Ah, Minnesota. With 67 state parks and 6 national parks, recreation areas and monuments (according to exploremn.com), a curious adventurer would expect to find a variety of trails here. I’ve compiled a list of my personal favorites here for you based on proximity to Minneapolis! Whether you’re looking for somewhere close to home, or a weekend getaway, Minnesota has some jaw-dropping scenery for you to discover.
0 – 5 Miles from Minneapolis
The Winchell Trail
Length: 5 miles
A little bit of bluff, a little bit of woods, and a whole lot of river. The Winchell Trail is a 5-mile jaunt that provides rustic, natural views. It will take you to Minnehaha Park if you’d like to see the falls, but the true star of the show here is the Mighty Mississippi. If you’re so lucky to catch one of the Padelford Riverboats along the way, be sure to wave!
Westwood Hills Nature Center
Length: 3 miles
Located just west of Minneapolis, Westwood Hills Nature Center provides great natural education for young children, along with a beautiful loop to walk with your family. The park’s trail circles Westwood Lake in St. Louis Park, MN. Complete with a gorgeous water garden, you’ll find some spectacular wildlife in the preserve if you keep your eyes open.
Local Insider Tip: Once labeled the “mystery artist” of Westwood Hills Nature Center, nature artist Chelsea Bahe frequents the park. If you have a good eye, you may just find a piece of her artwork along the trail. Maybe you’ll find something like this cute little Halloween witch! All of Bahe’s artwork is created from elements she finds in the park, which gives it a unique flare.
5 – 20 Miles from Minneapolis
Lilydale Regional Park
Length: Unknown
Another riverside spot where the trees are thick and the river runs alongside your trail. I cannot find information about exactly how many miles of trail there are in this park, but you will find the St. Paul skyline hovering like a halo above the Mississippi River, and plenty of fields and shelters for kids to play and rest on.
Tamarack Nature Center
Length: 4 miles
This one is unique for families with young children! Tamarack Nature Center in White Bear Lake, MN not only has 5+ miles of trails, but it also has a nature play area where kids can dig, climb, garden, and even play with mud!
Kids aside, you’ll find trails of all shapes and sizes. Some are paved, others are cross-country ski trails that you can walk along. I would rate this as an easy area to hike around. You’ll find this to be a great hill-filled prairie, and if you keep your eyes peeled, you may find some wildlife along the way!
30 – 60 Miles from Minneapolis
Afton State Park
Length: 20 miles
One day wouldn’t be enough to explore the vast riverside scenery you’ll find at Afton State Park. With 7 different trails to adventure on, there’s a little bit of everything here. I’d recommend taking a lunch with you and spending as much time as you can on the trails. Be sure to bring bug spray – with the river comes mosquitoes!
Interstate State Park
Length: 4 miles
This is my #1 FAVORITE hiking spot to bring out-of-state visitors to for a day trip. The park itself straddles the Minnesota/Wisconsin border, with the St. Croix River as the slice dividing the two sides. At Interstate you’ll get the most beautiful bluff views Minnesota has to offer, and large rock formations to climb on.
Watch out below! You’ll see quite a few rock climbers at this park as well. Additionally, the landscape has blessed us with something called “glacial potholes” – large cylindrical holes in a formation of solid rock.
60+ Miles from Minneapolis
Jay Cooke State Park
Length: 50 miles
“Swing” by this park to enjoy a breathtaking view of the crisp rocks of the St. Louis River. The swing bridge is a historical Jay Cooke icon. While it’s been there since the 1920s, it has been destroyed by two floods – one in the 1950s and another in 2012. Hiking in this park is plentiful. Interested parties could easily spend multiple days here, camping at one of the many sites available.
For hikers, I particularly recommend the Willard Munger State Trail. The trail itself stretches 70 miles between Hinckley and Duluth. The Jay Cooke portion of it makes up the northeast section of the trail, and gives you the most photogenic views of the park.
Tettegouche State Park
Length: 23 miles
Waterfalls, and wildlife and bluffs, oh my! Tettegouche State Park deserves to be on every Minnesotan’s bucket list, if not for the spectacular Lake Superior views at Shovel Point, then for the Cascades Waterfall. If I lived closer, I’d probably be at this park every day.
Tettegouche is one of those parks where you stop yourself and say, wait a minute, this is in Minnesota?! The landscapes are transformative and vast.
Be sure to swing by the visitor center for a water station and a trail map. Pro tip: Get to the park early! It’s a big tourist destination. I was lucky enough to hit it on a warm, cloudless summer day at about 10 a.m. By the time I was finished with the Cascades loop, the park was packed!
Superior National Forest
Length: Unknown
I use the “Lutsen Mountains” as a general hotspot because that’s where I adventured to this summer. However, I believe anywhere in the Superior National Forest would be just as gorgeous.
My experience at the Lutsen Mountains was fabulous. I got a chance to hike the Superior Hiking Trail and the Spur Trail, but there are plenty of other trails to choose from. Oberg Mountain is another that would have been wonderful to experience. I took a gondola ride to the top of Mystery Mountain (see my list of 16 activities you must do in the North Shore) and was able to experience Lake Superior in a way I never have before.
To keep expectations realistic, when we say “mountain” in Minnesota, we are certainly not as grandiose as the Rockies in Colorado. A mountain is loosely defined as any elevated landform in a small area over 1,000 feet above sea level. While our Minnesota mountains are absolutely stunning, I don’t want to give the impression that you’re going to a tundra.
All-in-all, in my opinion, Minnesota is one of the best states for hiking both near and far. Even my “indoor cat” friends have adventured with me and found the nature we have from Minneapolis to Moose Mountain can be enjoyed by anyone willing to tour our state with an open mind.
