We hiked the Downtown Minneapolis River Trails on October 2nd, 2023.

Our hiking adventure began at B.F. Nelson Park. We followed the paved trail towards Boom Island Park. Boom Island is no longer an actual island, its back channel has long since been filled in. Logs used to float down the Mississippi River past the island towards the saw mills that the St. Anthony Falls powered.

Views of Downtown Minneapolis appeared through the trees.

We crossed over the walking bridge towards Nicollet Island.

We hiked up the stairs and followed the sidewalk on Nicollet Island towards St. Anthony Main. Fall is beginning to make its presence known.

We made our way towards the 3rd Avenue Bridge.

Once on the other side of the 3rd Avenue Bridge, we took in the view of the St. Anthony Falls.

The lower trails brought us to Hennepin Island. I found this to be a very interesting place to explore. We found large metal pieces and possibly an old tunnel. The adventure side of my brain always kicks in when I see tunnels. I always want to know what is inside the tunnel!

We continued exploring Hennepin Island. We found a Dam. The amount of wood at the bottom of where the water was rushing down was impressive especially since I don’t think beavers created the Dam.

There are two bridges on the lower trails. Even though both bridges brought us to dead ends, it was worth the visit. It was an interesting perspective seeing the old buildings on St. Anthony Main from such a lower point of view.

The second bridge we crossed had an amazing view of the Stone Arch Bridge. I have never seen the Stone Arch Bridge from the shoreline.

As we crossed over the Stone Arch Bridge, we could see Hennepin Island. I have to wonder, how many times have I crossed this bridge and I never paid any attention to the hiking trails on Hennepin Island before.

The view from the Stone Arch Bridge is always beautiful.

Once on the other side of the Mississippi River, we began the loop back to our starting point. The Hennepin Avenue Bridge and the Grain Belt Beer sign are historic sites to see.

Boom Island Lighthouse with views of the Plymouth Avenue Bridge and Downtown Minneapolis.

Our hiking adventure was 5.6 miles.