Short visit--best area to take a bike ride

I will be in the area for two days for busines. My days are booked but in the early evening I would love to take a bike ride to see some of the parks in the city. I am staying at Doubletree Park Place. Anything nearby to ride on a bike trail or walk in a park?

Short visit--best area to take a bike ride

You are in a good location, close to the city and many possible bike trails. Check out www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles/ and you will find much useful information.

Short visit--best area to take a bike ride

Being out to Minneapolis%26#39; west puts you in a good position to start at Theodore Wirth Park, continuing down France to the Chain of Lakes (Cedar Lake, Lake of the Isles, Calhoun and -- best of all -- Harriet. Do a google map look at the area and plan a route. Very well kept trails. Beautiful homes in the area. Sailboats will be out on Harriet.

That should be a decent loop. If you are feeling like Lance Armstrong, you can bike to Harriet and then follow the Minnehaha Creek trail all the way to the falls. That%26#39;s Minnehaha Falls -- a mile or 2 upstream from where the creek meets the Mississippi. Down there are more mountain bike opportunities f you wanna get off road.

The jewel of the park system is Lake Harriet and Minnehaha Park. Google to see if you have the legs to bike both. To me, it%26#39;s the best scenery Minneapolis has to offer.

You can get on the cedar lake trail very close to the Doubletree. I would take the trail up until it hits cedar lake and then take a right

See this link for a map.

ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles/cedarlake.pdf

Your access point would be at the way lower left had corner of the map in the circle cut out.

If you would prefer (not a bad idea actually) I would suggest you drive into town and park at Lake of the Isles (covered in next post)

If you will be riding late I would not suggest you take the trail back to the hotel - just to be prudent - it is somewhat isolated and not well lit.

This is the map for the whole area to help you get oriented:

…minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles/bikemap-sharedla…

I would park at Lake of the Isles (there are plenty of cut-outs along the roadway where you can park.

You can ride around all three of the lower lakes - and part way around cedar lake.

Some posters prefer Lake Harriet to Isles. Either one would be fine.

Calhoun is also a nice lake, but it is more wide open so I can be hotter and/or windier. I also don;t hink it as pretty.

I agree - this is the best one ride to take in South Minneapolis. Next to Lake Harriet on the east side are the Peace Garden and Rose Garden - really beautiful, open to the public, and a great spot to walk around and relax in.

www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp…

also, if you shoot down Franklin Avenue east about 3/4 mile from the tip of Lake of the Isles, you get to Sebastian Joe%26#39;s Ice Cream, which is some of the best the Cities have. a great bike trip break.