Bike Trail Picture of the Day - 10/22/12

Early afternoon ride along Minnehaha Creek

Taken 10/22/12

Location:  West Minnehaha Parkway

Near the Nicollet Avenue Bridge

Minnehaha Byway District

Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway

Minneapolis, MN 

GPS Map Location

  

Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail-Faribault to Waterville Construction Update

The Faribault to Waterville section of the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail is currently under construction to remove old blacktop, rebuild four bridges, regrade the trail and replace the blacktop surface. The MN DNR webpage for the trail states that construction on the Faribault to Waterville section is expected to be completed by October 31, '12.  With that date fast approaching, a major portion of the trail must already be completed so I wanted to check out what work had been done and what was still needed.

I took a trip to Faribault and started at the trailhead at White Sands Park just off County Road 48 in Faribault.  This is a nice trailhead with plenty of parking, restrooms, picnic tables and an off-leash dog park.

Newly paved section of trail

The trail is newly paved for about 10.5 miles from Faribault to Jackson Avenue in Morristown.  It is very smooth and very fast compared to the blacktop that preceded it.  For those cyclists that rode the trail before this project, you remember just how rough and bumpy it was.

There is one small area in this 10.5 mile stretch that is not paved yet.  It is at Shager Park on Cannon Lake just east of Warsaw.  It only runs the length of the park's parking lot and if you want to avoid it you can detour through the parking lot.

From Jackson Avenue through Sakatah Lake State Park to Waterville it still remains unpaved.  It is packed down and ready for paving so riding this section isn't too difficult, it just slows you down a bit.  Watch for loose sections of sand and gravel along the way to prevent spills.  There is some great scenery as you pass through Sakatah Lake State Park, so don't let the unpaved trail deter you.

 

There are four bridges stated by the MN DNR that are being rebuilt, three of them are completed.  

The first bridge you will come to when heading west from Faribault is near Cannon Lake just past Shager Park.  It is completed and completely paved across its span.

 

The second is located just west of the town of Warsaw on the Cannon River and is also completed and completely paved across the full length of its span.

 

The third is the nicest of the four bridges with its multiple viewing cut-outs that contain seating and great views of the Cannon River.  This bridge is located just outside of Morristown.

 

The only bridge not completed is located in Sakatah Lake State Park a short distance past Leroy Avenue.  Crossing the bridge can be done but exercise caution as there is no safety railing.

 

I did come across one bridge that the MN DNR did not list on their list of bridges to be rebuilt, it was located on the north end of Shager Park.  It is completely paved but has no safety railing installed yet.

This is one project that was very needed to improve the quality of this nice trail.  It had been many years since any major repairs were made to the blacktop and the surface quality of the trail had declined in recent years.  I stayed away from it because the surface was so rough and bumpy but I am glad that the state has replaced the old asphalt with new.  It's a fast, smooth ride like it was in the 90's when it was first paved. 

Bike Trail Picture of the Day - 10/21/12

A warm fall day's ride

Taken 10/21/12

Location:  Sakatah Lake State Park

Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail

Near Waterville, MN

GPS Map Location

Bike Trail Picture of the Day - 10/20/12

Foggy morning ride

Taken 10/20/12

Location:  Galaxie Avenue

Near Lebanon Hills Regional Park West

Eagan, MN  

Exploring the Vermillion River Bottoms By Mountain Bike or Fat Bike

I recently took a bike trip back to one of my favorite areas to fish and hunt when I was a kid.  This area known as the Vermillion River Bottoms located in Ravennah Township near the abandoned town of Etter.  It is part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and is very reminiscent of a southern bayou with its vast floodplain forests.  I've always wanted to get back here and do some mountain biking and venture through the woods like I used to do years ago.  So I took some of the country gravel roads from Hastings down to the Vermillion River South Public Water Access just off the Ravennah Trail and started exploring.  Refer to the map for access location.

I headed north near the boat launch on an ATV trail that starts here and proceeds into the woods along the river bank.  The trail quickly disappears amongst all of the fallen leaves on the ground.  From here it is up to you to blaze your own trail, but as long as the ground is not frozen beware of deep mud along some of the small creeks leading into the river. 

