There is a moment, somewhere around the Lyndale Avenue underpass, where the city noise drops away and you find yourself gliding through a sunken corridor of murals, wildflowers, and fellow travelers moving at their own happy pace. That moment is the Midtown Greenway, and once you experience it, you will understand why Minneapolis locals treat this trail like a civic treasure.
Stretching nearly five and a half miles across the south side of Minneapolis, the Midtown Greenway runs along a former railroad corridor that was transformed into one of the most heavily used non-motorized transportation routes in the entire country. The trail cuts through a former industrial gulch, running roughly six to twelve feet below street level for much of its length, which gives it an almost secret-garden quality — you descend a ramp or slope, and suddenly you are in a world apart from the city humming above you.
The trail connects the riverfront near the Mississippi on the east end all the way out to the Chain of Lakes on the west, passing through some of Minneapolis’s most vibrant and diverse neighborhoods along the way: Longfellow, Powderhorn, Whittier, Uptown, and Lyndale. Each stretch has its own personality. Near Chicago Avenue you will notice the dense, colorful murals that local artists have painted on the retaining walls — a rolling open-air gallery that changes year to year. Further west, the corridor opens up with wider sightlines and a more park-like feel.
The trail itself is wide and well-maintained, with a dedicated lane for cyclists on the south side and a separate path for pedestrians and runners on the north. This thoughtful design keeps things moving smoothly even on a busy Saturday morning when it feels like half the city has turned out on wheels. You will see everything here: road cyclists in full kit, families on cargo bikes hauling toddlers and groceries, rollerbladers, dog walkers, and commuters in work clothes. There is no single type of Greenway user, and that mix is a big part of what makes it feel so genuinely alive.
In winter, the trail is plowed and maintained, and a small but dedicated community of cold-weather cyclists keeps it humming even when temperatures dip well below freezing. It is not unusual to see someone pedaling confidently through a February snowstorm, studded tires biting the ice, looking perfectly at ease. Minneapolis earns its reputation for toughness, and the Greenway is part of that story.
If you are visiting and want to get onto the trail without your own wheels, several bike-share stations line the route as part of the Nice Ride Minnesota and Lyft Bike network. Rentals are affordable and the app is simple to use, so there is genuinely no barrier to jumping on and exploring for a few hours.
Make a morning of it. Start at the western end near West Lake Street, where you can grab a coffee from one of the cafes just steps from the trail entrance, then head east and let the Greenway carry you across the city. Stop at the Midtown Farmers Market on Saturdays if you happen to be there between May and October — it sits right alongside the trail near 22nd Avenue and is one of the most community-centered markets in the Twin Cities. By the time you reach the east end near the river, you will have crossed an entire swath of Minneapolis and felt it in the best possible way: from the inside out, at human speed, in the open air.
The Midtown Greenway is free, open year-round, and accessible at dozens of street crossings along its length. It is the kind of place that reminds you what a city can do when it decides to invest in how people actually want to move through it. Come ride it once and you will be planning your return before you even get back to your hotel.
