The Met Council supports opportunities, programs, and spaces that strive to uplift community connections to the outdoors while counteracting barriers and harm placed on underrepresented communities.

To create a Regional Parks and Trails System that welcomes all residents of the region to its range of amazing opportunities, it is imperative to identify and understand the barriers to participation, as well as recognize the harm that has been placed on underrepresented communities. Engagement with these specific communities can reveal the harms and barriers that exist and offer opportunities to co-create durable solutions for a better future. The Met Council will support regional park implementing agency efforts to identify and reduce barriers to access, with the intent of building a Regional Parks and Trails System that will:

• Listen to historically underserved communities to inform future action: As the region’s population becomes more diverse, it is important to continue engaging with communities of color, American Indians, and other underrepresented communities to understand barriers to access and inform programming, recreational facilities, and partnerships with local organizations.
• Honor cultural considerations across diverse communities: Through engagement with communities of color and American Indian groups, the Met Council will have a better understanding of how to support implementing agency efforts to amplify community voices and to foster increased cultural connections across the Regional Parks and Trails System.
• Offer recreational opportunities for all users: To accommodate a region that will be older and more diverse, it is important that the Met Council continues to encourage the incorporation of universal design in park and trail facilities to ensure accessibility and safety for all. Additionally, the Met Council will explore ways to support implementing agency efforts to create programming that promotes safety and belonging for people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people over the age of 65, people with disabilities, and other underserved communities.

The Met Council supports the conservation and restoration of natural systems, alongside leisure, play, and creative opportunities in ways that connect people to each other and the outdoors.

The Regional Parks and Trails System is made up of many unique natural spaces that serve a wide variety of needs and provide numerous benefits for visitors and the environment.

During the Imagine 2050 engagement conversations, many important ideas emerged that will help inform how the Met Council and regional park implementing agencies can build stronger relationships between people and natural systems. These ideas include:

• Exploring stacked functions as the future of our Regional Parks and Trails System. This means creating holistic places that fulfill multiple functions, including establishing safe spaces for people to connect to the natural world in addition to creating spaces for wildlife habitat, water storage, and other ecological services.
• Recognizing that programming is key to connecting people with the outdoors. This means that the old adage of “build it and they will come” is no longer accurate. Programming is critical to introducing people to the outdoors, showing them how to get involved, and unlocking the many benefits of an active, outdoor lifestyle.
• Moving from protecting to restoring with community. While our partnership’s shared mission of conservation remains vital, when done in ways that center community, the potential benefits grow significantly. This means listening to community, particularly those voices that have been absent from past planning conversations, including people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people over the age of 65, people with disabilities, and other underserved communities.  

Activities and facilities criteria

One of the main roles the Regional Parks and Trail System serves is to provide the metropolitan area with regional recreational open space that is defined in Minnesota Statutes, Section 473.121 as “…land and water areas, or interests therein, and facilities determined by the Met Council to be of regional importance in providing for a balanced system of public outdoor recreation for the metropolitan area, including but not limited to park reserves, major linear parks and trails, large recreation parks, and conservatories, zoos, and other special use facilities.”

Based on this legislative direction and definition of regional recreation open space, the activities and facilities in the Regional Parks and Trails System should align with the system’s vision, mission, and values listed in Section One and meet criteria below:

• Be consistent with the community engagement findings of the implementing agency-led long-range planning processes
• Serve a regional audience
• Not duplicate neighborhood parks and trails systems
• Connect and support the system’s nature-based foundation
• Be compatible with other uses and activities, minimize user conflicts, and preserve user experiences
• Stay consistent with the expectations of the Met Council’s review and approval process

Implementing agencies that wish to propose new Regional Parks and Trails System activities should consult the “Recreational Activities Evaluation Process” and “Process for including New Activities” sections of the Regional Parks and Trails Planning Handbook.

The Met Council supports a wide spectrum of connections and partnerships in the outdoors through recreation, arts, programming, transit, public health, education, stewardship, and community.

Parks and trails have a large capacity to support community through a broad array of partnerships around the region. They play an important role in our physical, social, spiritual, and mental health. Their value goes beyond their “existence value” because they bring deep importance to people’s quality of life. They are a critical tool for combatting America’s loneliness epidemic as they provide spaces for community connections and well-being. Expanding and strengthening our cross-sector partnerships will increase the impact of parks and trails and will open new revenue streams and ideas for what is possible for parks and trails.

Expand how we connect people to regional parks and trails with a focus on underrepresented communities through intentional outreach.

The Regional Parks and Trails System is a vast and unique system that stretches across the Twin Cities region, and yet many residents do not know it exists. Creating outreach initiatives that invite communities, especially those that have been excluded from the benefits of the system in the past, is a pivotal step to creating a more equitable region. For example, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board found that Black communities living near Theodore Wirth Regional Park do not benefit from the park as much as other communities, even though the Black communities live in the neighborhoods surrounding much of the park. As our region’s racial diversity grows, the Regional Parks and Trails System should experiment and collaborate on ways to genuinely and effectively raise awareness, particularly among underrepresented communities.

Bicycle and pedestrian facilities will be coordinated between the Regional Parks and Trails System and the transportation system.

Safe, high-quality, continuous, and barrier-free bicycle and pedestrian facilities shall be developed, maintained, and improved to function as integral parts of the Regional Parks and Trails System and transportation system. The Met Council is responsible for planning regional transportation projects, including bicycle transportation facilities, and since many regional trails also serve as commuter bikeways, it is important that Regional Parks and Trails System and transportation planners work together when developing trail and transportation plans.

