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Overview
The Minnesota Valley State Trail is used by cyclists, equestrians, hikers, snowmobilers, and cross-country skiers. The trail passes through the Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area at its southern end as well as other natural areas along its route. Portions of the trail run parallel to the Minnesota River, which means that it is subject to flooding in high-water years. Along the trail, trail users will encounter oak hardwood forests, oak savanna remnants, and hillsides and bluffs featuring scenic overlooks of the Minnesota River below. Wetlands include floodplain marshes, wet meadows, fens, and lakes. Wildlife and wildflowers abound.
About the Route
The trail is 34.1 miles long in two sections; the 19.5-mile portion of the trail between Belle Plaine and Chaska has a natural surface and can be rough and sandy in places, a challenge for those with narrow-tire bikes. Between MN 41 in Chaska and Stagecoach Road (at the intersection of US 169 and County Road 101) in Shakopee, the 9.8-mile segment of the trail is paved. The second, much shorter trail segment runs 1.7 miles eastward from Lyndale Ave. S in Bloomington. There are plans to extend the trail to cover a total of 80 miles between Fort Snelling (where work is already underway) and beyond Belle Plaine to Le Sueur.
A majority of the trail traverses the Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area, providing access to trails and natural amenities in the Lawrence and Louisville Swamp Units for a more intimate opportunity to experience the flora and fauna within the floodplain of the Minnesota River. The historic features of the Jabs Farm site and Little Rapids campsite along the Mazomani Trail within the Louisville Swamp section can be accessed from the Minnesota Valley State Trail.
There are restrooms at the Lawrence Unit as well as in cities and parks along the route.
The Minnesota Valley State Trail runs between N Walnut St. (Belle Plaine) and the Minnesota River Bottoms (Bloomington), with parking at both ends.
Parking is also available at:
See TrailLink Map for more detailed information.
Although having lived in the area for years, I've never used any part of this trail. I ran it from Belle Plaine to Memorial Park in Shakopee in November. I should note that this fall season has had little rain and has been on the warm side. Around 50 degrees when I ran it. So trail conditions can vary wildly.
There were a few spots with standing water near the Belle Plaine side, all easily avoidable. There is also a length of sand, probably pushing a mile overall, around the Jordan area. This section was tough to run due to the horses making ruts in the sand. I would guess a bike would need to be pushed through some of this. Other than the sand, this trail was great and totally runnable. The brush and grass had been cut and no trees or branches on the trail.
Something I wasn't aware of, from Chaska to Shakopee, the trail is paved.
from shakopee to chaska no longer underwater but 2 trees down across the trail
I attempted this trail for the first time last week. I agree with one of the reviews where the beginning point in Belle Plaine is tough to find. The parking lot is may be enough for three or four cars gets washed out dirt all rutted. After unloading my bike, I went to what appeared to be the entrance completely overgrown with weeds. My E bike gives me 40 miles to a battery. I tried going through just a mile and coming back, a total of 2 miles, it used up 25% of my battery due to so much mud. It would be perfect for a gas dirtbike. Not worth a trip.
My husband and I rode our ebikes from Shakopee to Carver. Majority of the ride was under tree canopy with nice views of the MN river. We are just getting into riding, the trail level was appropriate for us. Enjoy!
Most of this trail from Shakopee to Chaska is under water due to flooding. Completely impassible!Otherwise the trail would be really nice.
The day I went, it was not ridable west of Chaska.
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.
We only walked a very small part of this trail. Parked at the end of Huber Park "under" the bridge and walked to Memorial Park and back. We wanted just a short walk to check out the area and while it was nice and dry on the trail, it was through a swampy area and when the paved walk ended the footing was really uneven. A lot of bugs already at just the beginning of April.
You can get on this trail either at Huber Park or Vet's Memorial Park, both in Shakopee. The eastern end is now paved & goes across the MN river into West Bloomington where there are mountain bike trails. There is new pavement in front of Valley Fair & Murphy's Landing. The trail then goes along the river over to Chaska which can sometimes be flooded out.
Also, from Huber Park you can get on a new segment of trail & go across a much wider span of MN river and go up Flying Cloud towards Eden Prairie. Also, there is a connection to the LRT with a new river bridge and much new road construction in that area. Shakopee has many good paved trails in town to connect to if you want to stretch out your ride.
Beyond Chaska you can now go to Carver on a short paved trail. Going to Jordan or Belle Plaine is on poorly maintained dirt trails--maybe good for mountain or fat tire bike?
We hit about 30 yards or so just east of Chaska where the path was under water so probably not a great trail after heavy rains or springtime. Would also not be comfortable alone as a female as it’s very secluded and swampy around the trail. The ride was pretty easy and I would try it again with my husband going further past Chaska. Easy parking and nice start at Huber Park.
The flooding from the past few years has definitely affected the enjoyment and access to this trail. We went in two different directions today. The paved portion was ‘okay’ but still slick with mud in spots and overrun with water in others. The non paved section was a cross country adventure. We finally gave up after a few miles of sand and mud. I think it will be hard for this trail to be consistently maintained given its proximity to the river.
