Find the top rated dog walking trails in Waseca, whether you're looking for an easy short dog walking trail or a long dog walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a dog walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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.
The day I went, it was not ridable west of Chaska.
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.
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.
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.
I love this trail! Sure, it’s not perfectly paved, but I understand it must have been difficult to perform upkeep given the pandemic. Watch out for bumps and cracks and you’ll be alright! There are many gorgeous views and the trees lining the trail are beautiful.
Trail is amazing. The amount of people complaining over a few cracks here and there is ridiculous. Just ride and grow a pair.
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.
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