Tag Archives: Anoka

Bike Pic July 18, Mississippi River Trail, with round-the-river loops

This bike pic Tuesday, a fun experience is biking along Ol’ Man River, on the Mississippi River Trail (MRT), through Minneapolis Northwest (Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park. This segment of the trail, a part of a National Park, offers the perfect round-the-river bike loops with a 13 and 26-mile option, using the Coon Rapids Dam as a crossing. A great choice for nature lovers and families alike, showcasing some of the best the river offers.

So, get into the zone when continuing your time outdoors and your #NextBikeAdventure. View all the great ideas and bike destinations in the latest Iowa or Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide. Then plan your next outing with family and friends, and check out more stories at Let’s Do MN.

Thanks for viewing our latest bike pic

Now rolling through our 19th year as a bike tourism media, enjoy! As we pedal forward, we aim to encourage more people to bike and have fun while highlighting all the unforgettable places you can ride. As we continue to showcase more places to have fun, we hope the photos we shoot are worth a grin. Enjoy the information and stories we have posted as you scroll through.

Do you have a fun bicycle-related photo of yourself or someone you may know we should post? If so, please send your picture(s) to [email protected]. Please Include a brief caption for the image, who shot it, and where. Photo(s) sent to us should be a minimum of 1,000 pixels wide to be considered. If we use your photo, you will receive photo credit and acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

As we continue encouraging more people to bike, please view our Destination section at HaveFunBiking.com for your #NextBikeAdventure. Also, check out the MN Bike Guide, now mobile-friendly, as we enter our 14th year of producing this handy information booklet full of maps.

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com on your cell phone and find your next adventure at your fingertips! Please share our pics with your friends, and don’t forget to smile. With one of our cameras ready to document your next cameo appearance while you are riding and having fun, we may be around the corner. You could be in one of our next Pic of the Day.

Have a great day with a safe and memorable summer!

Pedal, then Paddle the TC Gateways Rice Creek Chain of Lakes

For a wildlife-rich summer, experience not soon forgotten, pedal, then paddle, the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes up in the Twin Cities Gateway Area. With an abundance of bike trails and roads to get there, you will find several options at Wargo Nature Center once arriving. Head out with a paddle, hike, or bike the trails that meander around the chain of lakes shoreline in this mammoth park reserve in the Twin City Area.

Paddling the Twin Cities Gateway’s Rice Creek Chain of Lakes is a wildlife-rich experience to remember.

You will find the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes near the community of Lino Lakes, on the south side of Interstate 35W. Once there, Nature Center can fix you up with canoe and kayak rentals to paddle Rice Creek Chain of Lakes. It is a bit of heaven in the north metro area. Being able to paddle out from the Nature Center on George Watch Lake is a tranquil experience.

What You Will See Paddling the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes

Through the summer and into the fall, you can paddle out from the dock at the Nature Center and connect to one lake after the next. Along the way, you are sure to see occasional Leopard frogs hopping off a Lilly pad. Then, perhaps you’ll ever see a Blue Heron and Snowy White Egrets lift off as you pass by.

Hawks are common spectators to the activities as you paddle along the water trail or pedal along the bike trail in the Rice Creek Reserve.

Hawks are familiar spectators watching as you paddle along the water trail or the bike trail in the Reserve.

The creek and lakes on this water trail offer excellent bird-watching opportunities. And this is the perfect place for the novice paddler. Adventurers will see plenty of raptors such as egrets and herons perching in nearby trees or forage along the shoreline. Along the way, you may see a sandpiper scampered across a sandbar.

Egrets and blue heron are also a common to see as you paddle along.

Egrets and Blue Heron are common to see as you paddle.

Maybe you’ll see a soft-shell turtle sliding off the bank. Or perhaps an eagle, osprey, or Turkey Vulture swooping down to grab its meal as a fish jumps. It’s scenic and wild at its best, right here in the Twin Cities Gateway!

About the Rice Creek Chain

The nearly 5,300-acre Rice Creek Chain is one of two regional parks in the Twin Cities Area that offer multiple-lake paddling. According to many who paddle this north metro chain, the mix of lake and forest vegetation makes it feel like a mini-Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The other Reserve in the south metro is Lebanon Hills Park. Lebanon Hills Park is a 2,000-acre multi-lake area with only portage paths between them.

Generally, on the Rice Creek Chain, portaging is not necessary. The only exception is the occasional downed tree to circumvent, which usually happens in the spring. This rustic North Metro reserve has a water trail wandering through several lakes before reaching Rice Creek. Rice Creek is a more challenging, less-traveled stretch that flows south to Long Lake. From there, it heads to the Mississippi River.

