Hello there! My name is Owen and I wanted to have a place where people can collectively report on cycling conditions in the Twin Cities metro without having to rely on social media. My main focus has been protected bicycle infrastructure.
How will this work?
The way this works is (at least for now, until I come up with a more sophisticated way to do this) to manually update the embedded map you see below. On this map, you should be able to see sections of bike trail that are bold. These lines will be thicker than the rest, and if you click on these segments it should give a trail status. I will also put text below in case you don't want to navigate the map.
Lastly, keep in mind that these are opinions of myself and the people submitting. Based on the bikes people have or their comfort level, these subjective descriptions might clash another's experience.
The map will be cleared after heavy snowfall.
On this page, I will remove the segments from the embedded map if we get over 2 inches of snowfall. The reason I picked that number is because that is the threshold at which the MPRB starts plowing, and it will take time for everyone else to plow as well. I will make a note in the "Reports" section that a snow event occurred (based on how much snow we get), but I will keep the written reports. Part of my reasoning behind this is that, reports from before the snow event will not be particularly useful. Reach out to me if you have a different view, I want to make this site as useful as possible!
Suggestions for submitting
Tell me about your bike. Tire size, tire width, and whether or not you have studs are the most important.
Describe your route. This can be in any form, whether it be a screenshot of your route mapped out, a Strava link, a Ride with GPS link, or you can just type it out to me. For example, if you say, "I took Mississippi River Blvd from Marshall Ave to Pelham Blvd, and I turned at Franklin. The conditions were .....", that is okay with me. It doesn't have to be detailed either, if you don't have time, just tell me the longest parts of your ride. I understand not everyone wants to describe everything in detail!
Green lines on the map represent bike trails that are fully plowed.
Orange lines on the map represent bike trails that are partially plowed. This will color mostly be used when the trail was plowed at some point, but the ride quality has gotten worse (subjective). For example, if it snowed just enough to not plow again and it's all slippery/bumpy, or if wake from the street plow throws a bunch of chunks on the trail, or if a painted bike lane is unusable.
Yellow lines on the map represent bike trails that are unplowed.
How do I contact you to update this website?
Just like the good old days, send me an email. I will work to update this site quickly. Email me at mspwintercycle@gmail.com. If you have any suggestions on how to improve this website, please let me know! Obviously having something more automated would be nice, but that seemed like a lot of work, and I wanted to get something up and running.
Can I report something that isn't a bike path/off street bike facility?
If you want to, of course. In my experience, painted bike lanes often become treacherous in the winter with a combination of slush, ice, and compacted snow. During snow events, however, roads usually get plowed first, so that information could be useful!
I have had better success with plowing on "bicycle boulevards," such as 40th St (RiverLake Greenway). Information on these roads throughout the Twin Cities (usually they have "BLVD" painted on the asphalt) would be helpful in my opinion.
How do you handle privacy?
I would encourage everyone submitting information to me to keep in mind this website is public. I won't include names of people who send things to me, and feel free to omit any part of your ride that could identify where you live. Since I don't know that information and will upload what you send me, just be mindful.
From 1st Ave S to 5th Ave S Bike lane on 28th St is plowed and salted. Clear with little snow.
Lake St E Bikeway
From Hiawatha Ave S to Snelling Ave Bike path is plowed and salted - Clear with little snow.
21st Ave S
From 32nd St to 28th St Thin layer of slush on this road. Feels okay on 38mm/30mm studs, but steer clear of the curb because of deeper slush.
38th St
Between West River Pkwy and Hiawatha Ave Bike lane is completely gone and the road has a light layer of slush. Surrounding side streets that aren't main roads like this one are even more slushy and mushy than here. Since there was little slush on 38th St, however, I felt confident riding with 38mm/30mm studded tires.
42nd St
Between West River Pkwy and Hiawatha Ave Riding on the road for this segment. Road is not fully plowed, but riding in the tire tracks is adequate. The unplowed snow is mushy.
Hiawatha LRT Trail
From 38th St to Lake St Snow is starting to build up on this trail, but it is still rideable with 38mm/30mm studded tires. Snow depth at 9am now is about a 0.2 inch.
Lake St to Sabo Bridge Plowed, light snow covering it. No slipping on 38mm/30mm tires. Not as wide as normal because of snow blowing from the side, but usable.
Lake Nokomis-Minnesota River Regional Trail
From Richfield Pkwy to Lake Nokomis Pkwy Well plowed, with a couple of uneven spots where the snow is deep (like under the MN-77 bridge). Parts of it, especially from 66th to Lake Nokomis Pkwy, are salted. So I barely saw any snow there at all. I didn't bike on it for long, but 76th St looked plowed looking the other direction.
West Lake Nokomis Pkwy
From southern entrance at Cedar Ave to 22nd Ave S The plowing that was done earlier this week has been snowed on, walked on, and it isn't very good. It felt slippery and bumpy the whole time. This would best be conquered on a fat tire bike, which I don't have. My 38mm/30mm studded tires were tough for this.
East Minnehaha Pkwy
From 22nd Ave S to Lake Hiawatha Packed snow and well plowed. Feels like it was done today, on 38mm/30mm studded tires I felt confident on this portion. A few spots on the minnehaha creek trail intersected with bridges that were unplowed, but for the most part, good.
Minnehaha Creek Trail
From Lake Hiawatha to Godfrey Pkwy Packed snow and well plowed. Feels like it was done today, on 38mm/30mm studded tires I felt confident on this portion. A few spots on the minnehaha creek trail intersected with bridges that were unplowed, but for the most part, good.
