How far can you walk west from Wayzata on the Dakota Rail Trail in January before you hit a fence? For most of the trail's history the answer depended on snow. This winter it depends on two utility projects. One closes the trail west of downtown Mound and the other closes a stretch in Orono. Neither has a posted detour, so the winter trail around the lake comes down to the plowed stretch in between.
Two Projects, Both at the Ends
The Three Rivers Park District's Dakota Rail page lists two closures for fall and winter 2026–27.
The western closure covers about 2.5 miles between Shoreline Drive in Mound and Westonka Recreation Park in Minnetrista, past Gale Woods Farm. It began October 15 and runs through the end of February so Xcel Energy can replace the high-voltage transmission line that runs alongside the trail. A MISO regional planning register lists the work as "Rebuild 0735 St Bonifacius to Mound" and names the age and condition of the existing line as the reason for it.
The eastern closure covers about two miles in Orono, from North Shore Drive to Orono Orchard Road. It runs December 1 through March 31 while Metropolitan Council Environmental Services installs a new sewer line, and the disturbed sections will be repaved as part of the project. Met Council calls it the Orono Sewer Improvements, Project 802897. The new regional pipe starts at lift station L59 on Lilac Lane, follows Old Crystal Bay Road, North Shore Drive and Brown Road, and then joins the trail near Brown Road and Lakeview Avenue on its way to Orono Orchard Road.
Three Rivers says the trail stays open between the two closed sections, but neither closure gets a posted detour. The district scheduled both projects for fall and winter because trail use drops sharply in the cold months. That reasoning holds for summer cyclists. People who walk the trail through the winter feel the closures most.
The Season, Week by Week
A third, smaller closure is already in place. Hennepin County closed the Dakota Rail crossing at Commerce Boulevard in Mound on October 5 to rebuild the pedestrian ramps to ADA standards. The county expects the road closure to last "October 5 through early November." Unlike the two longer closures, this one has a posted detour map.
| Dates | Where | What's happening | Detour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 5 through early November | Commerce Boulevard crossing, Mound | Hennepin County ramp upgrades | Posted |
| Oct 15 through end of February | Shoreline Drive in Mound to Westonka Recreation Park, Minnetrista | Xcel transmission line replacement | None |
| Mid-November through March | Minnetonka Beach, Mound from County Road 110 to Seton Channel, Spring Park, Wayzata, Orono | Winter plowing | Not applicable |
| Dec 1 through March 31 | North Shore Drive to Orono Orchard Road, Orono | Met Council sewer line | None |
On the day this post publishes, two closures are in effect: the Commerce Boulevard crossing and the western stretch. The Orono closure starts about a month later.
Plowed and Closed in the Same Town
Three Rivers maintains more than 100 miles of regional trail in winter, generally from mid-November through March, in partnership with local cities. On the Dakota Rail, plowing covers Minnetonka Beach, Mound from County Road 110 to Seton Channel, Spring Park, Wayzata and Orono. Other segments are not maintained.
Orono is on that plowed list, and the sewer closure falls inside Orono. Plowing usually starts in mid-November, so the Orono section gets about two weeks of plowed use before it closes on December 1, and it reopens at the end of March, about when the plowing season ends. For anyone who walks that stretch through the winter, this season's plowed miles are effectively the Wayzata end, Minnetonka Beach, Spring Park and the Mound segment ending at Seton Channel, with no posted way around the gap in Orono.
The western closure has less effect on plowing, since the section past Gale Woods Farm is outside the plowed segments anyway. Its bigger effect is on getting to the farm.
Gale Woods Farm Is a Drive This Winter
Gale Woods Farm connects directly to the Dakota Rail Trail, and the Three Rivers page lists it as a park on the route. This winter the farm sits inside the closed Xcel segment, which Three Rivers describes as running "west of downtown Mound and past Gale Woods Farm." Through February, the trail route from Mound to the farm is closed, so getting there means driving. Gale Woods is one of the trail's designated public parking areas.
The Gale Woods Farm page lists the grounds as open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. The farm store is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The farm's winter programs are listed on the Three Rivers activity calendar:
- November 9: Farm to Pantry: Herbal Infusions and Broths
- November 21, 9:30 a.m. to noon: Sheep Shearing and Holiday Gifts, registration open
- December 6: Natural Wreath Making
- December 19: Tomte Solstice Magic
- February 25, 2027: Homeschool Family: Pie Party!, currently waitlisted
The wreath session and the solstice program fall during the closure. Plan to arrive by car with time to park, not by trail.
What the Lakeside Middle Still Offers
With both ends closed, the winter trail is the plowed lakeside stretch between them, and it still has plenty of good places to stop.
At the Wayzata end, Benedict's at 845 Lake Street East is open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., which works for an early walk followed by breakfast. A few blocks away, The Grocer's Table at 326 Broadway Avenue is a market, café and wine and cocktail bar in one, with online ordering and reservations.
At the Mound end, the City of Mound's first-quarter 2026 newsletter describes Lost Lake Commons as newly renovated and reports that the city's 42nd annual tree lighting was held there. The city's tree lighting has a long history, but no date for this year's event has been published. Surfside Bar & Grill at 2544 Commerce Boulevard takes reservations, which helps on a cold evening. Until the county reopens the Commerce Boulevard crossing in early November, use the posted detour to reach it from the trail.
Three Rivers lists these designated public parking areas along the open middle and the Gale Woods end:
- Wayzata, 175 Grove Lane
- Wayzata, 3401–3465 Lyric Avenue, the municipal lot in Navarre
- Mound, 5515 Lynwood Boulevard
- Gale Woods Farm
The Navarre lot sits between the Orono closure and Mound, so after December 1 it is a good starting point for the plowed miles through Spring Park.
The Projects Run Longer Than This Season
The trail closure dates cover this winter only. The construction schedules behind them run longer.
Met Council expects the Orono sewer work to start in late 2026 and finish in spring or summer 2028. The work will be sequenced one street at a time, and the council acknowledges that this approach can stretch out the project to avoid longer disruption to neighborhoods. The council held a pre-construction community meeting at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts on North Shore Drive in September.
The Laker Pioneer reported that Xcel's Mound-to-St. Bonifacius replacement runs near the Dakota Rail Trail and Minnetrista City Hall, with construction "expected to begin this fall and continue through spring 2028." The MISO register lists an estimated in-service date of December 31, 2026, so the two schedules don't line up, possibly because they measure different parts of the work. The same Laker Pioneer article reported that Minnetrista signed a three-year lease with Xcel for a city site that will hold construction materials. City administrator Jasper Kruggel said the grading underway there should make the site more usable in the future, possibly including parking.
Neither agency has said whether the trail will close again next winter. The work along it is scheduled into 2028, though, so the closure notices on the Three Rivers page are worth checking each fall until both projects finish. The Orono closure is scheduled to end March 31, and Three Rivers says the sections disturbed by the sewer work will be repaved as part of the project.
At Turnquist Spilseth Real Estate Group, we follow projects like these because a stretch of trail, its plowing schedule and its construction calendar all shape daily life in a lake home. If you're weighing a home near the Dakota Rail corridor, from Wayzata to Mound, we can walk you through how this winter's closures and the work planned through 2028 affect the stretch you're considering.
