Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve is located just south of
Savage, not too far from the Burnsville Center mall. The
easiest way to get to the area is Interstate 35 (35W or
35E). Take the County Road 42 exit. Go west on CR-42,
past all the malls and down the long hill. After roughly
2 miles on 42, take a left onto West Burnsville Pkwy.
Shortly after Cam Ram Park, W. Burnsville Pkwy turns
into Hanrehan Lake Blvd. Continue down Hanrehan Lake
Blvd until Murphy Lake Road - the gravel road heading up
into the prairie on your left. The trailhead parking is
a short distance up Murphy Lake Road on the left.
History
Since about 2003, MORC, IMBA and Park District staff
have been working together to increase and improve
mountain bike opportunities within the Three Rivers Park
District. After many meetings and presentations, three
parks were identified as potential sites for new
mountain bike trails; Elm Creek, Lake Rebecca, and
Murphy-Hanrehan. Due to the problems associated with the
existing doubletrack trail, replacing the mountain bike
trail at Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve was given top
priority.
Many of us will miss the doubletrack rollercoaster, but
the old trail required more maintenance than it was
worth. The doubletrack trail is now permanently closed
to all mountain bike traffic. Often built straight down
the fall line, it didn’t even approach being sustainable
when used as a mountain bike trail. The new singletrack
is safer and more sustainable, while retaining the
spirit of the old trail as much as possible.
As one of the first metro area parks to have an official
mountain bike trail, Murphy-Hanrehan and mountain biking
go back over 15 years. But due to a short riding season
(August 1st – October 31st), and the increase in
popularity of singletrack trails like Lebanon Hills and
Theo Wirth, the trail at Murphy-Hanrehan flies below the
radar of many Twin Cities mountain bikers. Those days
are over.
WARNING – Please stay on the trail! This will
help keep the trail narrow, and will keep you from
experiencing some of the more painful residents of the
park… there is Poison Ivy and Prickly
Ash in the woods, and Wild Parsnip in the
open areas.
Many Minnesotans are familiar with poison ivy, but the
other two aren’t as well-known. Prickly Ash is a small
tree that has very sharp thorns, and is common
throughout the woods of the park. Wild Parsnip is a tall
herbaceous plant with yellow flowers that causes a nasty
blistering rash. Even after the blisters are healed,
brown spots may be left on your skin for many months (or
even years).
The new singletrack trail will not be subject to the
shortened riding season of the old trail - it will be
open during the typical Minnesota mountain bike season.
The season usually runs from late April to sometime in
November or December (this is entirely weather dependent
– keep an eye on the MORC forums for info). The
exception is a small section of advanced trail that will
be closed from late winter to August 1st.
The trail will be closed when the tread is soft after
rains, and any other time the trail is susceptible to
damage.
The trail consists of three loops; an easiest loop, an
intermediate loop, and an advanced loop. The loops are
stacked so you must ride parts of the easiest and
intermediate loops to be able to ride the advanced. With
the exception of small connector trails that are
two-way, all the loops are one-way. The trail is also
open to hikers and trail runners, so ride in control at
all times. Mountain bikers have the right-of-way on the
singletrack trail, but always be polite and courteous to
other users.
The signage at the beginning of the trail has a lot of
good info - stop and read it!
Easiest Loop
Your ride begins with the easiest loop, which is a nice
ride through an open, rolling prairie. Much of the
easiest loop is visible from the trailhead. This loop is
just under a mile long, but makes for a good warm-up if
you plan to ride the other loops. About 2/3 of the way
through the easiest loop you will come to the junction
with the intermediate loop.
Intermediate Loop
If you ride the intermediate loop, you will take the
trail that heads directly into the woods. There are a
few rocks between the two small trees you ride through,
and there is a log across the trail to show users that
this is a more difficult trail. The 2¼-mile long
intermediate loop is narrower, steeper, and rougher than
the easiest loop and will require more skill to ride.
Roughly a mile and a half into the loop you come to the
intermediate-advanced loop junction. If you choose to
finish the intermediate loop, you will ride a boardwalk
that brings you out to the edge of the wetland. Careful
not to fall off while looking at the view! After the
boardwalk you’ll start a long climb back to the prairie,
and eventually back to the easiest loop junction.
