Lake Elmo Park Preserve - Mountain Bike Trail

The Lake Elmo Park Preserve is a long trail with so much to offer beginner and intermediate mountain bikers in Minneapolis. What are the interesting features you are missing out on? Let’s find out.

The Lake Elmo Park Preserve is one of the best places to be during summer in Minneapolis. The trails have a forgiving terrain, thus suitable for all riding skill levels, including beginners. An intermediate rider would appreciate the steep climbs and fun descents on some sections of the trail. Its surface is pretty diverse, ranging from grassy and hard-pack to loose rocks and sand. You may need to break a sweat on some segments if you are a beginner rider.

Before you go:

Drinking water

Restrooms

Fee required

Lift service

Fat bike grooming

Family Friendly

Night riding

E-bikes allowed

Dogs Allowed

Obstacles

Shuttles

Detailed Trail Description

The Lake Elmo Park Preserve has a 23.2 km diverse trail system ideal for beginner and intermediate mountain bikers. It is one of the few easy/intermediate trails with the most forgiving terrains in Minneapolis. We recommend it if you are an expert or advanced mountain biker who has had a long hiatus and is looking to get their mountain bike legs back.

The most exciting thing about the trail is its diverse surface. You can try your hand at biking on loose rocks, sand, hard-pack, mud (in spring), and gravel. If you ace all the surfaces, you may be ready for harder trails with more technical features.

You can ride the trail in bits or combine all the surfaces to get more mileage. Since it is a multi-use trail, you must be mindful of other users like hikers, joggers, and horses. Yes, they allow horses and dogs in the park. If they allow horses, it means they don’t care much about trail damage.

Sights of Interest, landscapes, views

Although the trail is mostly an open prairie, the natural surrounding will take you away. You can take a break on the grass to enjoy the scenery.

Recommendations/precautions

•       Be mindful of hikers and horses on the trail.
•       The trail is not well-shaded, so be sure to bring sunscreen to avoid sunburns.
•       Carry drinking water.
•       You can bring your family or group of friends as it is an easy trail.
•       The trail can get muddy and soft in spring. We only recommend riding during summer when it is dry bone.