For over a decade, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) has worked with public and private partners to build the Minnehaha Creek Greenway, a series of interconnected projects in Hopkins and St. Louis Park that create a linear park along what was the most degraded stretch of Minnehaha Creek.
Through catalytic partnerships and high-impact projects, the Greenway has become one of the largest urban stream restorations in the Twin Cities Metro Area, improving regional water quality, increasing natural flood storage, and expanding greenspace along the Creek.
Greenway to Cedar Trail Connection & Streambank Restoration Public Meeting
After more than a decade of advancing projects in the Minnehaha Creek Greenway to restore this industrial corridor, MCWD and our city and county partners are linking the two ends of Greenway investments. Once complete, the Greenway to Cedar Trail Connection will stitch together over 100 acres of continuous greenspace in St. Louis Park and Hopkins, enhancing connections between the area’s parks and open spaces.
MCWD is partnering with the City of St. Louis Park to construct a 1,000-foot paved trail connection from the Minnehaha Creek Preserve and Methodist Hospital to the Cedar Lake LRT Regional Trail. Supported in part by funding from the Hennepin County Southwest Community Works program, this new connection will improve access to the Greenway, as well as regional trail and transit systems.
With a connection point on the Cedar Regional Trail, this project will:
- create a continuous pedestrian network from Blake Road to Excelsior Boulevard
- expand access to the Greenway for the 1 million annual trail users
- put approximately 3,000 units of housing within a 10-minute walk of the Greenway and regional transportation system
Nearby residents will be able to more easily utilize the Cedar Regional Trail—which stretches from Minneapolis to Hopkins and connects to other Three Rivers Park District trails—and Green Line Extension Light Rail stations.
In addition to the trail connection, MCWD will restore streambank along Minnehaha Creek, where possible, to improve ecological integrity through this stretch of the Creek.
The project has reached 60% design, and MCWD and the City are holding a public open house on September 30, 2025, to provide information on the project’s design and answer questions from the community. Project design is expected to be finalized later this Fall and construction is planned for 2026.
also in this update
- Building the Gateway to the Greenway
- A Vision of Balanced Urban Ecology at 325 Blake Road