New Dakota Trail Segment Connects Pair of Popular Lakes

Bikers, hikers, in-line skaters and walkers can now travel uninterrupted between two of the largest lakes in the metro.

A new, seven-mile segment of the Dakota Trail opened over the weekend, connecting St. Bonifacius to Mayer. The addition extends to 20 miles the ribbon of trail between Lake Minnetonka and Lake Waconia in Carver County.

Somewhere north of 350,000 people used the Dakota Trail in 2010, making it one of the Twin Cities' more popular trails.

“From the day the trail opened, it’s been extremely popular and really well used and loved by the community,” said Jason McGrew-King, of the Three Rivers Park District. “Anecdotally, everyone talks about how much they love it and enjoy riding on it. It’s really become a valued part of the community.”

The Three Rivers Park District, which administers Hennepin County’s portion of the Dakota Rail Regional Trail, spearheaded building a pair of new bridges along the trail, which also opened this week. One spans Minnesota Highway 7, the other crosses Highway 92. Federal dollars paid for nearly all of the $3 million cost.

The beginnings of the Dakota Rail Regional Trail can be traced back to 2001, when Hennepin, Carver and McLeod counties purchased a railway corridor from Wayzata to Hutchinson. In 2009, the Three Rivers Park District built the first measurable segment—a 13.5-mile paved stretch from Wayzata to St. Bonifacius.

The Dakota Trail is Carver County’s first regional trail and, currently, the only one outside of an existing park or city, said Lenny Schmitz, a park operations coordinator for Carver County.

“The Dakota Rail Trail had as many or more visitors than our entire park system in 2010,” Schmitz said. “This is a big deal.”

Schmitz said the trail’s positive impact on small towns and businesses has been a catalyst for support from town boards, city councils, county commissioners and state legislators along the trail range. Not everyone is sold on the trail. An active equestrian community in western Hennepin County and Carver County wanted horses allowed on the trail, sparking a heated debate in 2010.

“We made it through that firestorm of controversy,” Schmitz said. "Once people had a chance to visit the corridor, they saw it wasn’t suitable for multiple uses or at least separate uses, which is what you would need."

Carver County’s plans for its portion of the Dakota Rail Regional Trail call for installation of an additional five miles of paved trail, from Mayer to the western county line.

“2011 will be a year of planning, and 2012 will hopefully be a year of construction,” Schmitz said. “Right now, you have 20.5 miles of paved trail. In another year you’ll have 26.”