Anoka County seeks state help to finish Rice Creek North Regional Trail

The County Board will ask lawmakers to approve $6.7 million in spending to help with the project.

January 5, 2024 at 12:00PM
A bridge along the Rice Creek North Regional Trail, pictured in April 2020. (David Joles, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Anoka County Parks Department is planning to build the last remaining gap along Rice Creek North Regional Trail in Circle Pines this summer, pending support from the state Legislature.

The Anoka County Board on Tuesday approved a resolution to ask lawmakers for $6.7 million to complete the missing 1 12 -mile segment between Golden Lake Elementary School and the south end of Baldwin Park.

"It's a very vital link to the contiguous network that can take you to Duluth or the Gulf of Mexico" said Anoka County Parks Director Jeff Perry.

The trail would include two bridges across Rice Creek, several hundred feet of boardwalk and a 10-foot wide asphalt path along the rest of the trail. When finished, bicyclists and pedestrians would have seamless access to the Mississippi Regional Trail and trails within the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes in Anoka County with connections to trails in Washington and Ramsey counties.

Members of the Senate Capital Investment Committee are expected to visit the project site on Jan. 17, Perry said.

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about the writer

Tim Harlow

Reporter

Tim Harlow covers traffic and transportation issues in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and likes to get out of the office, even during rush hour. He also covers the suburbs in northern Hennepin and all of Anoka counties, plus breaking news and weather. 

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