My girlfriend and I rode 20 miles along the Mississippi River Trail today, starting and ending at the Coon Rapids dam. We rode each side of the river and were impressed with the nice trail and scenery. A lot of the trail, especially on the west side of the river, goes through suburban areas, but a good amount of the trail is in sight of the river and through wooded areas. For short times you have to ride on streets but they are quiet streets and we hardly saw a car. The trail, unlike many we have been on, is well marked, which really helps, especially when following streets between trail segments.
We rode the east trail for five miles and rode back to the dam, then across the dam, which was a real treat. I don’t know of any other trails that go over a large dam like this one (I’m sure there are but none within six miles of my house). Partway across the dam there was a spillway (see below) surrounded by a fence with a sign it saying, “Do Not Enter.” You wouldn’t think you would need that sign but I guess you just never know.
The trail hooks up to the Minneapolis Trail System but we did not want to go that far. Today we stayed to the south of the dam but next time there (soon) we plan to go north. The trail goes north to the city of Anoka but also loops around several parks and lakes on the way. It looks like a challenge to keep our bearings but we think we are up to it. I’ll let you know once we have done it.
The weather was very pleasant and it made for another great day of cycling.
