Zak’s Favorite Places to Train in Minneapolis in the Summer

Hey, everyone! Zak Ketterson checking in here. Somehow, it’s already almost July. That means I have already had two months of great training here in Minneapolis with Team Birkie. The summer months are a time where I focus primarily on building up my training volume, with each month from May-August generally increasing in volume from one month to the next. We have been in a really great rhythm here in Minneapolis, and I have really enjoyed being back at a lot of my favorite places.

I wanted to write about a few of the main places we go for running, rollerskiing, and biking, and provide a few pictures of each of the places!

Favorite place to run: Hyland Lake Park Reserve

I grew up in Bloomington, only a few minutes away from Hyland Park. It is definitely my favorite place to go for runs up to two hours. The wood chip trails around Hyland Lake are a super soft surface for long runs, and it helps my legs not get so beat up as if I ran on hard dirt or pavement. It also has the added benefit of being mostly in the shade, which is really helpful for those 90 degree sunny days. Somehow, it also doesn’t have that many bugs, which is something I definitely can’t say about all of our Minnesota parks (looking at you, Murphy Hanrehan.) You can park easily at the main chalet parking lot, but if you live north of the park like I do, a great tip is to park at the Normandale Lake parking lot. There is an easy trail access point from this lot, and it is about 6-8 minutes closer than driving all the way to the main entrance.

Favorite place to rollerski: Bloomington/Edina, parking at Normandale Lake

So, I might be a little biased having grown up in Bloomington, but I can’t get enough of the rollerskiing around Hyland. I actually don’t do much rollerskiing in Hyland Park itself, because the bike path pavement is in terrible shape and I find no reason to stick to the park when the surrounding roads are so good. You can really go any direction from the Normandale Parking lot. The neighborhoods by Ridgeview Elementary School are amazing, super quiet, rolling and nice pavement. I also love the neighborhoods by Dred Scott Park, which are also great pavement and have a lot of flatter roads for double poling. Lastly, skiers looking for more of a challenge should check out Edina around the Braemar Park and Parkwood Knolls neighborhoods. It is a lot more hilly, but the pavement is still buttery smooth and it is really quiet, especially on weekends.

Favorite place to mountain bike: Theodore Wirth Park

This is a pretty easy answer, and also probably very biased since the place I currently live is only 200 meters away from an access point to the Wirth single track trails. Still, the trails around Wirth are some of my favorite of any MTB trails I have ever done! It’s a great blend of technical riding and smooth, flowy riding. I generally can do about 1 hour and 45 minutes of riding without having to do the same trail twice, which is pretty incredible for a park that is only a few minutes outside of a huge city. The trails right by the Loppet Trailhead building are especially fun, with a ton of cool jumps and obstacles. It’s also fun to stop by the Trailhead building for a coffee or snack at Mill Valley Market.

Hopefully some of these suggestions help you expand your options a little bit the next time you go for a workout! I think we have some of the most amazing training facilities in the world right here in Minneapolis, and I hope you can get out soon and enjoy them as much as I have been. See you out there!