Back to Twin Cities Touring

Photo by Tony Webster. Creative Commons License Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en Original photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hiking_Trail_-_William_O%27Brien_State_Park,_Minnesota_(34903176251).jpg

Overview

This is among my top five choices for bikeability and a beautiful campground.

Bike Ride

Excellent ride! Much of it is on the Gateway State Trail, which is beautiful and doesn’t have many intersections.

Once you get to the end of the Gateway State Trail, the roads to the park don’t have a lot of traffic — except the final stretch after Marine on St. Croix on Highway 95. For that portion, there is an alternate route on side roads and a bike path on the west side.

Camping

Beautiful grounds right next to the St. Croix River.

Why I would go again

  • Safe bike ride.

Why I would not go again

  • There are a few closer places — such as Carver Park Reserve and Afton State Park — that have similar benefits.

Story:

This was my first-ever tour, and what an adventure it was! I had no sense of biking as far as we did — about 35 miles from my girlfriend’s in St. Paul. In addition to the incredible distance, how were we to carry our stuff, find our way, and what would we do if we got a flat. So many things were scary or challenging — like when my girlfriend nearly fell while riding very fast down a steep hill, or when we realized we brought canned food but no can opener. Not only did overcoming these challenges help me learn to become a lifelong tourer, they also taught me how to step up my commuting game. And, more significantly, I got a new sense of freedom of what I can do, what my physical limitations were, how I can live in the city without a car and enjoy the outdoors. I still feel gratitude to Penn Cycle for getting me the gear I need, and my girlfriend (we later married, then divorced, long ago) for being up for the adventure.