Minneapolis / St. Paul Metro Area Riders

[pfred]

Just curious on exploring the rivers in and around the MSP area (Minnesota / Mississippi / St.Croix).

The lilydale boat ramp (other than full of creepy men in their 70's) is an easy drop in point for me with access to both the minnesota and mississippi.

Came across the mendota bridge today and thought it would be kinda cool to be bombing around the river on a ski..

Been down on the minnesota (near black dog) in my duck boat, and it was pretty smooth and quiet.

[pro1200]

The rivers and Lake Minnetonka are the only places I ride. My daughter and I are on the St. Croix just about every Saturday. We launch out of Hastings at the public launch. The Lilydale launch is perfect because there is always parking available. I ride alone a lot and the only disadvantage is finding a place to put the boat while I park the truck. The Minnesota is a great place to ride too. I use the launch in Bloomington at the end of Lyndale Avenue. If the water level is high enough you can cruise upstream as far as you want but it isn't very scenic.

[TuningForkMarine]

i work in shakopee, and i found the shakopee bridge downtown has a loading ramp that drops right in the MN river.... looking forward to riding my conversion out there some time

[pfred]

Launched at ft Snelling today. Had a good ride into St. Paul then back down the minnesota.

Other than watching for huge logs in the middle of the river it was a great ride.

[leftie712]

Launched at ft Snelling today. Had a good ride into St. Paul then back down the minnesota.

Other than watching for huge logs in the middle of the river it was a great ride.

Next time you are going would love to join you if you don't mind. I am looking to just go ride instead of pulling tubs all summer
I live in Cottage Grove and have '12 RXT.

[pfred]

Nice. Will let you know. Let's think about later July.

[jay2a8]

I start off at the ramp under 35W on the Minnesota river. Nice quiet area. I've ran up river past Valley Fair about 10 miles. Make sure the river is up if you go any further.

Another great place is lake Superior. Check us out. https://www.facebook.com/jetskilakesuperior/?ref=hl

[pfred]

Has anyone done Hudson to Red Wing?

[leftie712]

I have done Prescott to Hudson and Afton to Stillwater.

[pro1200]

Has anyone done Hudson to Red Wing?

I have, many, many times. The problem with this stretch is the lock just outside of Red Wing. It can be very busy so a person could wait for an hour or more to get locked through. If the water levels are very high, we bypass the lock by taking the Vermillion river which parallels the Mississippi. It can be littered with debris so caution is needed. If we want to ride Lake Pepin we trailer to the public launch in Red Wing and ride from there. This is a beautiful stretch of river.