I don’t know if the whole Trail is bad, but the start of it by valleyfair was touch and go of mud and we couldn’t continue biking very far at all.
Loaded up two small children and our bikes and drove a short distance to Lawrence. There was a sign at the trail head stating that it was closed. :(
You can now ride this trail from SW Bloomington out to Carver. A short section between Chaska & Carver has new, smooth pavement. Just follow the Chaska dike trail, when you get west near the ball park you go on a street for a short ways & then the trail is there--maybe they'll put up signs someday? Carver is a cute little town. There is a Casey's near the trailhead.
Once you get in to Carver you can take the trail a little farther, then a road for a mile & then you can pick up on another trail & go up some steep hills & loop back to Carver or Chaska.
We used this trail from memorial park, Shakopee to Chaska. The trail was in great shape. Only trick was finding where to get on from memorial park. The bridge from the park to the trail is out. We rode toward Shakopee to Levee Rd and easily found the trail. Beautiful scenery and great historical markers along rhevwatc and Chaska was a great stop For a cold drink.
Neither the locals nor the police knew where this trail started in Belle Plaine. We finally found it down a short narrow road right next to the river (Belle Plaine side of the river...north side of highway 25). Late September growth of grass and weeds etc. all the way to Chaska? We didn't even attempt it.
Rode these trails quite a few times this summer between Jordan and Belle Plaine on horseback. Some areas are a little muddy but not too bad. There were a couple downed trees we had to ride around in a couple spots. Can get buggy especially after the rains. But all in all love riding these trails. Can't wait to ride them this fall with all the fall colors.
I can only talk about this trail from Huber Park to the berms in Chaska. I had ridden it (on my road bike) earlier this year from Chaska to Shakopee right after a storm. There were many branches down and even trees blocking the trail. VERY slow going. In fact, I regretted following the trail instead of the roads. BUT...
Yesterday (9/7/15) I went from Shakopee to Chaska, and while there were no downed trees, there were a lot of leaves and acorns on the trail. There were a few spots that were quite rough and it was necessary to go slow. There were lots of people out yesterday, so slow was wise anyway.
I'm spoiled by the bike trails in Hyland Park - they must have leaf sweepers there, because the trails are usually very smooth and clean. The drawback is that there aren't many miles of trails.
For a pretty ride if you don't want to maximize your MPH, I'd suggest this trail.
I liked this trail, it has some fun hills, some good workout hills, but it was creepy at certain spots, came across quite a few "shady people" where after I saw them I just didn't feel safe :( so because of that I didn't stop to take pictures of the old Shakopee brewery. and it was really cool looking! I should say I started in Chaska and headed east to Shakopee, it was a couple miles from Shakopee where I didn't feel safe.
west of chaska it is like a horse trail and not crushed stone but rough surface. rocks / sand and vegetation. not easy going unless you have a sturdy mtn bike and are willing to ride slow and then you have to fight the bugs.
between shakopee and chaska it is beautiful though paved. I can only image how pretty it will be with the fall color -- cant wait to do that section again this fall.
Since no one has added a review for over a year I thought I'd confirm that the trail is open--no flooding issues in Sept. 2012. :) You can tell that in the spring this trail does flood easily since the river is right there and the trail was built on the flood plain. It's a nice trail and I echo everything TimBee says. The only call-out we witnessed was the lack of a continuing, non-paved (crushed limestone, per this website?) trail after getting to Chaska (we started in Shakopee). We found a snowmobile/hiking/horseback trail that appears to be the non-paved path that continues but only avid mountain bikers should attempt. The trail is very rough with tree debris and it's sandy/silty. We never found a crushed limestone trail anywhere near Chaska to keep heading south. Maybe that's only on portions of the trail closer to Jordan or Louisville Swamp? One other addition that needs to be updated. The bike trail now starts as far east as Memorial Park (aka, Shakopee's Visitor Center and park with the large military helicopter memorial you can't miss). So parking there is another option and tag on another mile and half of riding east of Huber Park if you want.
As of early July '11, much of the paved trail from Chaska to Shakopee & eastward to Bloomington is impassable due to flooding caused by heavy spring snow melt and persistent rain. There are portions on the Chaska dikes that are still good but anything low is flooded out. The section between Shakopee and Chaska has only been open a few days so far this season.
Normally by this time of the year flooding isn't an issue but not this La Nina year. In normal years you can jump on this trail in west Bloomington, cross the river at the old ferry bridge, then zoom past Valley Fair & into Shakopee either on the trail or local roads. A new trail is planned going past Valley Fair, so you won't have to ride on the highway anymore.
There's a great park/trailhead in Shakopee--Huber Park--beautiful new building with water & bathrooms, plenty of parking and playground equipment. It's also close to stores & restaurants. The route over to Chaska has heavy shade but is somewhat rough. Once in Chaska you can ride the dikes and go north along some trails (which aren't marked) into the Jonathan development then back on 41. When open, you can ride 35-40 miles out & back from Bloomington to Chaska & back. Let's hope the water evaporates soon.
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