Midtown Greenway
From Hiawatha Ave to I-35W Plowed today, light layer of snow. Felt safe on 38mm/30mm studded tires, no slipping. A couple of uneven places where the snow is slightly deeper, like around Midtown Exchange, but it never felt sketchy. Well done! Looked plowed further down the greenway as well, but I didn’t go there.
Sabo Bridge Sabo bridge is not fully plowed. Slippery on 38mm/30mm studded tires. Remnants of an old plowing job.
1st Ave S Bikeway
From Lake St to 15th St Plowed today, salted in some places where no snow was present. Didnt see ice and didn’t slip on 38mm/30mm tires. However, past 26th St, a couple of residents threw their sidewalk snow into the bikeway. Close to MCAD, a couple of those driveways had a lot of slushy snow that were fine right now (easy ride through), but I worry about that freezing later. Most intersections were good, no big snow drifts I can recall.
Godfrey Pkwy
From Minnehaha Ave to 46th St Packed snow and well plowed. Feels like it was done today, on 38mm/30mm studded tires I felt confident on this portion. A few spots on the minnehaha creek trail intersected with bridges that were unplowed, but for the most part, good.
West River Pkwy
From 46th St to 38th St Leftover plowing job earlier this week is getting worse, unfortunately. I biked in the tracks of a few fat tire bikers in my 38mm/30mm studded tires. It was better packed than Nokomis, but my rear wheel was slipping a little.
Minnehaha Ave
From Lake St to 38th St Car tire tracks are clear on this road, but the bike lane is unusable. Full of slush and ice.
29th Ave NE
From Stinson Blvd to Central Ave Clear and doable on normal bike tires.
37th Ave NE
From Stinson Blvd to Central Ave Clear and doable on normal bike tires.
2025-12-4
Hennepin Ave NE & 1st Ave NE Bikeway
29x2.4" tire (unicycle) plowed, but there are big patches of ice + packed snow basically along the whole route. There aren't any notable patches of pure ice, as all the ice I've noticed has some packed snow on top or mingled in. You will be riding over some bumpy packed snow with the occasional stretches of exposed pavement.
West River Pkwy
from Hennepin Ave to Cedar Lake Trail 29x2.4" tire (unicycle) plowed, but there are big patches of ice + packed snow basically along the whole route. There aren't any notable patches of pure ice, as all the ice I've noticed has some packed snow on top or mingled in. You will be riding over some bumpy packed snow with the occasional stretches of exposed pavement.
Cedar Lake Trail
from west river pkwy to Target Field 29x2.4" tire (unicycle) plowed, but there are big patches of ice + packed snow basically along the whole route. There aren't any notable patches of pure ice, as all the ice I've noticed has some packed snow on top or mingled in. You will be riding over some bumpy packed snow with the occasional stretches of exposed pavement.
2025-12-3
35E Parkway
well plowed, packed snow. crosswalks were mostly plowed. however, the parts where you share the road, the st. paul roads are mushy and i didnt always feel stable on the side streets. i opted to take the sidewalk in some of these parts.
Ayd Mill Road Bikeway
exited at Ashland Ave well plowed, however some parts were uneven. some snow did not feel well packed, which just resulted in more effort for me, i personally did not feel unstable on my 30mm studded tires.
West River Pkwy
Lake St to Minnehaha Falls well plowed packed snow. Some patches of ice here and there
2025-12-1
Capitol City Bikeway
7th to Kellogg on Jackson, Sibley to Wabasha on Kellogg well plowed, not much snow on this trail.
Wabasha Bridge
Clear of snow
Plato Blvd
Wabasha to Doctor Justus Ohage Blvd well plowed packed snow, little ice
Lilydale Regional Park Trail
well plowed packed snow, little ice. some uneven plowing spots where the trail becomes uneven, but felt safe and manageable on 30mm studded tires.
Big Rivers Regional Trail
Lilydale to Mendota Bridge well plowed packed snow, little ice. trail is smooth and didnt notice much uneven plowing.
Minnehaha Trail
Fort Snelling State Park to 54th St Unplowed, and will remain unplowed for the season.
54th St to Gofrey Pkwy well plowed packed snow, with serviceable crosswalks.
Hiawatha MnDOT Trail
Fort Snelling to South Minnehaha Park Drive plowed, but somewhat uneven. There is a strip in the middle of the trail from when the plows came through that can be annoying. Didn't notice much ice here, but felt fine on 30mm studded tires.
2025-11-30
Hiawatha LRT Trail
11th Ave S to 46th St StationPlowed, but uneven at some points and has ice patches. South of Lake St, I noticed one side of the trail had slightly deeper snow than the other. It didn't feel unsafe, but it felt like I was putting more effort in than normally packed snow. I thought it was okay on 30mm studded tires. North of Lake St, the snow depth felt more consistent but there were still ice patches throughout the trail.
11th Ave S Bikeway
W River Pkwy to Hiawatha LRT Trail plowed and slightly packed, however, some crosswalks were not well plowed and had to get over a snow bank at a couple places.
Midtown Greenway
Hiawatha to Dean PkwyA mix of bare pavement, ice, and snow. Stay alert on this trail especially since it gets more traffic than average, I noticed pretty frequent ice patches. Overall good on 30mm studded tires.
North Cedar Lake Regional Trail
Cedar Lake Pkwy to Virginia AveWell plowed packed snow, I felt safe on 30mm studded tires and did not notice too much ice.