Title

Minnesota River Valley State Trail

Sections

Bloomington Segment

The Minnesota Valley State Trail (MVST) is a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) project funded by the State Legislature.  In 2014, the State Legislature approved $2.165 million to begin development of the 13-mile Bloomington segment of the State Trail that will extend from the Bloomington Ferry Bridge to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center. 

The DNR is responsible for designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating the trail.  However, the land in this corridor is owned primarily by the City of Bloomington and the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).  The State/DNR must obtain permission to build the MVST on property they don’t own.  In November 2018, the City Council approved a cooperative agreement allowing the DNR to build the MVST on city-owned lands in the river valley.  The DNR is in the process of obtaining similar permissions from the USFWS and a handful of private property owners.

Additional information about this project is provided on the MnDNR website at:https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/parks_trails/mgmtplans/mn_valley_plan.pdf

Project Status

In December 2018, the DNR awarded a contract to begin construction on the Bloomington segment of the MVST.  Construction of this entire 13-mile segment will occur in phases as State funding is obtained.  The initial project phase (Phase 1A on map below) starts at Lyndale Avenue (near Sorenson boat launch) and extends approximately 1.7 miles east to the Xcel power line corridor and was completed in 2020.  

The next phase of construction will be Phase 1B which picks up where Phase 1A left off and extends east to the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge.  Partial funding has also been acquired for Phase 2 from Lyndale Avenue to the west to Nine Mile Creek and includes a new bridge crossing the creek.  This work is tentatively scheduled for 2026 as the DNR works to complete the funding of the project.

 

MN Valley State Trail - Bloomington Project Area

A pdf of the map can be found here: 

Contact Information

Contact Information

Planning Division