Today’s hiking adventure began at Fish Lake Regional Park.

Burrr! This morning was so cold and the wind whipped through us as we began our hike. But, as true Minnesotans do, we persevered. With our Yaktrax on, we hiked the paved trail to Fish Lake.

Without a map present when we began our hike not knowing how long the trails were going to be, we decided to hike a bit on Fish Lake. We figured with spring approaching this may be our last chance to hike on ice.

The strong wind kept our hike on the lake short. Mini snow tornadoes blew past us. Back to the main trail we went.

After finding and looking over the two trail maps of the area, we decided to hike to Rice Lake.

We crossed over Highway 94 on our way to Rice Lake.

This winter Minnesota reached its 8th snowiest season on record. The wind caused snow drifts on parts of the trail. Need to rest? No worries, here is a bench for you to sit on.

Rice Lake turned out to be a beautiful lake to hike around.

I was so happy to catch a sun halo.

A few swans and a flock of geese were enjoying the open water.

The trail led us under Highway 94. We continued on the Medicine Lake Regional Trail.

The sun felt so nice on our cheeks. All the wonderful trees kept the wind at bay.

Today’s hiking adventure was 12.3 miles.