Winchell Trail is a round trip, pedestrian-only trail in

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 Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, United States, that runs along the west side of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, ...

between Franklin Avenue South and East 44th Street. Popular with bird watchers and naturalists, the rustic trail provides

Upper Mississippi River The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, at the confluence of its main tributary, the Missouri River. History In terms of geologic and hydrographic history, the Upper ...

gorge access and views. The trail is separate from the adjacent multi-use bicycle path, taking hikers past sandy beaches, an oak savanna restoration project, and the floodplain forest. The trail has multiple access points and the section from East 38th Street to East 44th Street is paved. Described as moderate and for all hiking skill levels, the out-and-back Winchell Trail has total elevation gain of . Portions of the trail can be hiked in near solitude as its age and general destitute make it a widely forgotten place to explore.

Route description

The

Dakota people The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...

have lived along the shores of the

for many centuries. The contemporary route of Winchell Trail may have followed an original path created by

in the area. Residents and visitors who hike the trail experience what a native oak savanna looked like prior to European-American settlement.

Access points

Winchell Trail has multiple access points from the West River Parkway trail of the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway. The northern trailhead is near Franklin Avenue South and West River Parkway. The southern trailhead is near East 44th Street and West River Parkway. There is also a signed entrance to the trail at East 36th Street with several paths down to the oak savanna site. There are a few crescent-shaped parking lots along the trail route, two near East 36th Street and one near East 44th Street. Many of the various access points have racks for bicycles, which are not permitted on Winchell Trail or other natural surface paths in the gorge.

Major points of interest

List from north to south

* Northern trailhead marker and Mesabi Iron Range boulder near Franklin Avenue South. * Hajduk Spring near East 26th Street *White Sands Beach near East 28th Street
Minneapolis Rowing Club Boathouse
near East Lake Street *Longfellow Beach near East 33rd Street *Overlook of the river gorge at East 36th Street * Oak savanna restoration near East 36th Street *Southern trailhead marker and overlook of the river gorge near East 44th Street

Mesabi Iron Range boulder

The northern trailhead features a large boulder with a bronze tribute plague describing the scientific contributions of the trail's namesake, Newton Horace Winchell. The boulder was brought from the

Mesabi Iron Range The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota ...

by Winchell's eldest son. The plaque on it reads:

''The Winchell Trail marked by this boulder brought from the Mesabi Iron Range, was named in honor of the eminent geologist Newton Horace Winchell whose scientific studies along this river provided a measure for the time since the glacial period. His early appreciation of the economic importance of Minnesota's resources did much to preserve for the people some share in the state's mineral wealth.''

Hajduk Spring

Hajduk Spring in Minneapolis is a falling water source from the limestone bluff above the Mississippi River near East 26th Street. Named after an area resident who promoted the spring, Harry Hajduk (pronounced “Hi-duck”), by the parks board in 1977, it was a popular drinking water source and featured access paths and a platform to fill jugs. The original path to the spring off the main Winchell Trail has fallen into ruin. Water quality experts do not consider the spring's water to be drinkable because of the use of herbicides and fertilizers on nearby residential lawns.

Oak savanna restoration

The mesic

oak savanna An oak savanna is a type of savanna—or lightly forested grassland—where oaks (''Quercus ''spp.) are the dominant trees. The terms "oakery" or "woodlands" are also used commonly, though the former is more prevalent when referencing the Mediter ...

near the end of East 36th Street is a unique and sensitive landscape. At this location, Winchell Trail splits off, taking hikers either down by the river while another path crosses the hilly restoration site with remnant prairie and oak savanna. The scattered oak trees are spread out enough that there is no closed canopy, giving way to prairie grasses, forbs, and clover lawn. Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is considering enhancements, including closure of unsustainable trails, landscape restoration, and replacement of interpretive-educational signs.

Nearby sites

The hiking path's southern terminus connects seamlessly to the shared-use, bicycle trail at West River Parkway and East 44th Street. Hikers can continue southward to Lock and Dam No. 1, Minnehaha Falls Lower Glen Trail in Minnehaha Park, and

Fort Snelling State Park Fort Snelling State Park is a state park of the U.S. state of Minnesota, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. For many centuries, the area of the modern park has been of importance to the Mdewakanton Dakota people who c ...

via Minnehaha Trail. Winchell Trail Minneapolis 1918 cropped

Construction

Minneapolis Parks Superintendent Theodore Wirth commissioned Winchell Trail. It was constructed between 1912 and 1914, and later improved by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

between 1936 and 1938, which included construction of several stone walls and staircases. The trail is named after Newton Horace Winchell, a Minnesota state geologist who surveyed the area of Minneapolis in the 1870s and published many works about measurement of the glacial age. The pathway was formally named "Winchell Trail" after his death in 1914. Winchell was not involved in its design or construction.

Management

Jurisdiction of Winchell Trail is complex and overlapping. Running along the eastern edge of the greater Longfellow community of Minneapolis, the trail is part of the

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is a and protected corridor along the Mississippi River through the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro in the U.S. state of Minnesota, from the cities of Dayton and Ramsey, to just downstream of ...

and Mississippi Gorge Regional Park. Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is responsible for management and maintenance. In 1998, the Longfellow neighborhood council, park board, and

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational proper ...

formed a partnership to restore the native prairie and oak savanna at East 36th Street. Since the early 2000s, there have been attempts by the city to clear woodlands along the bluff of invasive plant species such as

buckthorn ''Rhamnus'' is a genus of about 110 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly known as buckthorns, in the family Rhamnaceae. Its species range from tall (rarely to ) and are native mainly in east Asia and North America, but found t ...

Maintenance

Several potential enhancements to Winchell Trail were under consideration by the park board in 2019 as part of long-term planning. The park board may address inconsistent and worn railing and fencing, paved sections covered in soil and plant material, lack of natural surface trail alignment, and safety concerns. There are a number of undefined, non-designated natural surface paths besides the Winchell Trail in the area, but these were created by park users and are not considered sustainable.

Recognition

In 2010, a local television station named Winchell Trail as one of the five best hiking trails in the Twin Cities, and in 2018 editors of a local magazine featured Winchell Trail in its review of the best hikes and walks in Minnesota, including it in the category for "Rigorous Hikes for the Adventurer."

References

External links

Google Maps: Winchell Trail

Mississippi River Gorge Regional Park

Winchell Trail map
{{Coord, 44, 56, 30, N, 93, 12, 13, W, display=title Hiking trails in Minnesota Mississippi Gorge Mississippi National River and Recreation Area National Recreation Trails in Minnesota Parks in Minneapolis Protected areas of Hennepin County, Minnesota Works Progress Administration in Minnesota