Hiking has to be one of my favorite forms of exercise. The Twin Cities has more than its share of great places to hike. This time I was off to the Winchell Trail.

Winchell. You hear the name and the first thing that comes to mind is the old Winchell’s Donut franchise we used to partake in out on the coast. I went out to hike the Winchell Trail earlier this week and found some interesting old relics from years gone by.

Hiking the Winchell Trail in Minneapolis was a great way to blow off some steam. (Photo by Chad Smith)

It’s an five mile out-and-back trail, so don’t plan on going in a big circle. It’s pretty much a straight shot, no matter which direction you head in. The trail itself runs from 44th Street up to Franklin Avenue, right along the west bank of the Mississippi River. The first thing I noticed was that the flooding along the Mississippi River appears to be lowering. I could see a lot more of the riverbank than I had since early last summer.

There’s a bike path up by the road, with the walking trails further down in the trees. The bluffs are absolutely scenic. If you walk the entire trail, you’ll see sandy beaches, an oak savannah restoration project, and what’s called a floodplain forest.

However, the one thing that did NOT make me happy was all the road construction. It’s a freaking TWO-LANE roadway, with one of the lanes blocked off by those little orange things that seem to sprout up every spring. Makes parking down there even more of an adventure (pain in the ass) than it already is. But, I digress.

Hiking along the Winchell Trail and wondered what kind of a wind gust must have blown through to t

take this big boy down? (Photo by Chad Smith)

The Winchell Trail is described as a moderate trail designed for all hiking skill level. The out-and-back trail has a total elevation gain of 500 feet.

Looks like a staircase from a Lord of the Rings movie, doesn’t it? (Photo by Chad Smith)





The view of the Mississippi River from the bluffs along the Winchell Trail in the Twin Cities. Bet

it looks even better when everything is greened up? Come on spring! (Photo by Chad Smith)



Here’s the link to the rest of the album on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/chad.smith.75685/media_set?set=a.3051593368234412&type=3&uploaded=7

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