The River Bottom can be
accessed easily from many points. The best spots are the
west end at the Bloomington Ferry parking lot, at Lydale's
parking lot, and at Indian Mounds Elementary School. To get
to the Bloomington Ferry end (west end)... From the North:
Take Hwy 169 south, exit at Old Shakopee. Head east on Old
Shakopee until Bloomington Ferry Road. Head south on
Bloomington Ferry. At the first stop sign, turn right and
follow the road south. In about 3 blocks look for the
Bloomington Ferry signs pointing to the right. Turn right,
head down the hill, and park. The trail starts to the left
of the information kiosk. From the east, either take 94, or
494 to 169 and follow the 'North' directions, or come in on
Old Shakopee and hang a left (south) on Bloomington Ferry.
From the South, take 169 north until Old Shakopee, follow
the 'North' directions from there.
To get to the Lyndale
parking lot, get on 35W and head towards the Minnesota
River. At the 106th street exit, get off 35W and head east.
Lyndale is the first stop sign, hang a right. At the bottom
of the hill you will run into the parking lot. The trail
heads out in both directions from the south end of the lot.
To get to the Indian Mound
entrance from pretty much anywhere... get on 35W, and exit
at 98th Street (Old Shakopee). Head east until you get to
Portland. After the stoplight at Portland, start looking to
the right for the brown information sign that points to
Martin Luther Manor, and Indian Mounds. Turn right here
(98th St.) Take 98th a few blocks east until 11th Avenue.
Turn south on 11th. The school will be on your left. 11th
Ave. goes a few blocks and turns to the west. Just before
the road stops going south, look to your left and you'll see
the gravel doubletrack heading down the hill past the
'Caution Drop Off' sign. This is the east end of the River
Bottom trail.
Depending on the season, the
trail conditions vary quite a bit. Early in the spring
things are usually pretty sandy, especially if the trail was
flooded out by the winter thaw. Once summer arrives expect
the field grass to grow over eye level, and the stinging
nettles to come out in abundance... and you can't forget the
mosquitos. It's generally a good idea to not stand in one
spot for too long or you'll be an unwilling blood donor. The
trail is usually in the best shape in the fall as the grass
and weeds have died or been trimmed back and the sand is
packed down. Additionally, you don't have to worry about
bugs or blind corners from overgrown foliage. Winter brings
a little unpredictability to the trail. If it's a light snow
winter, expect a packed singletrack for the whole trail. The
raft across 9 Mile Creek gets pulled late in the fall, and
put back in the spring, but this doesn't affect your ride
much, because the creek freezes solid (PLEASE CHECK FIRST
BEFORE CROSSING).
This description is from
the Bloomington Ferry end (west) to Indian Mounds (east).
The trail dives into the
woods to the left of the information kiosk, and it's nearly
11 miles of singletrack until you reach the other end. The
first bit of the trail heads south following the river
wandering through forest and field. Throughout the trail you
have a good look at the river activity as the trail never
ventures far from shore. A couple miles into the ride, the
trail enters Isaak Walton League property. This is private
property, but they are generous enough to let us ride
through. Let's observe good trail etiquette by sticking on
one line so we keep the trail narrow.
There are a few spurs the
head off away from the river. A few of these dead end into
nothing, but a couple are fun alternates. If it looks like
the trail is tapering off into nothing, turn around. The
trail is heading onto private property.
About 6 miles into things,
you'll hit 9 Mile Creek. MORC has put in a raft that you can
pull yourself
across on. Good luck not getting devoured in
mosquito season, especially if you have to wait for someone
else to cross.
To pick up the trail on the
east side of the river, head a little south and look east,
it's pretty easy to find. After a few log crossings the
trail widens into a doubletrack and eventually turns into a
gravel road. Stick with it on the road until you cross under
35W and hit the Lyndale parking lot. The trail heads out
east immediately in front of you.
50 yards in, you've got a
choice of left or right. Either one gets you to the same
point. Right is singletrack, left is doubletrack. Next up,
you'll run into a nasty sinkhole that has all sorts of trees
down in it. There's a creek on the left of the hole that
you'll have to find a way across. At one point it had a good
crossing, but that washed out.
This is where the trail
takes on a different personality. The trail heads up onto
the bluff. Be careful in this area because of the high
speeds and the poor sight lines.
The trail snakes its way up
and down the side of the bluff, and ultimately climbs up the
hill to a picnic table. Go ahead, catch your breath, you're
not there yet. Head down the trail to the east of the 'to
Lyndale' sign. Next, you'll pop up at an old city park. The
parking lot is still there, but its closed to traffic and
there is grass growing up everywhere.
From the field hang a right
along the treeline, go past a few picnic tables and fire
pits, and head into the woods. Stick with the main trail
until you get to a creek. This is the end of the line. Any
further east and you run into off-limits land. The Feds will
(and have) confiscate your bike if they catch you in the
wildlife preserve. Head left up the hill following the
creek. After crossing the creek a couple times, you'll hit
the crushed rock doubletrack. Take this up to the top of the
bluff. You're there. This section of the River Bottom ends
here. There's more, but it's located east of Cedar, and on
the south side of the river.
