Three Rivers Park District plows only some parts of the Dakota Rail Regional Trail in winter, working in partnership with local cities. The Orono segment has been on that list. On December 1, about two miles of it will close, from North Shore Drive to Orono Orchard Road, and Three Rivers says it will stay closed through March 31 while the Metropolitan Council installs a new sewer line underneath it.
There won't be a posted detour.
Three Rivers explains the timing directly: trail use "decreases significantly during the winter months," so the work was scheduled for fall and winter to cause the least disruption. That logic fits most of the corridor. It fits less well in Orono, which is one of the places where the trail is kept clear for winter walking in the first place.
Why the Orono closure lands differently
Most of the Dakota Rail trail is left alone once the snow falls. On the Three Rivers trail page, only a handful of segments are plowed, and "other segments of the trail are not maintained." The park district's winter trail maintenance table gives the city-by-city breakdown. That table carries a 2025–26 label, so read it as Three Rivers' standing approach and not a confirmed 2026–27 schedule.
| Dakota Rail segment | Winter status on the Three Rivers list |
|---|---|
| Wayzata | Plowed |
| Orono | Plowed |
| Minnetonka Beach | Plowed |
| Spring Park | Plowed |
| Mound | Plowed |
| Minnetrista | Not plowed |
| St. Bonifacius | Not plowed |
The most recent published schedule, for 2025–26, ran winter maintenance from November 1 through April 15, in partnership with local cities. If this winter follows a similar window, the Orono closure would start a month into it and end two weeks before it does, which puts most of the usual plowing months on that two-mile stretch inside the closure.
The second Dakota Rail closure this winter sits farther west, on a stretch that already goes unplowed, so it takes less away from winter users.
Two closures, with open trail in between
Three Rivers is closing two separate sections for two separate utility projects. The trail stays open between them.
| Orono closure | Mound–Minnetrista closure | |
|---|---|---|
| Section | North Shore Drive to Orono Orchard Road | Shoreline Drive in Mound to Westonka Recreation Park |
| Length | About 2 miles | About 2.5 miles |
| Dates | December 1 through March 31 | October 15 through end of February |
| Reason | Met Council sewer line | Xcel Energy transmission line replacement |
| Detour | None posted | None posted |
There's a third, smaller interruption. Beginning October 5, the trail is closed at Commerce Boulevard in Mound while Hennepin County crews update the ramps at that crossing to meet ADA standards. That one does have a posted detour.
According to the Laker Pioneer, the Xcel work rebuilds transmission lines in the Mound and St. Bonifacius area, replacing aging poles and lines, and the broader project is expected to continue through spring 2028. The trail closure itself is scheduled to end in February.
What's going in under the trail
The Orono closure is the trail-side piece of a longer project. The Met Council calls it Orono Sewer Improvements, Project 802897. It's a new regional sewer pipe that starts at lift station L59 on Lilac Lane and runs in this order:
- South on Old Crystal Bay Road
- East on North Shore Drive
- North on Brown Road
- Onto the Dakota Rail Trail near the intersection of Brown Road and Lakeview Avenue
- Northeast along the trail to Orono Orchard Road
The Met Council's capital program fact sheet describes the related Orono 7113 work as building a redundant forcemain and rehabilitating a forcemain installed in 1979. The goal is reliability and replacing an aging piece of infrastructure.
The schedule matters more to Orono residents than the trail dates do. The Met Council says construction will be "sequenced to limit the area of construction to one street at a time." It will use both open-trench and trenchless tunneled methods, and the agency notes that this step-by-step approach can make the project take longer. Construction is expected to start in late 2026 and finish in spring or summer 2028. The Met Council expects road closures, intersection restrictions and traffic detours along the way, with driveway access maintained.
So the trail closure ends March 31, but the project doesn't. Old Crystal Bay Road, North Shore Drive and Brown Road are all on the route, and the published project page doesn't yet give a street-by-street calendar. It also doesn't name a contractor. As of its August 20, 2026 update, the Met Council had received construction bids and started contractor negotiations.
The pre-construction community meeting was set for Thursday, September 24, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts, 2240 North Shore Drive, which is on the pipe's route. If you missed it, the project page has an email and text sign-up for updates. That's the most direct way to find out when work reaches your street.
Where to walk, ski or snowshoe from December through March
If the Orono stretch has been your winter loop, you can still reach the trail. The rest of the plowed corridor is open, and a few Three Rivers parks within a short drive cover different kinds of winter outing.
The plowed Dakota Rail segments that stay open. Wayzata, Minnetonka Beach, Spring Park and Mound all appear as plowed on the Three Rivers list. On the Mound side, the trail page says plowing covers County Road 110 to Seton Channel. Three Rivers lists a municipal trail parking lot in Navarre at 3401–3465 Lyric Avenue. The Caribou Coffee at 3333 Shoreline Drive in Navarre is close by. Check the closure map before you pick a direction. The Orono closure map shows exactly where the closed section starts and ends.
Gale Woods Farm, Minnetrista. Gale Woods has 4.2 miles of snowshoe trail. Those trails are ungroomed, so expect to break your own path after fresh snow. The grounds are open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the barn opens only during scheduled programs.
Baker Winter Trailhead, Medina. For skiing, the trailhead at 2935 Parkview Drive lists 9.1 miles of cross-country trail groomed daily for both classic and skate skiing. It also has 6.3 miles of snowshoe trail and a groomed sledding hill. The chalet is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as conditions allow. Skiers 12 and older need a Three Rivers ski pass.
Here's what Three Rivers has published for 2026–27 ski passes:
- All-parks daily pass: $12
- Natural-snow-parks daily pass: $8
- All-parks season pass: $95
The $95 season pass costs about as much as eight all-parks daily passes. If Baker turns into your regular substitute for the Orono trail from December through March, the season pass pays for itself quickly. The park district's materials we reviewed don't say which daily tier applies at Baker, so confirm before you buy a single-day pass.
What comes back in spring
Three Rivers says the trail sections affected by the sewer work will be repaved as part of the project. When the Orono segment reopens after March 31, the stretch between North Shore Drive and Orono Orchard Road should have new pavement where the pipe went in.
The sewer project will still be underway then. The Met Council's window runs from late 2026 into spring or summer 2028, and Old Crystal Bay Road, North Shore Drive and Brown Road are all on the route, but the agency hasn't published the order or dates for those streets. Closure dates on both the Three Rivers and Met Council pages can change, so check the Dakota Rail Regional Trail page before you head out on a winter morning.
If you own a home along Old Crystal Bay Road, North Shore Drive or Brown Road and you're planning a sale while the sewer work is underway, the timing of the street closures can affect showings and buyer traffic. Greg Winegarden Group follows projects like this one closely in Orono and can help you plan a listing around the construction calendar. Request Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll walk through what the next two years of work could mean for your street.
