Rice Creek trail link in Anoka County officially opens ...

A key link connecting several regional trails in the north suburbs was unveiled Wednesday afternoon.

Anoka County Parks and Recreation officials will celebrate completion of a $2 million addition to the Rice Creek North Regional Trail with a grand opening ceremony at the Chain of Lakes YMCA in Lino Lakes.

The nearly four-mile extension stretches from the Lino Lakes Town Center through the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Park Reserve and south to Baldwin Lake Park.

It is "the missing link" that will connect trails in that section of Anoka County with those in nearby Washington and Ramsey counties, said Jennifer Fink, marketing and visitors services manager for Anoka County Parks and Recreation.

The project was funded with a $1.05 million federal grant from the Regional Transportation Advisory Board and $950,000 in Metropolitan Council Regional Park grants. With the trail cutting through high-traffic areas near County Road 23, officials believe it could have an added benefit beyond exercise.

"We want to highlight that it is almost as quick to bike the area (as) it is to drive with all the stoplights" on nearby streets, Fink said.

The new paved section winds through woods and marshes as its passes several lakes in the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes. There is a 300-foot boardwalk north of Rice Lake Elementary School and a 100-foot bridge over Rice Creek near Chomonix Golf Course, considered the crown jewel of the project.

Construction barricades were removed last

week from the trail, which already has started to draw bikers and walkers.

Bruce Emerson, 49, of Lino Lakes and Jim Eaton, 57, of Centerville were biking the trail Tuesday and happy for the investments into the community.

"I love it," said Emerson, a frequent biker and user of older trails nearby. "I wouldn't mind them putting another 10 miles in."

Eaton appreciates having new black-top trails to travel and the new bridges, especially the one over Rice Creek.

"It's great. It's wide and sturdy," Eaton said. "It looks like it'll last a long time."

Use of the Rice Creek North Regional Trail is free.

Chris Harrell can be reached at 651-228-5116.

Source: http://www.twincities.com/outdoors/ci_18274724?source=rss

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