The Dakota Rail Trail runs 20 miles (32 km) from Wayzata

Wayzata, Minnesota

Wayzata is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, a western suburb of Minneapolis. Wayzata came into existence in the center of Chief Shakopee's Indian village.-Early settlement:...

 to Mayer, Minnesota

Mayer, Minnesota

Mayer is a city in Carver County, Minnesota, along the South Fork of the Crow River. The population was 1,749 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...

. Along the way it runs through the towns of Spring Park

Spring Park, Minnesota

Spring Park is a settlement on Lake Minnetonka in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,669 at the 2010 census. It is located on Lake Minnetonka and has over of shoreline while being less than in area. It was incorporated in 1951 and at that time had a population of a...

 and St. Bonifacious. It is famous for being the first trail to connect Lake Minnetonka

Lake Minnetonka

Lake Minnetonka is a lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Throughout its recorded history, the lake has been a resort destination. It is located west-southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The lake is an irregular shape with numerous bays and islands which make up about of shoreline...

 and Lake Waconia.

History

The line was charted 1885 by James J Hill, and the St. Paul and Pacific Railway, later Great Northern Railway. It was known as the "Hutch Spur"

Great Northern merged with Northern Pacific Railway

Northern Pacific Railway

The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...

, which formed Burlington Northern Railroad

Burlington Northern Railroad

The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996....

. Burlington northern sold the line to Dakota Rail in 1985, where it operated both freight and dinner trains.

In 1995, RailAmerica

RailAmerica

RailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada....

 purchased the Dakota Rail. The last train left Hutchinson in 2001, when the line was abandoned. It was bought up by Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority, Carver County

Carver County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 70,205 people, 24,356 households, and 18,778 families residing in the county. The population density was 197 people per square mile . There were 24,883 housing units at an average density of 70 per square mile...

 and McLeod County

McLeod County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 34,898 people, 13,449 households, and 9,427 families residing in the county. The population density was 71 people per square mile . There were 14,087 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...

.

Hennepin County

In 2008, Hennepin County

Hennepin County, Minnesota

Hennepin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. As of 2010 the population was 1,152,425. Its county seat is Minneapolis. It is by far the most populous county in Minnesota; more than one in five Minnesotans live...

(Three Rivers Park District) began building the Dakota Rail Trail,

Carver County

In spring 2010, Carver County began a section from St. Bonifacious to Mayer. This section runs 7 miles. It officially opened May 21, 2011.

Carver County will extend the trail in 2012 from Mayer MN, west through New Germany MN to the Carver/McLeod County Line.

The former railroad property runs west to Hutchinson MN, but plans are not known at this time for the future trail development west of Carver County.

Bridges

Perhaps the most loved bridge is the bridge over Crystal Bay in Minnetonka Beach, nicknamed the Arcola Trestle.

It consists of several spans of trestles with 2 Through Plate Girder sections.

Another popular one is the Seton Channel Bridge in Spring Park.

It is similar to the Arcola Trestle, only there is 1 Through Plate Girder Section.

A couple more are:

• Tanger Lake Trestle, Orono
• Lake Waconia Trestle (Burlington Northern Bridge #40.3),Lake Waconia