elysian there was a wonderful ice cream shop called Scoops right off of the trail. They had plenty of tables outside in the shade, good ice cream and there were other riders there to chat with. Highly recommend this stop!
One thing to note: the trail endpoint in Mankato doesn't have parking and we couldn't find the trail. Instead go to the first parking marker on the Mankato end which is about .5 miles from the actual endpoint.
We cycled from the Land of Memories Campground to the Mankato Family YMCA and started there. The first part of the trail passes through residential areas with a number of street crossings. The trail was rather narrow compared to other bike trails we have ridden. There are no mileage markers along the way.
The trail is shaded for most of the way and ends abruptly at Huffy Lane. There is no indication or sign that we had reached the end of the trail so we continued on the road for a couple of blocks to the small village of Rapidan. Not much there. The route towards Rapidan was a slight uphill grade so made for an easy ride back to Mankato. The trail is paved but could use a bit of maintenance in some sections. The trail was OK but nothing to rave about.
The day I went, it was not ridable west of Chaska.
We parked at the trailhead parking lot on Lime Valley Road in Mankato. If you use the address 193 Lime Valley Road you’ll find the trailhead. We cycled to Madison Lake before turning around. We have hybrid bicycles. Total round trip about 19 miles.
The trail is under a canopy of trees for the most part with the first two miles or so being heavily shaded. This is quite a change for us who spend most of our time in the desert southwest! There has been recent trail work in the first mile. Two or three very, very small sections of the trail were being repaired and waiting to be repaved. We’re talking maybe a couple of 50’ sections now on dirt but very passable. There was one road crossing where the actual road (not the trail) was being resurfaced so you had to walk your bike across the street. Overall, the surface of the trail was pretty good. There were a couple of spots where there were cracks across the entire trail but was manageable. As a previous reviewer mentioned, there are no trail markers on this trail so the bike odometer comes in handy. No amenities on the trail. There were a couple of new housing developments springing up alongside the trail so you find locals walking or jogging in those areas. I would recommend this segment of the trail.
We did a RT from Wayzata to St Bonifacious. Had a a nice brunch at the St Boni Bistro. Trail is in in good condition. Very enjoyable ride.
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.
Pavement is good and the view of Loon Lake is nice. Clear Lake trail is better if you're in the area but still had fun here.
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.
Rode this out of Belle Plaine going north 8 miles out and back. Several downed trees which were easy to ride over, but the trail is not great on a mountain bike. Too sandy, and at this time of year, muddy. It’s to be expected for a river bottoms type trail I would assume. Needed a work out nearby and was glad this is close to where I was staying, but won’t race back to do it again.
We only walked a very small part of this trail. Parked at the end of Huber Park "under" the bridge and walked to Memorial Park and back. We wanted just a short walk to check out the area and while it was nice and dry on the trail, it was through a swampy area and when the paved walk ended the footing was really uneven. A lot of bugs already at just the beginning of April.
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