Paddlers who want a more extended trip can follow Rice Creek out the northwest corner of Long Lake in New Brighton. The creek flows to the Mississippi River at Manomin Park in Fridley. The complete paddle from the Lake Peltier boat ramp in the Rice Creek Reserve to the Mississippi River is about 22 miles.

Rice Creek Reserve rents equipment

Wargo Nature Center is the place for canoe, kayak, and life jacket rentals. Located on George Watch Lake, rentals can also be used on Peltier, Marshan, Rice, and Reshanau Lakes. Paddle craft rentals are available May through September, during regular hours. Here is their website for rental prices and times: https://www.anokacounty.us/874/Recreational-Rental-Equipment. Call 651-429-8007 to check watercraft availability, lake temperatures, and water levels.

For those who want to use their canoes or kayaks in the Reserve, paddling access points include Rice Creek crossings near: Hodgson Road, Lexington Avenue, County Road I, and County Road J.

In the winter, the Wargo Nature Center rents snowshoes for those who want to explore the park in a colder season.

Bike Pic July 31, Yeah its Friday on the MRT

This bike pic Friday, enjoy miles of bike smiles riding the Mississippi River Trail (MRT), taking the Highway 169 bridge loop into Anoka, MN. Across the river find a trail system with over 200 miles through the Twin Cities Gateway.

View all the fun ideas and bike destinations in the latest Iowa Bike Guide or the Minnesota Bike/Hike edition. Then plan your next outing with family and friends at one of the HaveFunBiking Destinations

Thanks for viewing our Bike Pic Friday

Now rolling into our 15th year as a bicycle tourism media source, our goal is to continue to encourage more people to bike, while showcasing unforgettable places to ride. As HFB searches and presents more fun cycling related photos, worth a grin, scroll through the information and stories we have posted that may help you Find Your Next Adventure. Then, while out there if you see us along a paved or mountain bike trail, next to the route you regularly commute on, or at an event you plan to attend, be prepared to smile. You never know where our cameras will be and what we will post next!

Do you have a fun bicycle related photo of yourself or someone you know that you would like to see us post? If so, please send it our way and we may use it. Send your picture(s) to [email protected] with a brief caption (of each), including who is in the photo (if you know?) and where it was taken. Photo(s) should be a minimum of 800 pixels wide or larger for us to consider using them. If we do use your photo, you will receive photo credit and an acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

As HaveFunBiking continues to encourage more people to ride, please reference our blog and the annual print and quarterly digital Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide to Find Your Next Adventure. We are proud of the updated At-a-Glance information and maps we are known for at the HFB Destination section on our website and in the guide. Now, as the Guide goes into its seventh year of production, we are adding a whole new dimension of information, now available for mobile devices.

So bookmark HaveFunBiking.com and find your next adventure – we may capture you in one of the next photos we post.

Have a great day!

A Minnesota fall bike/birding hotspot in the Twin Cities Gateway to enjoy

As fall approaches and many of the migratory birds are starting to gather for their departure south on the flyway we wanted to share a few bike/birding hotspots we found in the north Twin Cities Metro Area. While ground-truthing a few bike maps in the Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide we noticed some migratory wildlife haunts perfect for viewing the fall migration that you may want to check out along the paved bike trails.

As migratory birds start gather for their departure south on the flyway this fall.

As migratory birds start to gather for their departure south on the flyway this fall.

An area once inhabited by Dakota and Ojibwe tribes, today the nine communities in the Gateway offer excellent viewing opportunities in the parks along its lakes and the Mississippi River. These parks provide nature enthusiasts with several places to enjoy bird watching. Why here? From these areas alone you are able to spot an impressive list of waterfowl, along with hawks and songbirds that are still around. Starting with many spots along the Mississippi River Trail (MRT), the Rice Creek Trail and the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary (BWS) check all the Important Birding Areas (IBA) out:

Bike/birding hotspots along the Mississippi River

The Mississippi River, north of Minneapolis, is an important IBA waterfowl area that is adjacent to floodplains areas easily accessible to the MRT bike trails passing through Anoka, Coon Rapids and Fridley. This IBA area also connects to the Rice Creek corridor and its adjacent floodplain on public lands. With the bike trail following the stream, it flows out of the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes, near Lino Lakes, towards the Mississippi where you will find many birding opportunities. According to the National Audubon Society website this IBA lies within an area that has a very high population density and an area that is one of the fastest-growing areas in the Twin Cities area.

A viewing spot on the Mississippi River Trail near the Coon Rapids Dam.

The Mississippi Flyway is not only a tremendously important flyway for waterfowl, but it also attracts raptors and other migratory birds. Warblers can be seen in abundance along the river because of its rich source of insects during both the spring and fall migrations.

Bike/birding hotspots along the Rice Creek Trail

A group of birders set up viewing along the Rice Creek Trail.

