Victoria, Carver County • No park pass needed
The Lay of the Land
Carver Park Reserve offers beautiful and varied terrain for bikers. Plenty of forest, plenty of restored prairie, plenty of rolling hills, and plenty of lake and wetland views.
You can access the nine miles of paved multi-use trails from several different roads and parking areas. You can even bike over on the Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail on the east side of the Reserve. (Here’s the map)
So far there aren’t any fat bike trails maintained during the snowy months. If this becomes a favorite biking destination of yours, let the Three Rivers Park District know you’d like to have some fat biking developed here!
Sharing the Trails
As I mentioned, the trails are multi-use. Since Carver Park Reserve also offers 5 miles of great natural-surface trails for foot traffic only, you may not have to compete with many hikers. But dog walkers are a different story.
Dogs aren’t allowed on the natural surface trails by Lowry Nature Center. So don’t be surprised if you encounter them on the paved trails—and for that reason, be cautious rounding corners and hills.
You’ll also be crossing a few horse trails on the west side of the Reserve, so just be aware. Riders appreciate it if you slow down at these trail crossings.
Other Activities at Carver Park Reserve
Carver Park Reserve hosts Lake Auburn Campground with a swimming beach. Bring your bike(s) along on your camping trip and you can access the trails right from the campground.
Lake Auburn also offers nice kayaking and canoeing, with rentals right there at the swimming beach. If you have your own boat you can head over to Zumbra or Steiger Lake, too.
You can even make a bike camping trip out of it by taking advantage of the bike-in-only campsite. It’s quite private, surrounded by lots of shade trees.
Historic Grimm Farm is also on the property. You may want to include that as a destination, too.
As already mentioned, there’s plenty of hiking at Carver, both on paved and unpaved trails. And in the winter months the park grooms 11 miles of cross country ski trails and has 4 miles of snowshoe trails.
How to Get There
Carver Park Reserve is sandwiched between Highway 7 and Highway 5 in Victoria. Highway 11 bisects the Reserve and gives you access to all the parking areas and other features.
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Here’s more…
- Hiking & Trail Running in Carver Park Reserve
- Bike Trails in Carver County
- Bike Rentals in the Twin Cities
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