Minnesota River Bottoms - Bluff Trail

There are two trailheads for this trail: one at the end of Lyndale Ave. S and one at the south end of Old Cedar Ave S.. From the Lyndale parking lot, head East from the boat launch and follow the trail that hugs the river bank. Occasionally, the singletrack will briefly connect up with a doubletrack trail when it needs to cross culverts and streams. Eventually, you'll come to an intersection where the trail splits into three. There's doubletrack on the left that leads uphill to a residential area. There's singletrack to the right that continues to hug the river bank. To continue on this trail, take the middle singletrack. From 11th Ave S., enter the trail at the SW corner of the school field. Descend the wide, crushed rock doubletrack. As the trail crosses a stream, look for the singletrack to start on your right. Here, the Minnesota River Bottoms trail gets more interesting. It changes character from flat and rolling by the river bank to hillier with small to medium climbs as the trail hugs the valley bluff. Off shoot trails branch off to the left and generally lead to access points on top of the bluffs. Keep to the right to continue on the trail. Eventually, you'll come across an old park. They've recently reseeded grass in the area where there used to be a parking lot. There are still old picnic tables and fire pits in the woods. Shortly after the picnic tables, you'll reach a creak and crushed rock doubletrack on the left that leads uphill. Keep to the right to continue on the trail. You'll cross several sections of boardwalk before reaching the end of the trail at the parking lot at the end of Old Cedar Ave S. The land on which the trail is located is actually managed by several organizations: National Park Service -Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge http://www.nps.gov/miss/planyourvisit/minnvall.htm National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge http://www.fws.gov/refuge/minnesota_valley/ MN DNR - Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_par...ley/index.html City of Bloominton http://bloomingtonmn.gov/