The Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway is a linked series of park areas 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 takes a roughly circular path through the city. The

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is an independent park district that owns, maintains, and programs activities in public parks in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It has 500 full-time and 1,300 part-time employees and an $ ...

developed the system over many years. The corridors include roads for automobile traffic plus separate paths for pedestrians and bicycles, and extend slightly into neighboring cities. About of roadway and paths are in the system, and much of it was built in the 1930s as part of

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

projects.

Byway districts

There are seven districts along the byway: #Downtown Riverfront lies along 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, it fl ...

, and includes

Saint Anthony Falls Saint Anthony Falls, or the Falls of Saint Anthony ( dak, italics=no, Owámniyomni, ) located at the northeastern edge of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the only natural major waterfall on the Mississippi River. Throughout the mid-to-late 1 ...

and nearby historic milling districts. The byway follows West River Parkway, beginning at Plymouth Avenue, passing Boom Island Park and Nicollet Island Park (both across the river), and Mill Ruins Park, adjacent to the

Mill City Museum Mill City Museum is a Minnesota Historical Society museum in Minneapolis. It opened in 2003 built in the ruins of the Washburn "A" Mill next to Mill Ruins Park on the banks of the Mississippi River. The museum focuses on the founding and growth ...

and the Stone Arch Bridge. #Mississippi River gorge area extends from downtown Minneapolis to Minnehaha Park. The byway follows West River Parkway, and passes the west bank of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

. After Franklin Avenue there are multiple access points from the byway to the adjacent Winchell Trail. Several bridges connect the byway with trails on the east bank, in both Minneapolis and

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. Portions of this section of the route are also part of the signed

Mississippi River Trail The Mississippi River Trail (abbreviated MRT) is a designated bicycle and pedestrian trail that traverses the shores of the Mississippi River in the United States. The trail extends from the headwaters at Lake Itasca in Minnesota to near the mouth ...

(MRT) bicycle route. #Minnehaha including Minnehaha Park,

Minnehaha Creek Minnehaha Creek ( dak, Mniȟáȟa Wakpádaŋ) is a 22-mile-long (35 km) tributary of the Mississippi River that flows east from Gray's Bay Dam on Lake Minnetonka through the suburban cities of Minnetonka, Hopkins, Saint Louis Park, and Edin ...

, Lake Nokomis, and

Lake Hiawatha Lake Hiawatha is located just north of Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was purchased by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board in 1922 for $550,000. At that time the lake was a marsh known as Rice Lake, but over four years, the pa ...

. The byway follows Godfrey Parkway through Minnehaha Park, past

Minnehaha Falls Minnehaha Park is a city park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and home to Minnehaha Falls and the lower reaches of Minnehaha Creek. Officially named Minnehaha Regional Park, it is part of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board sy ...

and the

Longfellow House The Longfellow House in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, is a 2/3 scale replica of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Built in 1907, the house was neither seen nor lived in by Longfellow (who died in 1882), b ...

information center. Crossing

Hiawatha Avenue Minnesota State Highway 55 (MN 55) is a highway in west-central, central, and east-central Minnesota, which runs from the North Dakota state line near Tenney and continues east and southeast to its eastern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Hi ...

, the route becomes Minnehaha Parkway. The road passes between Lakes Nokomis and Hiawatha, and then follows Minnehaha Creek to Lake Harriet. #The Chain of Lakes includes seven parks, and its name dates back to the 19th century, when an article referred to "the chain of lakes which, 'like a necklace of diamond in settings of emerald,' enriches Minneapolis." The Chain of Lakes district consists of Lake Harriet,

Lyndale Park Lyndale Park is a Minneapolis city park on the northeast side of Lake Harriet. It is next to Lakewood Cemetery, southeast of Bde Maka Ska. It is part of an enormous greenspace circling through Minneapolis called the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, an ...

Lyndale Farmstead Lyndale can refer to any of several places and things: * Lyndale, Minneapolis, a neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA ** Lyndale Park, a park in Minneapolis **Lyndale Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Minneapolis *Lyndale Railway, a defunct Mi ...

Bde Maka Ska Bde Maka Ska (, previously named Lake Calhoun, its former official designation) is the largest lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. Surrounded by city park land and circled by bike and walking ...

Lake of the Isles Lake of the Isles ( Dakota: ''Wíta Tópa'', "Four Islands") is a lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, connected to Cedar Lake and Bde Maka Ska. The lake is part of the city's Chain of Lakes and has an area of , of shoreline with a little under thre ...

