Minnetonka is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about 10 miles (16 km) west of downtown Minneapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 53,781.
Chanhassen is a city about 16 miles southwest of Minneapolis in Carver County and partially in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The southwest edge of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul suburbs, there is a mix of residential neighborhoods and rural landscapes. The population was 25,947 at the 2020 census.
Lake Minnetonka is a lake located about 16 miles (26 km) west-southwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lake Minnetonka has about 23 named bays and areas. The lake lies within Hennepin and Carver counties and is surrounded by 13 incorporated municipalities. At 14,528 acres (5,879 ha), it is Minnesota's ninth largest lake. It is a popular spot for local boaters, sailors, and fishermen.
The Metro Green Line is an 11-mile (18 km) light rail line that connects the central business districts of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota as well as the University of Minnesota. An extension is under construction that will extend the line to the southwest connecting St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie. The line follows the path of former Metro Transit bus route 16 along University Avenue and Washington Avenue. It is the second light-rail line in the region, after the Blue Line, which opened in 2004 and connects Minneapolis with the southern suburb of Bloomington.
Lake Street is a major east-west thoroughfare between 29th and 31st streets in Minneapolis, Minnesota United States. From its western most end at the city's limits, Lake Street reaches the Chain of Lakes, passing over a small channel linking Bde Maka Ska and Lake of the Isles, and at its eastern most end it reaches the Mississippi River. In May 2020, the Lake Street corridor suffered extensive damage during local unrest following the murder of George Floyd. In August of the same year, city officials designated East Lake Street as one of seven cultural districts to promote racial equity, preserve cultural identity, and promote economic growth.
Cedar Lake Trail is a 4.3-mile (6.9 km), shared-use path in the U.S. state of Minnesota, from downtown Minneapolis to the neighboring suburb of St. Louis Park. The trail begins at its eastern trailhead in downtown Minneapolis (44°59′11″N93°16′01″W) and continues west to Minnesota State Highway 100 in St. Louis Park (44°57′43″N93°20′36″W). At the trail's west end, a paved path continues for another 4.2 miles (6.8 km) through St. Louis Park to Hopkins under the former name of Hutchinson Spur Trail, but known as North Cedar Lake Regional Trail since 2009. In 2019, large portions of the Cedar Lake Trail were closed due to construction of the Southwest LRT extension with expected reopening in 2021 or 2022.
The Midtown Greenway is a 5.7-mile (9.2 km) rail trail in Minneapolis, Minnesota that follows the path of an abandoned route of the Milwaukee Road railway. It is considered under segregated cycle facilities.
The Southwest LRT is an under–construction 14.5-mile (23.3 km) light rail transit corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota, with service between Minneapolis and Eden Prairie. The estimated one-way travel time from Southwest Station in Eden Prairie to Target Field Station in Minneapolis is 32 minutes. The Southwest LRT will extend through St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Minnetonka along the route. Major locations on the line will include Bde Maka Ska, Cedar Lake, the Walker Art Center, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.
Three Rivers Park District is a special park district serving the suburban areas of the Twin Cities including suburban Hennepin, Carver, Dakota, Scott, and Ramsey counties. Three Rivers's mission is "To promote environmental stewardship through recreation and education in a natural resources-based park system." Three Rivers operates twenty parks and ten regional trails, with at least two more regional trails planned. Nearly seven million people visit Three Rivers facilities each year. It has over 27,000 acres (11,000 ha) of parks and trails.
The Twin Cities and Western Railroad is a railroad operating in the U.S. state of Minnesota which started operations on July 27, 1991. Trackage includes the former Soo Line Railroad "Ortonville Line", originally built as the first part of the Pacific extension of the Milwaukee Road. This main line extends from Hopkins, Minnesota ,to Appleton, Minnesota. The line was originally built between Hopkins and Cologne, Minnesota, in 1876 by Hastings and Dakota Railroad. In 1913, the Milwaukee Road rerouted it, reducing the curves. The line was eventually extended to the Pacific.
The Kenilworth Trail is a paved bicycle trail in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It runs nearly 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and acts as a connector between the Cedar Lake Trail in the north and the Midtown Greenway in the south. Like the Cedar Lake Trail, most of the route is composed of a triple-divided cycleway/pedway with a pair of one-way paths for bicycles and another path for pedestrians. On some maps, a southern segment of the Kenilworth Trail is called the Burnham Trail. The trail corridor has been considered the most highly trafficked in the Minneapolis park system.
