The Kenilworth Trail is a paved

bicycle trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. T ...

Minneapolis 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 ...

, Minnesota, United States. It runs nearly and acts as a connector between the

Cedar Lake Trail Cedar Lake Trail is a , shared-use path in the U.S. state of Minnesota, from downtown Minneapolis to the neighboring suburb of St. Louis Park. The trail begins at its eastern trailhead in downtown Minneapolis and continues west to Minnesota Sta ...

in the north and the

Midtown Greenway The Midtown Greenway is a rail trail in Minneapolis, Minnesota that follows the path of an abandoned route of the Milwaukee Road railway. It is considered under segregated cycle facilities. Used both recreationally and for commuting, the p ...

in the south. Like the Cedar Lake Trail, most of the route is composed of a triple-divided cycleway/pedway with a pair of one-way paths for bicycles and another path for pedestrians. On some maps, a southern segment of the Kenilworth Trail is called the Burnham Trail. The trail corridor has been considered the most highly trafficked in the Minneapolis park system.

Access

At its northern end, it is easy for westbound Cedar Lake Trail users to accidentally get on the Kenilworth Trail, since continuing on the Cedar Lake trail requires taking a right turn at a "T" intersection just south of

Interstate 394 Interstate 394 (I-394) is a small east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in Hennepin County in the US state of Minnesota. It is also commonly referred to by its pre-1991 name, Wayzata Boulevard, and by its other designation, US Highway& ...

. Cyclists who miss the turn find themselves on the Kenilworth instead. In the south, the Kenilworth Trail entrance is only east of where the Midtown Greenway ends and the

Southwest LRT Trail Southwest LRT Trail is a system of shared-use paths for bicycles and pedestrian paths that extends through several western suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are operated by the Three Rivers Park District. Two former rail corridors origina ...

(now known as the Cedar Lake LRT Regional Trail) begins.

Route

The trail starts at the

, and continues northeast. It crosses Cedar Lake Parkway, and the Cedar Lake Channel. It crosses under Burnham Road, and crosses at-grade 21st Street. It intersects several nature trails and terminates at the

History

The trail runs adjacent to a freight

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line that was originally part of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway, but is now owned by the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority. The

Twin Cities and Western Railroad The Twin Cities and Western Railroad is a railroad operating in the U.S. state of Minnesota which started operations on July 27, 1991. Trackage includes the former Soo Line Railroad "Ortonville Line", originally built as the first part of the Pa ...

currently operates freight trains on the rail line.

Management

According to the Minneapolis Bicyclist & Pedestrian Count Report from 2013, approximately 2,100 bicyclists and 410 pedestrians are estimated to use the trail daily. As of 2019, annual visits to Kenilworth Trail totaled 746,000, making the corridor "the most intensely used trail in Minneapolis’ park system given its compact size. In May 2019, the City of Minneapolis closed a portion of the Kenilworth Trail due to construction of the Southwest Light Rail Transit line. The full trail is scheduled to reopen the summer of 2022. Work on the light rail line stopped in January 2022 after damage was detected at a condo unit near the line, but was cleared to resume in April of that year.

References

External links

Kenilworth Trail map
{{Twin Cities Trails Bike paths in Minnesota Parks in Minneapolis Rail trails in Minnesota Shared-use paths in Minneapolis