Minnesota trails · Minnesota River
Minnesota River
A 299.1-mile point-to-point in Minnesota, with 248 ft of climbing. Reaches Minnesota Falls and other lake/waterfall destinations. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 46% of the ascent falls between mile 199.4 and mile 299.1. It climbs almost continuously, with little descent to recover on.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Minnesota Falls (waterfall)
- Marsh Lake (lake)
- Minnesota River Reservoir (lake)
- Blackdog Lake (lake)
- Horseshoe Lake (lake)
- Big Stone Lake-Whetstone River (lake)
- Harris Lake (lake)
- Cummings Lake (lake)
- Beason Lake (lake)
- Lac Qui Parle Reservoir (lake)
Getting there
Minnesota River access. 45.24933, -96.29255 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:14 a.m., the sun rises at 6:45 a.m. and sets at 8:04 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:35 p.m. (CDT) — 13 h 19 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 299.1-mile route works out to roughly 110 h 55 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.