Southwest LRT Trail is a system of shared-use paths for bicycles and pedestrian paths that extends through several western suburbs of

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. They are operated by the Three Rivers Park District. Two former rail corridors originally built by the

Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (M&StL) was an American Class I railroad that built and operated lines radiating south and west from Minneapolis, Minnesota for 90 years from 1870 to 1960. The railway never reached St. Louis (despite its n ...

were acquired and converted to trails in anticipation of the Southwest Corridor light rail project. The two former railway corridors are now divided into three distinct trails.

Trail segments

Cedar Lake LRT Regional Trail

The ''Cedar Lake LRT Regional Trail'' is the main paved path running from the west end of the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis through

St. Louis Park St. Louis Park is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 50,010 at the 2020 census. It is a first-ring suburb immediately west of Minneapolis. Other adjacent cities include Edina, Golden Valley, Minnetonka, Ply ...

to Hopkins, Minnesota. It has a length of , and is paved with asphalt. This trail is named very similarly to the Cedar Lake Trail in Minneapolis and the

North Cedar Lake Regional Trail North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

continuation of that trail (formerly known as the Hutchinson Spur Trail) which also extends through St. Louis Park to Hopkins in a roughly parallel route farther north. The North Cedar Lake Regional Trail meets the Cedar Lake LRT Regional Trail just east of the intersection of US 169 and Excelsior Boulevard in Hopkins. The trail runs along a former Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway right-of-way: The rail line was built in 1870, and was eventually acquired by the Chicago and North Western Railway, who abandoned the line in 1990. The Cedar Lake LRT trail is temporarily closed for the Southwest LRT project, while the North Cedar Lake trail remains open.

Minnesota River Bluffs LRT Regional Trail

The ''Minnesota River Bluffs LRT Regional Trail'' is a trail that extends along the former Minneapolis and St. Louis right-of-way that brought the trail to Hopkins. It has a crushed limestone surface. It runs from the Hopkins Depot through Hopkins, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, and Chanhassen. Together, the Cedar Lake LRT Trail and the Minnesota River Bluffs LRT Trail are about long. This trail has a partial closure south from Pioneer Trail in Chanhassen since 2014 due to significant mudslides and unsafe conditions and a detour is posted. Reconstruction of the damaged trail section is scheduled for summer 2020. The trail has about 250,000 people in attendance annually. The trail features bluffs of the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It ris ...

and the lakes and forests of the area. The pedestrian bridge on the trail that spans Valley View Road replaced a railway bridge. Dubbed the Graffiti Bridge, it was featured in a 1990 Prince film. The bridge was a bottleneck in the growing city of Eden Prairie, and was demolished in 1991. The route of the Southwest LRT light rail line is being built to follow the entire Cedar Lake LRT Regional Trail and a portion of the Minnesota River Bluffs LRT Regional Trail before turning southward near Shady Oak Road in Minnetonka.

Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail

The ''Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail'' runs for from 8th Avenue in Hopkins through Minnetonka, Excelsior, and Chanhassen to 81st Street in Victoria. The trail uses a crushed limestone surface. It is connected to the Minnesota River Bluffs LRT trail via "The Artery" along 8th Avenue South in Hopkins, which opened in 2018. The trail is on a right-of-way originally built by the Minneapolis and St. Louis in the 1890s and abandoned by the Chicago and North Western in 1980 which branched off from the other rail line in Hopkins. There are about 471,000 people on the trail each year. Some places along the trail include Lake Minnetonka, restaurants in Hopkins and Excelsior, and historic places such as the Old Log Theatre and the Cottagewood General Store.

References

External links