Minnehaha Parkway

Minnehaha Parkway is a well-known trail that snakes along Minnehaha Creek, all the way from the famous and beautiful Minnehaha Falls through South Minneapolis, weaving between Lakes Hiawatha and Nokomis, until it ends at Lake Harriet.  City Pages named it their Best Trail of 2012, which makes them the most respectable publication in Minnesota, but also failed to include them in their "Top 5 Bike Trails in the Twin Cities," which makes them sensationalist fascists.

Accessibility: 9 out of 10.  If you are anywhere within the area of South Minneapolis, you can probably just start riding and you'll hit the parkway at some point.  You can get on the trail via S Minnehaha Drive, 36th, 32nd, 31st, Nokomis, 30th, 28th, Cedar, 16th, Bloomington, 14th, 12th, Chicago, Portland, 50th, 3rd, Stevens, Pleasant, Lyndale, 49th, and Harriet Parkway.  That's one hell of a list. In fact, the only reason I'm not giving it a 10 out of 10 is because it might be a little too accessible...a few of those access points are at stoplights, which kinda interrupts the whole "I THINK SOMEONE KILLED ME IN MY SLEEP LAST NIGHT, BECAUSE THIS IS HEAVEN" feeling you get while riding on this trail.

Smoothness: 8 out of 10.  I think there's a crack or two on the trail's pavement, specifically between Lyndale and Chicago, and some of the crosswalks you have to go over cause a few bumps along the way.  Overall, it's nothing too bad by any means, but just keep a look out.

Scenery: 10 out of 10. It might be easier to list what isn't nice to look at on Minnehaha Parkway, so here it goes...there's a block where you cross 50th Street near Lake Harriet that's a little bit boring. Apart from that, OH MY GOD.  Minnehaha Falls is a blast to explore (and inspired one of Longfellow's best works, if you're into that kind of thing).  The babbling creek parallels the trail and is always a nice sight to see, and the neighborhood residences by the creek are quaint, distant, but still interesting to look at.  The calm Lake Hiawatha feels like something straight out of the Boundary Waters.  Even the trail's I-35W underpass is insanely enjoyable to bike through, with a quiet one-lane road on one side of you and the rocky shores of the creek on the other.  And that's a freaking freeway underpass.  I've never seen an underpass that clean and relaxing...it's the antithesis of what an underpass should be.

The best part of it is that every once in a while, the trail gives you a quick reminder that yes, you're in the middle of a bustling metropolis.  Between the trees and the wooden pedestrian bridges, you can still see the residential areas and cars on one-lane roads enjoying the parkway with you.  It's a goddamn utopia.

Fun: 10 out of 10.  I don't know if you've noticed over the past few paragraphs, considering I've called everything about the trail "beautiful" and accused City Pages of being Nazis, but I really, really like Minnehaha Parkway.  And the main reason I like it is that, at its heart, it's one of the most fun, winding, hilly (but not too hilly, West River Parkway), and yet serene parkways in the Twin Cities.  This is partially based on the physical geography it interacts with...because it mirrors the turns of the creek so closely, you won't go too long before an s-turn, or a sweet quick hill up and down a pedestrian bridge, or whatever else floats your boat.  The portions of the trail between Lake Hiawatha and Hiawatha Ave., and between 50th Street and the I-35 underpass are especially good at this.  It just keeps a smile on your face the whole way through.

It just feels like this parkway knows exactly what you want, when you want it.  If you're starting to get a little bit bored with the straight part of the trail next to Lake Nokomis, it responds by saying "HEY I KNOW YOU'RE BORED.  YOU WANT SOME S-TURNS AND A SWEET BRIDGE?!?" and you're like "HELL YES I WANT SOME S-TURNS AND A SWEET-ASS BRIDGE!"  Scenery of trees and residences getting a bit redundant for you?  It goes "SUP MAN, CHECK OUT THIS STATUE OF A BUNNY," and then you go "I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT'S EVEN THERE, BUT WOW THAT'S COOL." And then you realize that trails can't actually talk, and you're just yelling to yourself, and people are staring.  Who cares, YOU'RE HAVING FUN.

 

AND YOU THOUGHT I WAS KIDDING ABOUT THE BUNNY. 

Other information:

-Like the West River Parkway, Minnehaha has a speed limit of ten miles per hour as well.  Again, though, nobody complies or enforces that rule, so as long as you don't run over any children or whatever with your NEED FOR SPEED you should be fine.

-I wouldn't necessarily say that this trail is meant for your daily commute in comparison to ones like the Midtown Greenway or Cedar Lake Trail.  That being said, if you're trying to get from Penn Ave. to Hiawatha Ave. or something along those lines, it works very well.  Come to think of it, it might be faster to take Minnehaha than some of the straight roads like 42nd.

-As expected with a trail this good and this conveniently located, it is also very popular, especially with families. So again, keep an eye out, especially around turns.

-Man, I love this parkway. Here are a bunch more photos.

 

Sweet.

Overall: 9.5 out of 10.  One of the top 5, if not the best, trail in the Twin Cities area.