Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Owatonna, 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.
The Goodhue Pioneer State Trail is a work in progress as part of a planned 47-mile trail linking the cities of Red Wing, Goodhue, Zumbrota, Mazeppa, Bellechester, and Pine Island along an inactive...
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...
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...
Shooting Star State Trail, currently 19 miles long, is an 8-foot-wide asphalt path from LeRoy (east) to Rose Creek (west). It follows an unused railroad bed on Milwaukee Road, which once stretched...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Shooting Star State Trail, currently 19 miles long, is an 8-foot-wide asphalt path from LeRoy (east) to Rose Creek (west). It follows an unused railroad bed on Milwaukee Road, which once stretched...
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 Goodhue Pioneer State Trail is a work in progress as part of a planned 47-mile trail linking the cities of Red Wing, Goodhue, Zumbrota, Mazeppa, Bellechester, and Pine Island along an inactive...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
Shooting Star State Trail, currently 19 miles long, is an 8-foot-wide asphalt path from LeRoy (east) to Rose Creek (west). It follows an unused railroad bed on Milwaukee Road, which once stretched...
The Goodhue Pioneer State Trail is a work in progress as part of a planned 47-mile trail linking the cities of Red Wing, Goodhue, Zumbrota, Mazeppa, Bellechester, and Pine Island along an inactive...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
I rode from Pine Island to a park in northern Rochester and back, total of 22 miles R/T. 95% of the ride was under tree canopy, so perfect trail for you "shade worshippers" like me (having recently been diagnosed with skin cancer). Condition of trail is not perfect (which trails are?), but certainly very good. A few spots are rough and in need of some maintenance. Very flat and comfortable ride. Weren't a lot of "creatures" along the way, but did see squirrels, gophers, Baltimore Oriole and a lone deer.
Only negative comment I have is that there were several road crossings that slowed me down, but they were gravel roads with minimal vehicle traffic.
Definitely near the top of my "best" list.
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.
This trail seems to be a patchwork of different park and city trails that were stitched together to make a loop around the city of Hastings. Consequently it's very difficult to stay on the trail. I don't have a handlebar holder for my phone, so had to keep stopping to check my phone and find which way to go. There were many instances when the trail suddenly crossed the road or reached a fork with no indication of which path to take to stay on the loop.
Additionally, at many points along the path the asphalt is in poor shape with large cracks and weeds coming up. Trees and brush along the trail haven't been trimmed so you'll need to beware low hanging branches. The sections that go through the residential areas cross many roads where you'll need to yield to traffic.
On the plus side, there are some interesting sites along the way, including a lock and dam, a beautiful city park along the Mississippi and a path running along a steep river gorge.
Better trail markers would have increased my rating to 3 or 4 stars.
We enjoyed our ride on the Cannon Valley Trail. Small fissures are clearly marked and are to be expected since maintenance depends on volunteers. Only wish underbrush could be cleared where the trail wends close to the river for better river views. We road round trip from Cannon Falls to Red Wing.
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.
Well paved and maintained, lots of benches and places to stop and appreciate the wildlife refuge. Runs along the MN River and Black Dog Lake. No hills, not much shade, limited parking on weekends. There is a second trail head north of highway 13 at silver bell road in Eagan.
We stayed in Cedar Rapids on our way to Minnesota and had heard about the Cannon Valley Trail. We weren’t sure where to start and the condition of the trail so thought We’d leave a review. We started at Cedar Lake and headed south rewards Ely. In hind-site it would have been better to start at the Czech village where there is plenty of parking. It’s confusing to ride through town. The path to Ely was great and we had heard that the path to Solon was not good, but it has been recently redone and is in great shape. We road 18 miles out and back for 36 total. Very enjoyable ride. Also quite a few restaurants and brewpubs at Czech village(we stopped at Lion Brewery) and would give it a thumbs up too. If your going north you could probably park at Cedar Lake and go north but we didn’t complete that part. Will try that next time. It was a great find and enjoyed it all
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.
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