Advanced Loop
If you choose to ride the advanced loop, you’ll find it
even more challenging. The loop begins with a two-way
feature designed to show trail users the increased
difficulty of the advanced loop. It consists of a pair
of two boardwalk steps with short skinny section in
between. Please do not ride or walk around the
feature – ride or walk your bike over it. This
will help reduce the amount of vegetation that gets
trampled in this area.
The majority of the new trail at Murphy-Hanrehan is
designated as advanced. What makes this loop more
challenging than the other loops? It’s a combination of
factors: the higher and narrower bridges; a narrower
tread (often cutting across very steep sideslopes);
steeper, more difficult climbs and descent; and more
technical features like rock gardens, large rocks to
ride over, and optional features like the log ride.
Nearly all of the proposed technical trail features are
also destined for the advanced loop, adding to its level
of difficulty.
The majority of bridges and boardwalks are on the
advanced loop; six bridges and three boardwalks are
scattered throughout the loop. One bridge is
particularly special… it’s actually more like a giant
set of steps. Take it easy the first time, the 45 foot
long bridge has 5 drops spaced 9 feet apart. The first 4
drops are eight inches, but the last drop back to dirt
is about a foot… all this at only 30 inches wide and 4
feet off the ground.
Most of the advanced loop is in the woods, but it does
cut across a few open grasslands. About 5 miles into the
advanced loop you’ll enter the largest of these
prairies. At
the far end of the large prairie you will
find an optional log ride, and just after the log ride
you will see a connector trail that will be used when
the back corner of the park is closed. This will be done
seasonally from late winter to August 1st for the
protection of nesting raptors in the area. A gate will
be closed and signage will be posted when this area is
closed. The connector trail will bypass the closed
section of trail (a little over ½ mile of trail will be
closed). Please obey all signs and closures.
After returning through the large prairie, you’ll dive
into the woods, following the forest edge. A brief
section back in the prairie and you’re in the woods
again. This last part of the advanced loop skirts around
the bottom of the big ridge with one last climb,
followed by a downhill that brings you back to the
advanced-intermediate junction. Ride the remainder of
the intermediate and easiest loops, and you’ll be at the
trailhead.
Overall Impression
The new MTB trail is a ribbon of dirt cut through the
beautiful woods and prairies of Murphy-Hanrehan Park;
traveling up and down ridges, around small knolls, and
across drainages and marshes. The trail isn’t super
twisty and has fairly long sightlines… the goal here was
flow. At almost 10 miles, it’s one of the longer metro
trails and has some great views from the top of the big
ridge on the advanced loop. On a clear day you can see
the skyline of downtown Minneapolis through the trees.
The trail will be developed further over the next few
seasons. Keep an eye on the MORC forums to follow the
progression of the trail and see pictures of new
trailwork projects. The trail will change, so always
expect the unexpected on that first lap.
Winter Riding
Opening the trail to winter riding is being
discussed. At this point the trail will close for the
season with the first significant snowfall, or when the
trail becomes susceptible to damage. The area might be
developed as an off-trail snowshoeing area.
Night Riding
Opening the trail to night riding is being discussed.
Currently the park closes at sunset. Our hope is to
organize some night riding events in order to test the
idea of night riding at Murphy-Hanrehan. If you are
really into riding in the dark, you’ll have to get up
early. The park opens at 5am, so riding in the dark may
be an option in the fall or early winter.
2007 Plans
There are some big plans for the Murphy-Hanrehan
singletrack trail. Up until June 2007, all of MORC's
efforts were focused on getting the trail open. Now that
it’s open, we will be fine tuning the trail. We can also
start building some of the fun stuff. While none of the
proposed plans have been approved, there are hopes of
technical trail features such as jumps, drops, log
rides, skinnies, and other elevated features.
All the fine tuning, new features, and of course the
general maintenance, require a lot of time and effort…
and that’s where you come in. Trailwork is your
opportunity to give back to the trail. So come out on
Sundays and give us a hand!! Check the MORC forums for
updates on trailwork.
Land Manager
Three Rivers Park District
(formerly Hennepin Parks) manages Murphy-Hanrehan Park
Reserve and the MTB trail. Three Rivers was named the
2006 Land Manager of the Year by MORC due to their
continued support of mountain biking. Look for future
projects between MORC and Three Rivers! Please help
ensure continued access at Three Rivers Parks by riding
only when the trails are open, following the rules
posted at the trailhead, and always respecting other
trail users.
