Bde Maka Ska & Lake Harriet & Lake of the Isles

Description: Minneapolis has several lakes that have skateable trails around them. The best of these are Bde Maka Ska and Lake Harriet. Each has a one-way skating/biking path and a separate pedestrian path. Both lakes are conveniently located in a trendy area just southwest of downtown Minneapolis. These lakes are THE PLACE for skaters to be seen. There are many other activities on and around the lakes such as picnics, people-watching, canoeing, sailing, wind-surfing, volleyball and much more.

Meeting location: We meet in the parking lot for the Lake Calhoun Executive Center at 3033 Excelsior Blvd. Park in the corner closest to Bde Maka Ska (farthest from Excelsior Blvd). 3033 Excelsior Blvd Minneapolis, MN 55416

Getting there:Take Hwy 100 south from I-394, or north from I-494, to Hwys 7 and 25 (7 goes west, 25 goes east). Go east on Hwy 25 about 1.4 miles to Market Plaza. Turn right, go 1 block and cross Excelsior Blvd. The parking lot is on the left just past the intersection.

--OR--

Take Lyndale Ave south from Franklin Ave, or north from 50th St, to Lake St. and turn west. After going around the north end of Bde Maka Ska, Lake St. branches to the right and Excelsior Blvd branches to the left. Bear left onto Excelsior Blvd, go about 1 block to the stoplight at Market Plaza. Turn left and into the parking lot on the left.

Length: Lake Calhoun has a 3.1 mile loop and Lake Harriet is 2.8 miles around. The direction of travel on both is clockwise.

Other nearby trails: Immediately north of Bde Maka Ska is Lake of the Isles and that, in turn, connects to Cedar Lake. The Cedar Lake trail follows the west shoreline. Lake of the Isles has a complete loop (see separate review). The Midtown Greenway trail runs north of Lake Street, and can be accessed via Dean Parkway or the parkway east of Bde Maka Ska.