State trails

Travel for its own sake, be it by foot, bicycle, cross-country skis, snowmobile, horseback, wheelchair or stroller, is popular in Minnesota. And Minnesota rewards travelers with magnificent views and varied landscapes. State trails highlight a cross-section of these landscapes.

General trail conditions
State bicycle trails are best suited to people with physical disabilities, because most trail surfaces are paved asphalt and are 8 to 12 feet wide. Most of these trails have been built on abandoned railroad grades, with a maximum slope of typically 4 percent (a 1:25 rise or descent--that is, a one-foot rise or fall for every 25 feet traveled). Steeper slopes may exist on portions of trails away from the railroad grade and at road crossings. Slopes known to be greater than 5 percent (1:20) are noted with an estimate of the slope.

Use extra caution at road crossings. Brightly colored clothing makes all trail users more visible to vehicle drivers traveling along roads that intersect with the trail.

Trail use
Most state trails are open to several nonmotorized uses by people of all abilities: walking, biking, inline skating, mushing, horseback riding, cross-country skiing. Some trails are also open to snowmobiling. Electric wheelchairs are permitted on all state trails.

Trail facilities
Trail facilities (picnic areas, hand pumps* for drinking water or vault toilets**) set on concrete pads are usually surrounded by soil or grass. Maneuvering a wheelchair between soil/grass and concrete may be difficult.

*(Hand pumps are farm-style iron pumps with a long, lever-like arm moved up and down to bring water up. Bring drinking water if you have doubts about operating a hand pump.)

**(Vault toilets are outhouse-style pit toilets.)

Accessible trail highlights
Douglas State Trail
Root River State Trail
Willard Munger State Trail

More information
Maps of each state trail, with further information on facilities and the surrounding area, are available from the DNR Information Center [e-mail: info@dnr.state.mn.us or phone: (651) 296-6157 or (888) MINNDNR; TTY: (651) 296-5484 or (800) 657-3929]. For more general information on Minnesota's state trails, ask for the brochure "DNR Trails and Waterways."

Also explore Wilderness Inquiry's recreation areas listing. This describes the accessibility of some state parks, state trails, state forests and community parks.