I continued north along the river crossing a couple of the small creeks, hopping fallen trees and meandering through the forest until I came upon soft muddy ground.  I was riding my 29'er with a 2.25" front and a 2.00" rear tire and figured it would be a good time to turn around and give the east side of the river a try.  If I was riding a fat bike with wide tires that provide a little more floatation through the mud I would have continued on.  I think I will give this section a try again when the ground freezes making it a little more passable for a standard mountain bike.  

I backtracked back to the boat launch and went up to the road to cross the bridge to the east side of the river.  Just past the bridge on the north side of the road is a dirt access road that leads down to the riverbank.

I followed this rutted and sometimes muddy path north and east along the narrow river channel off of the main part of the river.  The trail soon became wider from 4-wheeler and ATV use.

Eventually I came to Spring Banks Lake where I passed a beaver dam at the south end of the lake.

If you are feeling adventurous or you have a fat bike, you can cross the narrow shallow channel just south of the beaver dam on Spring Banks Lake and venture into more bayou like floodplain woods.  A frozen river channel as winter approaches will make this crossing much easier without getting wet in the process.

I pressed on northward along the border of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area on the east side of the lake through an area ripe with fallen logs to cross and trees to dodge.  If you are moving through this area with any speed it will test your sightline decision making skills. 

Once through this area I came upon a trail in the woods that started out wide and narrowed the further I went along until it was heavy with trees.  I meandered around the area for a little while looking for the best possible travel paths through the thick trees dodging branches, thickets and logs.

Eventually I worked my way back to the bridge and passed under it to check out the area on the other side.  There was a small hill to climb and once over it I entered a sparsely wooded area that contained fine sand covered with leaves.  Most of the sand was well packed and travel through here was quite easy with very few downed trees.

After about 300 yards I came to the eastern border of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and the woods turned to a grassy field area along the river bank.  

I turned back at the border and rode around for a bit in woods I had just come from and saw border markings and No Trespassing signs along an old fence.  I made sure to stay to the west of this line to stay in public lands.

View of the island from the bridge looking northwest

Heading back to the bridge, I took this photo to show the large island area that will remain unexplored until the eastern channel freezes over allowing dry passage onto it.

My Trails screenshot of the area

If you don't know the area it can be easy to get turned around and not know where you are at.  I recommend exploring with a GPS or GPS enabled smartphone using apps such as My Trails, Endomondo Sport Tracker Pro, MapMyRide or any iPhone app that allows you to track your ride.  Use these to find your way back in the event you get lost or aid you to head the right direction.  I used My Trails to map out and track where I explored and it was very helpful in getting my orientation a couple of times.  Saved tracks will let you reference where you have been so the next time you come here you can go right to unexplored areas of this vast forest floodplain.

I had a great time riding in the Vermillion River Bottoms and plan on returning again soon.  I like the fact that there is not really any set trails and it allows a rider to make their own while exploring this beautiful area.  Fat bike riders will have a field day here with all of the route possibilities available.

MRRT Update-Central & Pine Bend Bluffs Segments Almost Ready For Paving

The Mississippi River Regional Trail (MRRT) Central Segment in Dakota County is almost ready for paving.  The unpaved half of the Pine Bend Bluffs Segment is still being graded and finish work on the sheet piling walls is being completed.  I stopped by the project area on Monday, October 15th to check on the progress.

The short connecting section on Inver Grove Trail from the Pine Bend Elementary School  to the main trail is almost ready for finish grading and then paving.

The sheet piling walls along the pond just off of Inver Grove Trail & 100th Street E. are in place, have been capped and fencing along the trail has been installed.  A little more finish grading along and on the trail is wrapping up in preparation for paving.

The base underlay on the other end of this segment south of 102nd Street E. & Inver Grove Trail has been packed and is ready for paving.

The unpaved southern half of the Pine Bend Bluffs segment from 111th Street to 117th Street is still a little ways away from being finish graded and paved.  The top picture below shows where the finished northern half of this segment ends and the unfinished southern half begins.  The fourth picture below shows the sheet piling walls in place, but the capping and any fencing needed still needs to be completed.

The photos below were taken from the south end of the Pine Bend Bluffs Segment on 117th Street E.  Finish and shoulder grading still need to be performed to ready the trail for paving. 

The southern most section from 117th Street E. to the Rosemount border has been seeded and appears to be completed.

So far the weather has cooperated for construction crews working on the trail and hopefully this will speed the completion of the these two sections of the MRRT project by late fall.  I will post more updates in the coming weeks as construction nears completion. I look forward to riding this trail into South St. Paul before the snow flies.