Quiet trails on open prairies

Elm Creek has long had a fairly extensive trail system. It's winter trails are famous for good grooming and provide one of the best 5K lighted loops in the area.

The Elm Creek asphalt trail system is really broken into two halves: the southern loop, and the northern loop. The southern loop is comprised of much older asphalt that is very cracked and worn. It's a bumpy experience at the least, and downright dangerous in some cases. Hennepin Parks has the southern loop trails targeted for repaving, but funding problems have delayed the project.

Broken and cracked asphalt on the southern loop

The northern loop is well worth the drive. The asphalt is some of the best in the metro, ultra-smooth with not a crack to be found, even though it was laid down a number of years ago. In addition, the asphalt is much less temperature sensititive -- the new asphalt at Hyland softens easily at temperatures above 80, while Elm Creek holds firm even in very hot conditions.

One of the other great features of the Elm Creek trails is the great variety to the terrain. While there is a good share of gently rolling prairie, there are also sections through woods and a couple of decent hills to workout on.

One of the four dirt road crossings

There are only two real knocks against the Elm Creek Trail system:

1. On the northern loop, there are four dirt roads you have to cross. These roads are generally quiet, but they are gravel roads and require a slow crossing.
   
2. In order to make a full loop, you'll have to use some of the poor condition southern trails. One way to avoid this is to start up at Eastman Nature Center and simply go out and back.