Today’s hiking adventure was at Fort Snelling State Park.
We hiked at one of my favorite places, Pike Island. The island is surrounded by the Minnesota River and Mississippi River.
As we made our way to Pike Island, we spotted several deer having their morning breakfast.
To access Pike Island, one has to cross a small bridge with the Minnesota River flowing below.
The trails are nice and wide around the island.
The Minnesota River
We made our way to the sandy shores of the island where the Mississippi River and Minnesota River meet. Lots of people were fishing out on their boats enjoying the beautiful morning.
The Mississippi River was to our left and the Minnesota River was to our right.
We continued along the trail following alongside the Mighty Mississippi River.
If you’re missing any ducks, well…we found them. Hundreds of ducks were hanging out in the pond chatting it up with each other.
A light coat of frost covered the grass alongside the paved trail.
We crossed the bridge to hike the Minnesota Valley State Trail near the Minnesota River.
The Minnesota River looked like glass. The brilliant blue sky reflected off the river.
One of these days, I would like to catch a beaver gnawing on a tree as we hike by.
We continued along the trail.
The remains of an old kiln for burning limestone to make bricks resided near the trail.
We took a detour from the trail we were on to hike under the roadway. The short tunnel had a wonderfully painted mural on the walls and ceiling.
The Big Woods Regional Trail led us across the Minnesota River on a wide pedestrian bridge that was built in 1927. Markings of the old roadway were still present on the bridge.
We backtracked to resume hiking on the Minnesota Valley State Trail.
The ruins of the old Shakopee Brewery, founded in 1856, is still roughly standing.
We continued on the trail towards the city of Chaska.
We hiked the Orange Loop once we arrived in Chaska.
The Orange Loop Trail led us to Athletic Park, which we have hiked previously.
We completed the loop by hiking around Firemen’s Park.
Fireman’s Park has a wonderful boardwalk around Fireman’s Lake.
We ended our hike at the Crooked Pint Ale House and Chaska Curling Club. We were able to watch people curling on the ice while we ate. Curling is pretty interesting to watch. I might have to sign up for a lesson or two.
Today’s hiking adventure began at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, the Long Meadow Lake Unit.
We hiked the Long Meadow Lake Trail.
The wildlife refuge is surrounded by office buildings, the airport, Mall of America, hotels, and apartments however, all those buildings seem to fade away the further along the trail one goes.
The trail followed alongside the Minnesota River. Eagles perched high in the trees above us. We saw several of their giant nests too.
We continued along the trail towards Highway 77.
Once on the other side of the Highway 77 bridge, the trail became much narrower.
Beavers definitely made their mark on some of the trees. We even spotted several hornet nests.
Some of the trees had a vibrant green moss growing on them.
River trails are some of our favorite trails. The bikers with the fat tire bikes seem to enjoy them too.
We crossed over a few small creeks.
We reached another highway and stopped to look at the map. At this point we could turn around and head back to our starting point or we could continue along the river trail. Well, the river trail won 2-0.
We crossed under Highway 35W.
Several different trails caught our attention, but we decided to return and hike those in the near future.
With all the open fields, we were surprised we didn’t see any deer.
Now birds, we saw so many different types of birds throughout our hike… Eagles, Cardinals, Geese, Ducks, small blue birds, and so many more! Someday I will learn the names of those birds too. Unfortunately, they fly so darn fast I couldn’t get a good photo of them.
We did find some mushrooms though.
The trail led us towards a creek.
In order to stay on the trail, we needed to cross over the creek. Thankfully, we found a way. Not sure if it was a beaver dam, but it worked. We carefully made our way across the creek. The small hill on the other side doesn’t look so big however, it was super muddy and with each step up, we would slide down.
As we continued our adventure, an old broken down wooden bridge appeared across the river from us.
The cold damp weather began to seep into our bones. We decided to end our adventure and call for a ride back to our starting point.
Today’s hiking adventure began at Black Dog Trailhead.
We hiked the Minnesota River Greenway alongside the Minnesota River. The trail began just shy of the Highway 35 W bridge and follows the river to the Cedar/Highway 77 Bridge. A squirrel greeted us as we began our adventure.
The Minnesota River was partially frozen.
Besides a light dusting of snow at times, the paved trail was nice and clear of snow and ice.
Black Dog Lake Overlook
Across the river from us, we could see many people riding their fat tire bikes along the river bottom trail.
We hiked up to Cedar/Highway 77 Bridge and turned around back to our starting point.
The trail passes by the Xcel Energy Power Plant.
Several eagles perched in the trees above the river looking for a snack.
The Highway 35 W bridge can be seen in the distance.
Today’s hiking adventure brought me back in time. The Landing offers visitors a glimpse of what a town might look like living in the 19th Century. With the temperature feeling like -6, I had the place to myself. The vacant town was quiet except for the wind blowing around the buildings and the snow crackling below my feet as I walked.
As I hiked out of the first town, I came across an old school house and farm equipment. Taking a glimpse at the inside of the school, I could see small chalk boards the students used to use on each desk.
The next town I entered was much older than the previous town. The farm houses were from the mid 1800’s. The old wagon was very impressive to see.
Down the hill from the historic towns was a river trail. The trail followed alongside the almost frozen Minnesota River. Eagles soared above me as I hiked through the forest. Silence surrounded me. The wind began whipping across the river and through the trees. The fresh snowfall floated up making the air sparkle like glitter.
Memorial Park was just west of The Landing’s parking lot. As I hiked through the snow towards Memorial Park, I came across two more old stone/brick old houses with a creek flowing behind them. The trail continued past the old houses to a walking bridge which offered beautiful views on both sides of the frozen snow covered waterway.
As I looped back towards where I began this hiking adventure, I was humbled as I came upon Sacred Burial Mounds. After a moment of silence for those who came before me, I ended this hiking adventure.
Neaton Adventures 