Coming from Minneapolis, once you near the city of Winsted, the paved section of the trail is very pleasing. Smooth, clear of debris and beautiful nature signs along the way to the rest of the trail. The cities along the entire trail offer food, restrooms, campsites and the amenities you might need. Well shaded trail due to the abundance of trees on the sides. Yes time to ride this trail is when it is dry, especially for road cyclist.

Good biking with parks and a nice military memorial by the trail. Did 20 miles in this area. The trees were at their peak colors, beautiful.

Beautiful ride with a few busy street crossings, but scenery and path through woods are lovely. Downside is only the walkers who won’t go single file when the path is narrow. Appreciate the rest stops throughout the trail.

I've ridden this trail many times in the past. It's pretty much the same as most rail trails--flat & straight. This trail has quite a bit of open to the wind as well as sheltered mileage. You pass by some nice lakes but too much of it is too close to noisy, busy Hwy 23.

I've taken all the side routes also. This time I went clockwise around Lake Koronis starting at the Regional Park. There are some pretty steep hills and the routes aren't well marked. On the east side of the lake it's mostly roads.

The part I enjoyed the most was from Roscoe to Richmond which is separated from the Paynesville terminus by a few miles. But it was a pleasant surprise with lots of trees, fields, water but best of all away from Hwy 23. On the east side of Richmond towards Cold Spring it goes along noisy Hwy 23 again. There is the best trailhead in Richmond, most of the rest have almost nothing--maybe a porta potty but no water or shade.

I was pleased to ride the newly paved trail into Winsted. From there to the end of the pavement west of Hutchinson, it's 22 miles, so 44 miles round trip. Once you hit Hutch you can go about another 6 miles past some nice lakes & river water features. Also nice parks on west end of Hutch.

The scenery though is about the same start to finish except for Hutch. It's well shaded and flat. The only hill is a bridge over a busy highway. There are some corn/bean fields & lots of buckthorn, scrub trees and swamp.

One of my favorite trails.We have biked here multiple times and most part of the trail is flat which makes it easy to go with kids too.

July 2020 - Found the beginning of the trail off of 6th St. or Babcock Ave. near the Farmer's Coop. There is a very small grassy area to park near the Coop. We stopped to ask. Last section of the trail is now paved by the airport runway, which is currently getting paved itself. Enjoyed the ride from Winsted to Silver Lake. Appoximately 18 miles round trip. Biked through shaded areas and sunny areas in between farm fields.

Beautiful country side. However no shades and gets hot quickly.

Went to St. John’s University so this review 100% biased... but for great reasons! The views at this unique spot are absolutely incredible... over 60 miles of beauty. If you’re able to make it all the way to the end, you won’t be disappointed! Top 5 trails over 18+ miles. 1) Root River Trail 2) Paul Bunyan Trail 3) Cannon Valley Trail 4) Lake Wobagon