Minnesota Hiking Club #59 - Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area

Minnesota Hiking Club

#59 - Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area

Date Hiked: January 3rd, 2025

Other Hikes That Day: None

Wanderloon Ranking System Score: 2.25

When I tell people that I wasn't raised in an outdoorsy family and culture, they tend not to believe me. 

I get it. A lot of people who are into things like hiking and kayaking learn it from their parents, or at least being raised around it and picking it up from friends while they're growing up. 

The first time I went kayaking, I was in my mid-20s. It was my first time in Northern Minnesota and someone asked me if I wanted to go kayaking, and I genuinely asked what a kayak was. 

Hiking? I was looking for abandoned railroad tracks, and I started documenting them. (Autism is fun!) Those searches led me to rail trails. Rail trails led me to walking longer distances. Longer distances led me to hiking. I fell into it backwards. 

And if you still don't believe me, the reason I went hiking on January 3rd at the Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area? I bought something from REI... for the first time. Exaggerate, I do not. 

The backpack I'd been using was perfectly fine, but not cut out for longer distance hikes. The jacket I had was perfectly fine, but with a polar vortex approaching and no sign of my hiking slowing down, I wanted a good one designed to hold up in the weather and strenuous activity. 

Thus, having made this purchase, I wanted to try them out. Since in January, it gets dark about nine minutes after the sun comes up, I opted for one of the closer trails. Those from the Twin Cities metro who have taken a gander at the map of Hiking Club trails know well, there aren't many nearby. The picture above will also show, even with the locality and no other hikes that day, I barely got it in before darkness. 

Why so much context before discussing the trail itself? Honestly, I don't think I could fill my allotted time talking about this one, for better or worse. It certainly does exist. 

I feel bad saying that, but it's hard not to compare it to other hikes in the same general refuge area. Up the river you have the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge, Long Meadow Lake, Bloomington Ferry, Rice Lake (not the state park one, this name is annoyingly common)... Even Memorial Park in Shakopee leaves more of an impression. The trailhead leads down along this nice view, then goes into a loop that traverses farmland and two road crossings, then you're back by this view before heading back. 

My new coat held up well, considering it was a balmy 10 degrees (only balmy in comparison to the January 4th trilogy later in the list). The REI employee spent a good deal of time teaching me how to adjust a backpack accordingly, which is good practice for when I start thru-hiking. I was still learning the rhythm of trekking poles at the time. 

I'm glad this place exists, because the hike was close and convenient on that day.