Wanders around Minneapolis with some great vistas, lakes and parks. If you get tired, jump on the light rail.
The paths on the south and west sides of the Rounds are connected by lakes and streams. It is very beautiful. East side is along Mississipi river, which is equally good. However, the north and northeast sides are just along neighborhood roads. It you don't have enough time, just skip it and you don't miss a thing . One bad side of the Grounds, the signs for directions are not clear
Investment by Hennepin County and Minneapolis in 2011 resulted in re-dedication of the Victory Memorial Parkway that memorialized 768 Hennepin County casualties of WWI. From Wirth Parkway north along tree lined grassy boulevard, check out the flagpole and Abraham Lincoln statue around 44th Avenue North. Black granite benches provide a nice picnic spot in warm weather. Parking spots nearby for vehicles. Bike it for great exercise.
Rather it runs through residential neighborhoods and even though the general perception is that his bike trail should help cyclists avoid the heavy traffic areas, it diverts the cycling traffic too far from the city scene toward the suburban homes and spookiness. There are some nice sections along the Mississipi river and the Uptown lakes but the northern section of Grand Rounds is really not that attractive at all.
If Grand Rounds sounds boring, put that idea out of your head. If you are interested in heading downtown and checking out the locks at St. Anthony near the iconic Gold Medal Flour sign, and milling ruins, this is for you. If you are interested in biking to a beach on a serene city lake, this is for you. We rented bikes at Calhoun Bike Rental at James and Lake Street, and in 2 hours headed down to St. Anthony Falls and then back and around Cedar Lake and returned our bikes. It was lovely. **Bring your own map though! It can get a little confusing since the Grand Rounds connect a bunch of paths so the paths continue where the Grand Rounds routes do not. This was super fun!!! Our route was awesome and I would recommend it, but we didn't dilly dally so if you want to spend more time I would recommend renting for half a day.
Just a nice relaxing space one can stroll through and then go to the Museum next door. I visited when the weather was a bit grey, but it still was a tranquil place.
One of my bucket list items is to travel at least one national Scenic Byway in every state. Luckily for me, this one was closer than I thought. Enjoyed seeing the beautiful homes along the river and the lakes. Will visit again!
Nice water views and attractive homes along this drive. Worth spending a couple hours. There are some historic sites along the way to see too. Make sure you get maps of the drive, though. It's easy to miss a turn and/or end up somewhere you didn't intend. Obviously, some scenic drives in natural areas top this one, but for city drives it is among the best.
The lakes to the falls and down the river are my favorite parts and wonderful to have this trail laid out. Interesting to see the amount of nature and park we have int he city. Plan a day and bring some money for great places along the way for lunch.
The thing I love about Minneapolis is their bike rental system called Nice Ride similar to the Velibe in Paris. For $6 a day and $1.50 an hour depending on how long the bike is checked in and out across it's numerous rental stations, you can get around basically anywhere in the twin cities core metro including a large part of the Grand Rounds trails. When you're tired you can check in the bike to a station and walk to a nice cafe or restaurant around town. The great part of the Grand Rounds trails is that it hits all the pretty sections of the city like Uptown, Chain of Lakes, UM, Downtown, Minnehaha falls, Nicollet Island, East and West river parkways, etc. you can tour a large part of the trails and Minneapolis by bike using Nice Ride and if you check in and out the bikes every 30 minutes you don't pay anything except the $6 subscription. Minneapolis really makes it easy to tour the Grand Rounds and get around the city by bike.