My bf is interviewing for a job in Minneapolis and I was wondering if there are good roads to ride around the city/outside of the city, preferably 1.5-2 hours round trip. I love riding around back country roads with some twists and nice scenic views with no traffic. One of our favorite weekend activities is riding the motorcycle out to a coffee shop and just cruising around the country roads. Is this doable in Minneapolis? Also with the weather being quite cold how many months out of the year can you realistically ride? Thanks :)

  • It's very common for riders (myself included) to go over to Hastings/Prescott and ride up and down the river area!

    parent

    Yep. Down through Welch and Redwing is a super nice ride.

    You can also cross the river and take 10(?) toward Eau Claire. There's some nice riding in the driftless region down there too.

    parent root

    noted, thanks for sharing!

    parent root

  • My route has always been to take Theodore Wirth Parkway south, then hit the chain of lakes, and come back the same way, always a beautiful, relaxing ride.

    There are plenty of lakes and a river to follow if you need some ideas! Also lots of parkways, but realistically you’re going to have to travel about 30-45 mins outside of downtown before county roads start showing up

    I try to ride between the months of April and October, but YMMV depending on how the weathers going. Always wait for consistent rain to wash all the salt off the roads before taking off in the spring!

    parent

    noted, I love water views so that seems like a nice ride! and yeah i assumed the riding season would be much shorter due to weather

    parent root

    I sometimes wish I lived in a state that I could ride year round, but I think sometimes I appreciate it more since the time I can do it is shortened, but I get both perspectives for sure

    Also note that the lane filtering and lane splitting laws here were updated recently, so lane filtering is legal and splitting is legal up to 15mph I believe? Someone correct me though if I’m wrong

    parent root

    yeah i currently live in TX and being able to ride year round is my favorite haha i knew that wasn’t possible in minneapolis but being able to ride only half the year doesn’t make me too excited

    parent root

  • Ride down southeast following the Mississippi. You enter Prescott, then at redwing either take the MN side (2 lanes) or the Wi side (1 lane).

    Around lake Minnetonka is a classic.

    Duluth and back is a good ride if you take the scenic routes.

    Here’s a list of the scenic byways. Some are good, some are just okay.

    https://www.dot.state.mn.us/scenicbyways/

    parent

    thanks for sharing that! i’ll check it out

    parent root

    What route are you taking to Duluth. I haven't made it up there on a joy ride yet so I would love to know.

    parent root

    I take 35 to Askov, then take 23 to Duluth. Then, in Duluth there’s the scenic skyway, but I’ll usually follow the north shore to two harbors and grab a beer.

    You can also head over to still water, then take 95 along the river to 35. It’s a detour, but it’s still good riding.

    parent root
  • parent

    thanks for letting me know, i’ll post it there too

    parent root

  • Between April and October yes . November though March...not so much

    parent

    that’s what i was thinking, it will be tough moving from a place we can ride year round

    parent root

  • There are parkways throughout the city that are popular for people to ride on (although I find it extremely annoying when people are on their loud motorcycles and blaring music). Otherwise, the scenic routes are along the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers. There are bluffs and windy roads. Cute river towns. Shorter ride would be up through Stillwater. Longer would be down through Red Wing.

    Edit: these areas are popular so you will have traffic during peak seasons (e.g., fall colors). But you can go earlier in the day. May-September is good weather. Sometimes April and October (weather can be all over the place).

    parent

    haha i also find that annoying, but seeing the fall colors sounds like a great ride, we usually ride in the morning so hopefully that would avoid some of the traffic

    parent root

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    parent

    thanks for the thoughts, riding is one of my favorite things to do with my bf so it’s important to me to consider that when thinking about moving, so far i’m not convinced haha

    parent root

  • I've never ridden in Texas, but someone else mentioned that the wind is a big factor here. I moved from New England and while we can have some windy days there by the coast, the Midwest wind when it's blowing is definitely something else once you get out of town. But there are lots of people who ride here, and a lot of good roads once you adjust for conditions.

    parent