Find the top rated mountain biking trails in Minnesota, whether you're looking for an easy short mountain biking trail or a long mountain biking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a mountain biking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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.
We were staying at Camden State Park in Lynd at the lower campground and started the ride from there. The actual trail starts at the visitor center about a mile up a steep and winding road. However, there is a better route (CR-25) right from the campground through local streets in Lynd. Ask at the visitor center for more information.
The trail towards Marshall is mostly downhill. Initially the trail parallels highway 23 but this highway is one with low traffic (in my opinion). The trail eventually leaves the highway and goes through parks and open space park along River Road before entering the outskirts of Marshall. We went as far as the fairgrounds and turned around.
There are no mile markers along the trail. There is no sign to indicate that you are actually on the Camden Regional Trail. What signage there is is poor. Signs like “Trail Crossing” indicate the direction of the trail. Some signs simply read “Bike Trail.” There are some benches along the trail and a vault toilet at the trailhead at the parking lot on River Road but no other amenities (no water). The trail surface was in excellent condition. On the way back to the campground, we had a headwind plus a slight uphill grade. Just a reminder, this is not a rail-to-trail bike trail so you won’t have a flat ride but will have mild undulating terrain. I would recommend this trail if you are in the area but try to start in Marshall first so you go downhill on your return. :)
Slight rolling hills. Great meadow and tree lined trails. Not a lot of people. If you take the loop around it is about 14 miles. The pathway is super smooth. Highly recommend!
Amazing smooth ride where the trail has been resurfaced. West of Mound to the Carver cty line. As I live by this trail I ride it alot. Usually from Mound to Meyer. Nice surfaced ride with changing scenery.
Great views of meadows and water. Lots of delightful benches. A great swimming pool/lake to take a dip and buy some ice cream in the summer. Coming from the south I took the Medicine Lake Regional to get here and the the Rice Lake local trails out. These trails added some nice distance (though not as perfectly smooth) to the 20 without ever biking on a street.
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.
We road out-and-back from the Masonic West Riverside Park campground in Hutchinson to Silver Lake which is approximately 20 miles round trip. The trail is fully paved in this section . It is a combination of shade and full sun as the trail meanders through cornfields.
The trail could use a little maintenance in certain sections. There were tree roots and wide cracks across the path but overall the trail in this segment was pretty good. It felt like a slight uphill grade to Silver Lake so we enjoyed a bit of a downhill back into Hutchinson. A few benches along the way but no other amenities except for Hutchinson.
Hutchinson has a number of parks along the trail with benches and sculptures which are very nice. I would recommend this trail.
I went from Fountain to Houston on Monday. Left my car in the lot and pedaled to Houston. Wow, what a beautiful trail! Having been on many trails I rate this in the top for sure! Heading east from Fountain is a breeze as it is almost 9 miles of downhill. More challenging at the end of 42 miles heading east on the return. The hills west of Houston are fun too.
I stayed at the Sawmill Inn in Houston (super comfy!!!!) and return biked Tues am.
Highly recommend this trail!
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.
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