, Cedar Lake, and Brownie Lake. #Theodore Wirth (extending into Golden Valley) consists of

Theodore Wirth Park Theodore Wirth Park is the regional park managed by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The park land is shared by Minneapolis and the neighboring suburb of Golden Valley. Formally named Theodore Wirth Regional Park, it includes two golf ...

. The byway follows Cedar Lake Parkway as it crosses

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& ...

and becomes

Theodore Wirth Theodore Wirth (1863–1949) was instrumental in designing the Minneapolis system of parks. Swiss-born, he was widely regarded as the dean of the local parks movement in America. The various titles he was given included administrator of p ...

Parkway. Heading north, it passes the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Wirth Lake. Crossing

Olson Memorial Highway Olson may refer to: * Olson (surname), people with the name ''Olson'' * Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute The Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute is an outreach arm of Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin. A 1971 environmental conference ...

, the parkway enters Theodore Wirth Golf Course. #Victory Memorial includes the northwestern edge of Minneapolis. The byway follows Victory Memorial Parkway, which commemorates the contributions of people from

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapo ...

in World War I. Victory Memorial Parkway becomes Weber Parkway. The byway follows the

Camden Bridge Camden Bridge is a continuous span plate girder bridge, that spans the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. It connects 42nd Avenue North in the Camden community on the west side of the river to 37th Avenue Northeast in Northeast Minneapolis on t ...

across the Mississippi River, which marked the head of navigation for

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

traffic on the river until the lock at Upper Lock and Dam was taken out of service. #Northeast runs through

Northeast Minneapolis Northeast is a defined community in the U.S. city of Minneapolis that is composed of 13 smaller neighborhoods whose street addresses end in "NE". Unofficially it also includes the neighborhoods of the University community which have "NE" addre ...

. The byway follows St Anthony Parkway to Stinson Parkway, and follows that road south to Ridgway Parkway. It passes

Columbia Park Columbia Park or Columbia Avenue Grounds was a baseball park in Philadelphia. It was built in 1901 as the first home of the Philadelphia Athletics, who played there for eight seasons, including two games of the 1905 World Series. Columbia Park ...

and Deming Heights Park, and terminates at Francis Gross Golf Course.

Shared-use paths

The Grand Rounds trail system features approximately of off-street paths for bicycles and pedestrians that make a continuous loop around Minneapolis.

Paths

* Memorial and Webber Parkways— * Wirth Parkway— * Dean Parkway— * William Berry Parkway— * Minnehaha Creek— * Godfrey Parkway— * West River and James I. Rice Parkways— * East River Parkway—approximately * St. Anthony Parkway— * Stinson Parkway— * Ridgeway Parkway—

Paths around lakes

* Lake Nokomis— * Lake Harriet— * Bde Mka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun)— *

— * Cedar Lake—

Management

The area was designated as a Minnesota State Scenic Byway in 1997 and a National Scenic Byway in 1998. The Grand Rounds are considered to be the most significant example of an urban byway, as most such areas run through rural regions. Portions are also part of the Great River Road along the Mississippi River. The city purchased all the land immediately adjoining its lakes during its formative period, turning them into public parks rather than allowing them to be privately developed. Because of this, Minneapolis' lakes are accessible by the general public. Heavy vehicles such as

semi-trailer truck A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-traile ...

s and buses are largely banned from the byway, and the speed limit is 25 miles per hour throughout. Thanks to the low speed limit, motorcycle riders enjoy riding through the parkway system. Much of the

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

paving along the road has a reddish tone so that drivers can more easily determine where to go upon reaching intersections.

Photo gallery

File:victory -byway.jpg, Sign and symbol designating the route File:grand rounds.jpg, Directional street sign File:Grand_Rounds_Scenic_Byway_-_Orientation_Sign_on_Grand_Rounds_Scenic_Byway_-_NARA_-_7718776.jpg, Informational kiosk File:Grand Rounds Scenic Byway - East River Flats Park - NARA - 7718719.jpg, East River Flats' separate roadway and paths

References

External links

Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board: Grand Rounds National Scenic BywayMinneapolis Park & Recreation Board: Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway system mapFederal Highway Administration: Grand Rounds Scenic Byway
{{Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Mississippi Gorge Mississippi National River and Recreation Area National Scenic Byways Protected areas of Hennepin County, Minnesota Bike paths in Minnesota Parks in Minneapolis Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota Streets in Minneapolis Transportation in Hennepin County, Minnesota Shared-use paths in Minneapolis