The Rice Creek IBA is another Important Birding Area and consists of two parts: The Ramsey County Open Space, also known as Arden Hills Army Training Site (AHATS) and Rice Creek North. This stretch, you will find sizeable populations of birds and other animals in a supported variety of marsh, grassland, and wooded habitats. See the National Audubon Society website on this northeast section of the Rice Creek flowage.

The Blaine Wetland Sanctuary

Back in the center of the Twin Cities Gateway, the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary (BWS) offers over 500 acres of wetland and upland habitat for viewing. A boardwalk through the sanctuary, extended from a parking area connects the existing paved trail to East Lake Park. Walk or ride your bike, with viewing equipment, along with the boardwalk and trail.

For more information on these birding hotspots and others, contact Ramsey County Parks and Recreation Department at (651) 748-2500 or see www.co.ramsey.mn.us/parks for more information.

Nearby places to stay and connect to the trails while birding, see these Twin Cities Gateway lodging properties. For maps showing bike trail access from your selected hotel, check here.

Have Fun!

A Mississippi River Trail bike loop in one of our National Parks

An experience you are sure to want share is biking along Ol’ Man River. Ol’ Man River is a National Park treasure you will discover while visiting the Twin Cities Gateway. If you are new to the Mississippi River Trail (MRT) system, this segment of the trail offers the perfect round-the-river bike loop with a 13 and 26-mile option. This is a great choice for nature lovers and families alike showcasing some of the best the river has to offer.

MRT Loop a part of the Mississippi River Recreation Area

In the middle of a bustling Minnesota urban setting is the scenic MRT. MRT is a part of the 72-mile Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, managed by the National Park Service (NSP). The trail starts in the historic downtown area of Anoka (a Gateway City at the point where the Rum and Mississippi Rivers meet). Here, cyclists can consider a number of unique eating establishments, before or after their ride.

Touring this MRT Loop offers a chance to pedal through several parks, a national wildlife refuge, and along city streets. These streets are filled with stunning homes with beautiful landscapes. Beginning in historic downtown Anoka, the suggested route takes the East MRT Trail along the quiet city streets there. You will pass through the historic Christian Hill and McCauley’s Pond neighborhoods. Soon riders are cruising along a trail that parallels the local boulevard in the Gateway City of Coon Rapids. Then, along Mississippi Boulevard, a low traffic street that takes you to the Coon Rapids Dam, your first river crossing option.

Bike riding the Mississippi River Trail, in Twin Cities Gateway community of Coon Rapid, MN.

Coon Rapids Dam makes the perfect place for a picnic

Here, seven miles into the ride, you will find the perfect place to bring a picnic lunch or cross over the river, for the 14-mile loop. The dam, built in the early 1900’s, today offers some of the best bird watching in the Twin Cities Metro Area. The 446-acre park boasts an extensive trail system. This is great for bicyclists, roller-bladders, and hikers alike.

For those riding the 26-mile loop, continue along the MRT‘s East bank trail. You will be riding from one river community neighborhood to the next. Soon you are in the Gateway City of Fridley. This is the halfway point of your ride where you will head North after crossing the I-694/Mississippi River Bridge crossing. Now, on the West bank, the MRT takes you back up to the Coon Rapids Dam. Then, the trail continues up to Champlin, where the Loop crosses Hwy 169/Bridge into Anoka.

For more information on the MRT and the Twin Cities Gateway, click here.

Bike Pic May 25, running errands along the Twin Cities Gateway

A bike friendly commute along the streets of the Twin Cities Gateway. Here this bicyclist is running errands going from Anoka to Coon Rapids, MN.

See many more bike friendly places to ride and explore in the new Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide.

Thanks for viewing the Bike Pic of the Day here at HaveFunBiking (HFB).

Now rolling into our 10th year as a bicycle tourism media source, our goal is to continue to encourage more people to bike, while showcasing unforgettable places to ride. As HFB searches and presents more fun cycling related photos, worth a grin, scroll through the information and stories we have posted that may help you Find Your Next Adventure. Then, while out there if you see us along a paved or mountain bike trail, next to the route you regularly commute on, or at an event you plan to attend, be prepared to smile. You never know where our cameras will be and what we will post next!

Do you have a fun bicycle related photo of yourself or someone you know that you would like to see us post? If so, please send it our way and we may use it. Send your picture(s) to: [email protected] with a brief caption (of each), including who is in the photo (if you know?) and where it was taken. Photo(s) should be a minimum of 800 pixels wide or larger for us to consider using them. If we do use your photo, you will receive photo credit and an acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

So bookmark HaveFunBiking.com and find your next adventure – we may capture you in one of the next photos we post.

Have a great day!