This weekend I was able to get out and explore some new bike trails in the State. First up was biking through Elm Creek Park in Champlin, which offers 20 miles of biking on paved trails throughout this near 5,000 acre county park.  Since this park is close to my sister’s home, we’re able to ride a few city blocks and jump onto the trails. Moderate hills and great scenery make this a good place to pedal.

Next up was the Gateway State Trail in St. Paul. This 18 mile long trail begins in St. Paul and travels northeast through the cities of Maplewood, North St. Paul, and Oakdale, through Washington County, and ends at Pine Point Regional Park, just 4 miles northwest of the city of Stillwater. Since this was a rails to trails project the riding is fairly easy. The group I was with was also geocaching this trail so we did all 18 miles and more than 40 caches.  While you will find some more people using this trail, congestion was never a problem and we had a great day. We even made a stop in North Saint Paul for a great breakfast at a café only a few blocks from the bike trail.

Since I had the bike in tow and the weather was perfect, I made a stop in Stacy on the way home and biked about 8 miles on the 23 mile Sunrise Prairie Trail. This trail runs between Hugo and North Branch, passing through Forest Lake, Wyoming and Stacy. Flat and mostly straight, the biggest drawback of the part I pedaled was the close proximity to Interstate 35.