The Bass Lake Spur is a railroad line owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway that runs 6.8 miles (10.9 km) from Minneapolis, Minnesota west to the suburb of Minnetonka. The primary operator on the line is the Twin Cities and Western Railroad which has trackage rights on the entire line and uses it to run trains from their main line to BNSF Railway's Wayzata Subdivision.
The Dakota Rail Trail runs 28.1 miles (42.6 km) from Wayzata to Lester Prairie, Minnesota. It is on part of the former track bed of the Hutchinson Spur of the Great Northern Railway. The railway line helped bring wheat and raw materials from Central Minnesota to the flour mills, factories and warehouses in Minneapolis from 1885 until 2001. The railway line, from which there are views of the countryside, was also designed to bring tourists to the communities on Lake Minnetonka in the late 1880s.
Hiawatha LRT Trail is a 4.7-mile (7.6 km), multi-use path adjacent to a light-rail transit line in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, that is popular with bicycle commuters. Users travel along the Metro Blue Line and Hiawatha Avenue transit corridor, reaching downtown Minneapolis near an indoor sports stadium at the trail’s northern end, and reaching a bridge above Minnehaha Creek at the trail’s southern end. Hiawatha LRT Trail provides a vital link between several Minneapolis neighborhoods and the city’s downtown area.
Min Hi Line is a proposed linear park and shared-use path that would eventually re-purpose an active rail and agri-industrial corridor in the Longfellow community of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Modeled after successful projects like the Atlanta Beltline and New York High Line, it would feature an approximately 3-mile (4.8 km), shared-use pathway that traverses housing, retail, commercial buildings, gardens, playgrounds, and public art installments. Two pilot projects completed in 2018 and 2019 connect the Min Hi Line corridor to trail systems at its northern and southern ends.
Minneapolis is often considered one of the top biking and walking cities in the United States due to its vast network of trails and dedicated pedestrian areas. In 2020, Walk Score rated Minneapolis as 13th highest among cities over 200,000 people. Some bicycling ratings list Minneapolis at the top of all United States cities, while others list Minneapolis in the top ten. There are over 80 miles (130 km) of paved, protected pathways in Minneapolis for use as transportation and recreation. The city's Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway parkway system accounts for the vast majority of the city's shared-use paths at approximately 50 miles (80 km) of dedicated biking and walking areas. By 2008, other city, county, and park board areas accounted for approximately 30 miles (48 km) of additional trails, for a city-wide total of approximately 80 miles (130 km) of protected pathways. The network of shared biking and walking paths continued to grow into the late 2010s with the additions of the Hiawatha LRT Trail gap remediation, Min Hi Line pilot projects, and Samatar Crossing. The city also features several natural-surface hiking trails, mountain-biking paths, groomed cross-country ski trails in winter, and other pedestrian walkways.
Luce Line Trail is a 74.9-mile (120.5 km), shared-use path in Minnesota, United States, that stretches from Cosmos to Minneapolis. The trail system was built after 1995 when the Luce Line Railroad was abandoned west of Interstate 494. The previous line extended 104 miles (167 km) to Gluek. The multi-use trail has varying surface features, though it is primarily made up of crushed limestone or aggregate base, and the section from Cosmos to Cedar Mills is undeveloped, as are the sections from just west of Hutchinson to Winsted and east of Plymouth. The trail is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources west of Vicksburg Lane, where it is named Luce Line State Trail. East of Vicksburg Lane, it is maintained by the Three Rivers Park District and named Luce Line Regional Trail.
Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail is a 15.3-mile (24.6 km), mixed-use path in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It is maintained by the Three Rivers Park District. The trail features 8 separate boardwalks in 1.7 miles (2.7 km) that traverse Nine Mile Creek and its marshes. It is predicted to serve 400,000 people yearly.
Mississippi Gorge Regional Park is a regional park along the east and west bluffs of the Mississippi River in the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The two-city park area is between Mississippi river miles 848 and 852, from just south of Northern Pacific Bridge Number 9 to just north of Minnehaha Regional Park, and lies within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. The park area protects scenic and natural areas of the Mississippi River gorge, the only true gorge along the entire length of the 2,320-mile (3,730 km) river.
