Find the top rated horseback riding trails in Minnesota, whether you're looking for an easy short horseback riding trail or a long horseback riding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a horseback riding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
_118907_st.jpg)
_0_st.jpg)
_190788_st.jpg)
_53412_st.jpg)
_261095_st.jpg)
I need to ride this trail every time I cycle to almost anywhere in Rochester. I consider that a great privilege. It is such a beautiful trail that all my rides are joyful rides. Despite it being in an urban setting, wildlife can be frequently spotted. I've seen White-tail Deer, Giant Snapping Turtles, Bald Eagles, Great Blue Herons, Wood Ducks. I've heard and seen many songbirds, and Chorus Frogs can be heard here in the spring. The Southern section is heavily wooded along the creek, the Northern Section travels along the creek through Bear Creek and Slatterly Parks. There are multiple underpasses so you do not have to cross traffic at all.
This is an essential connector trail from the Douglas State Trail to the Rochester Minnesota city trail system. It runs on the same Chicago Great Western Railway route as the rest of the Douglas State Trail with the exception of its two bridges, the Arianna Celeste MacNamara Memorial Bridge over US 14 and the CP Railroad, and the David Rossman Memorial Bridge over Valleyhigh Drive, and the short segment that is an access easement through the former IBM property. Little Thistle Brewery is connected to this trail. Please use extra caution when crossing 19th Street, there have been serious bike/car collisions there.
We ride the trail a few times a year. It's gotten so bumpy in places that it's not a comfortable ride anymore. Redwing to Welch bad. Cannon to Welch almost as bad. Could be one of the nicest trails in the state if the surface was overlayed.
We had ridden the Munger Trail from Jay Cooke campground to the Skihut near the Spirit Bike Park and Ski Hill and a clerk in the store told us about this trail as an alternative to get back. We loved it. In that direction it’s mostly uphill, so be young and fit or have an e-bike like we did. The ride is through beautiful birch forests with views of the St. Louis River. The entrance is through the paved parking lot near the ski lift and then further up and to the right on the gravel lot. At the entrance of the trail signs warn of rocks and jumps, but that refers to the groomed mountain bike trails off to the side in the first mile or two of the trail. None of that is actually on the trail.
We rode from the campground at Jay Cooke State Park almost to the trailhead in Duluth. We stopped at the Skihut Adventure Center store right near the trail—about 13 miles. The pavement was reasonably maintained with cracks having been repaired. The few bumps were marked in orange. We were riding hybrid bikes and had no issues with surface quality. It’s fairly level in this section and wide enough that we were able to ride 2 abreast most of the time. There is a section marked closed for repairs, but everyone just rode around the barriers with no problems.
Trail has some really pretty views of the prairie and wooded areas near rock river. Nice and short, out and back memorial trail. I enjoyed it.
Rode the trail the week of August 11, 2025....rode from Virginia to Biwabik, Virginia to Chisholm, Hibbing to Keewatin, and Tower to Ely. Tower to Ely was by far the part of the trail that was in the best condition...the others were a bit rough in spots. Tower to Ely had a couple good climbs in them. Thought the signage for the trail could be better. There are places to go to the bathroom along the way, although not always that frequent. However, if it's a hot day...make sure you have enough water as there are no spots to fill up.
This was an absolutely beautiful trail! I highly recommend it!
We loved biking this trail. We biked from Akeley to Dorset and back. If camping, it’s easy from Akeley City Park and Campground. It’s located next to the trail and although we stayed only one night,they allowed us to keep our camper van there during our ride and clean up afterwards before we headed on our way. The couple who run the facility could not have been nicer. And don’t miss the museum in town.
Just moved to Belle Plaine, MN this summer and was delighted to learn of this trail which starts here just outside of town next to the Minnesota River. Was surprised to discover the trailhead was utterly unmarked from the road, and after overshooting the entrance backtracked and biked down a steep access road at the south end of the highway bridge. The road ended abruptly at an unpaved, ungraveled muddy/sandy little turnaround that looked more like some guy's backwoods fishin'/party spot than any kind of parking area for a state trail. A closed metal gate marked the start of the "trail," which apparently doubles in winter as a snowmobile trail. But this time of year (mid-August after recent rains) it was just a wet singletrack path that disappeared into deep weeds, mud, some standing water, and river floodplain. The elevation is just a few feet above the current river level, which just a few weeks ago was higher than the trail itself, so you can imagine what kind of condition the area was in.
I decided to give it a try anyways but only got about 400 yards down the trail on my mountain bike before turning back, hounded by mosquitoes and frustrated by the mud, the neglected/unmaintained path, and the downed branches and limbs everywhere.
You could certainly hike or trail-run this path, and a dedicated mountain biker might find it a fun challenge. I'm 65 and in good shape, but the trail section down here was not at all what the State Trail info/website/photos suggested. I'll go back another time and give it another try with my hiking shoes and DEET, but not my bike. Hoping the further-up portions of the trail have better conditions for bikers!
well maintained trail. scenic views of farmland, small towns, wildlife along the trail.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Map Search
_22070_st.jpg)
_198365_st.jpg)
