Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Shakopee, 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.
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 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 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...
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 5.9-mile Brown’s Creek State Trail, which opened in October 2014, is the latest addition to Minnesota’s extensive trail system. The rail-trail stretches from the St. Croix riverfront town of...
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 pathway that offers an urban link to the countryside. The western end of this paved trail begins on the north end of Saint Paul and heads northeast through...
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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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 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...
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...
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 5.9-mile Brown’s Creek State Trail, which opened in October 2014, is the latest addition to Minnesota’s extensive trail system. The rail-trail stretches from the St. Croix riverfront town 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 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...
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 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 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 Gateway State Trail is an 18.3-mile-long pathway that offers an urban link to the countryside. The western end of this paved trail begins on the north end of Saint Paul and heads northeast through...
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 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 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...
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...
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 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 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...
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...
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 5.9-mile Brown’s Creek State Trail, which opened in October 2014, is the latest addition to Minnesota’s extensive trail system. The rail-trail stretches from the St. Croix riverfront town of...
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 Gateway State Trail is an 18.3-mile-long pathway that offers an urban link to the countryside. The western end of this paved trail begins on the north end of Saint Paul and heads northeast through...
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...
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...
So excited to have found a smooth trail!! Asphalt is in great condition, perfect for rollerblading. It only gets a bit rocky around the Xcel Energy plant. Beautiful scenery and very secluded. River overlook and benches along the way, too! -KR
This is a beautiful, short trail that links to some longer trails in the area. If you can, I recommend passing through it, especially in the Fall! Lots of tree cover, and a cool old train tack that still gets some use. It really takes you out of the city for a couple miles.
great views, mostly shaded for warm sunny days, enjoyed being able to ride to old town Red Wing where there were multiple restaurant options for lunch.
Wanted to try out this trail for the first time on Saturday and it is closed. Maybe try it next year.
Having riden most trails in SE MN we thought we’d give the Vermillion River Regional Greenway a try since we were passing by and we prefer loop trails. TrailLink parking info directed us to Vermillion Falls Park, which was very well kept and had ample parking. The map board at the trailhead entrance was cryptic and offered no indication that there was a contiguous loop trail around Hastings. The first couple miles were well paved and traversed along the edge of the city. Unfortunately, the trail meandered into the city and was poorly marked. We eventually lost any semblance of a bicycle trail and ended up utilizing our phone gps to direct us back to Vermillion Falls Park. Having biked thousands of miles across countless trails throughout the US, this was the first time we’ve had to use gps. While the region offers excellent scenery, until the trail offers better directions we probably will not return.
We've ridden this trail at least once a year and it's a local favorite. It connects with the Gateway Trail and follows the creek down to Stillwater. Its popular with the locals and well as tourists. There's no parking in the western start of the trail, so I would recommend parking at the Pine Point trailhead (tons of parking, water and bathrooms). There is a tiny parking lot off of Highway 96, but it's almost always full on weekends, even early in the morning.
If you start at the western trailhead off of the Gateway, the trip to Stillwater is downhill, but you really don't notice it too much, even the trip back is pleasant. There are a few places where you traverse a local golf course but the majority of the trail is through some lovely wooded areas. I've almost ridden off into the trees because I've been gawking at the beautiful scenery!
You can continue to explore Stillwater at the trail's end, or head north to William O'Brien State Park and the lovely river towns of Marine on St. Croix and Copas. It's a great little trail!
We started at the Petro Truck stop just off of Hwy 52 and 117th Street. Upon finishing our ride, we determined that there is a nice trailhead, appears to be just north of this truck stop. We used the truck stop and headed out on the trail just out of the south end of the parking lot.
Overall the trail was in great condition and well marked. The only spot that we did not see any marking was at the intersection of Cahill and Concord Boulevard. We continued north and went up into the neighborhoods of Inver Grove Heights - also a nice continuance of the trail. One of the riders in our party did head "east" along Concord down to the Swing Bridge Park. This was also a great section of trail, challenge is that you are going down hill to the river, so the return means that is UP hill from the river. Manageable but a good climb.
I will be back again to ride further into St Paul via the trail!
Surprised by the rave reviews on here. I rode this trail recently for the first time in several years. Like many of our Twin Cities trail, it is amazing in potential and horrible in reality. These trails are worthless if not maintained correctly. I will not ride this trail again with my road bike until it is patched or resurfaced. Probably great for mountain bikes, but a little tender loving care would make it amazing for everyone.
Rush line bus project 2018. No more Bruce Vento trail!
This was a very nice trail to bike on. It’s separated most of the way from the walking trail which is nice as I found a lot of people running/walking which would have crowded the trail if it was combined all the way around. There are plenty of different parking places located around the lake for easy access to the trail. Shading around the lake so you aren’t always riding in the sun.
This is wonderful trail with some incredible views of the two largest metro lakes, Minnetonka and Waconia. Plenty of stopping points along the way for photo opportunities or a bite to eat or drink, including a couple of craft breweries, a drive-in that features homemade rootbeer, and several bistros. I'd like to give the Dakota trail 5 stars, but it lacks a safe, connecting trail from the north side of the lake into the city of Waconia. Also, it would be awesome if this trail could someday branch off to Victoria to connect with the Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail.
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