Nine Regional Trails Master Plan

Three Rivers Park District (Park District) has developed a robust regional trail system that extends along or through railroad corridors, public road right-of-way, parks and independent trail corridors, offering over 170 miles of off-road trails. Several of these existing regional trails were developed before master plans were required by the Metropolitan Council. This master plan intends to fulfill that requirement.

This master plan includes nine existing Park District regional trails:

• Cedar Lake Regional Trail
• Lake Independence Regional Trail
• Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail
• Luce Line Regional Trail
• Medicine Lake Regional Trail
• Minnesota River Bluffs Regional Trail
• North Cedar Lake Regional Trail
• Northeast Diagonal Regional Trail
• Shingle Creek Regional Trail

These nine regional trails comprise some of the most popular trails in the Twin Cities metro area and are commonly used for both recreation uses and transportation corridors. The regional trails are generally 10’ wide, multi-use and two directional - allowing for walking, running, biking, in-line skating and dog-walking. Most are paved, with the exception of Lake Minnetonka and Minnesota River Bluffs Regional Trails which are crushed limestone.

Master Planning Process Update

The Park District has completed the draft Nine Regional Trails Master Plan and finished the 30-day public comment period. You can view the updated Nine Regional Trails Master Plan and/or specific chapters to the right under master plan documents.

You will find a summary of the 30-day public comments and responses in Chapter 3: Input - Equity & Engagement and more detailed comments and responses in Appendix D: 30-day Comment Period Feedback and Master Plan Influence.