A comprehensive network of trails and bikeways that serve both recreation and transportation needs is an important priority for the Met Council. This network should link state, regional, and local trails, and should be integrated with other transportation modes and networks, including the regional transit system. It should connect population centers with important regional destinations, including economic hubs, schools, shopping areas, parks, and trails.

In practice, the Regional Bicycle Transportation Network (RBTN), regional trails, and all local trail and bikeway networks complement each other to serve the overall bicycle transportation and recreation needs of the region. All of these elements serve to provide an integrated and cohesive system that supports all forms of bicycling and the full range of bicycle trip needs.

Developing a more integrated and collaborative planning approach between regional trails and the RBTN is needed by the Met Council and its implementing agency partners. Met Council staff will work to define these opportunities for increased collaboration involving transportation and regional park implementing agencies’ bicycle professionals and stakeholders and will incorporate those opportunities into future planning and implementation efforts. For more information about this future work, see Section Nine, 2025-2028 Workplan and Section Seven in the Regional Parks and Trails Planning Handbook.

With over 487 miles of multiuse trail facilities open to the public, regional trails support a wide range of activities. From recreational pursuits to commuting to work and school, regional trails play a vital role in the lives of our region’s residents.

E-bikes are a growing trend on the regional trail system as well as across the region and country. They take the form of electric, pedal-assist bicycles and are generally allowed on regional trails. While e-bikes are gaining acceptance on trails across the country, concerns about speed and safety are topics that need further study (see Section Nine, 2025-2028 Workplan).

In general, regional trails should be developed away from roadways. However, in some instances, it may be necessary for a short stretch of trail to be located on, or adjacent to, a road in order to bypass natural or artificial barriers or private property.

The RBTN, established in the 2040 Transportation Policy Plan, is intended to serve as a “backbone” arterial network for accommodating daily bicycle transportation needs by establishing an integrated and seamless network of on-street bikeways and off-road trails. The network prioritizes corridors and alignments for regional transportation investment. Cities, counties, park agencies, and the state play an important role in planning and implementing future bikeways and trails in support of the network vision.

The RBTN is based on a Regional Bicycle System Study analysis and prioritization of potential bicycle corridors.¹⁵ The study incorporated factors such as bicycle-trip demand, network connectivity, social equity, population density, regional job centers, major destinations (including highly visited regional parks), and connections to transit. Alignments are defined where there are existing or planned bikeways, or where roadways and planned trails would most effectively meet the regional corridor’s intent. Corridors are retained where alignments have not yet been identified.

The presence of corridors allows for local bike plans to determine effective alignments that follow the corridor’s orientation and use on-street bikeways and off-road trails to achieve efficient facility routes. Tier 1 corridors and alignments (highest priority for transportation investment) are planned in locations where they can attract the most riders and most effectively enhance mode choice in favor of biking, walking, and transit over driving alone. Tier 2 corridors and alignments (second highest priority for transportation investment) also provide transportation connectivity and they serve to support the Tier 1 corridors and alignments.

Regional trails were an important input during the development of the original RBTN, and many regional trails have been identified as important alignments within it. These include Cedar Lake, Samuel Morgan, Lake Minnetonka, and Bruce Vento regional trails, to name a few.

Increasing the coordination and communication between the regional trail system and the RBTN will result in a stronger and more connected overall system. Both regional trails and the RBTN seek to support active lifestyles, connecting people with where they want to go.

The regional trail system was originally envisioned as an off-road system that sought to connect regional parks, park reserves, special features, and regional trails by providing safe and separated opportunities to serve recreation and transportation purposes. While these goals remain vital, it is important to recognize that regional trails serve as transportation corridors, connecting important local and regional destinations. They also serve as a “backbone” for connecting and supporting local bicycle networks. This is evidenced by the significant overlap between the regional trail system and the RBTN corridors and alignments.

The RBTN is planned to facilitate daily bicycling for transportation that includes commute trips to work and school, shopping trips, trips to entertainment venues, medical-related trips, and social trips. The RBTN focuses on connecting its designated regional destinations to and between local bicycle networks by integrating on-street bikeways and off-road trails that offer the most direct and efficient routes.

An integrated system of regional trails and the RBTN requires a collaborative approach to regional trail and bicycle transportation planning by the Met Council and its implementing agency partners. For example, one of the strengths of the regional trail system is the wealth of trails serving exurban and rural areas. These trails, like Carver County’s Minnesota River Bluffs Regional Trail, connect visitors to needed amenities and destinations important for daily life. Met Council staff will continue to seek opportunities to enhance collaboration and coordination among transportation and parks agency planners to maintain and build upon a cohesive and integrated regional system.

Developers of trails and bikeways that are included in both networks may need to resolve competing considerations such as design speed, needs of expected users, or protection of natural features.

For more information on the Regional Bicycle Transportation Network, please refer to the 2050 Transportation Policy Plan, Bicycle Investment Chapter.

Relationship to other technical guidance

The 2050 Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan should be used in conjunction with the current versions of the MnDOT Bikeway Facility Design Manual and DNR’s Trail Planning, Design, and Development Guidelines. There are also other important design and development resources available.

The Met Council determined that some activities and facilities are ineligible at the regional level because they are more closely aligned with the role of other recreational providers.

When the Regional Parks and Trails System was established in 1974, it included existing parks and trails that had facilities not considered eligible for regional funding. These include:

• Formal ball fields, diamonds, and organized athletic complexes
• Tennis courts
• Golf facilities
• Amateur athletic facilities and sports complexes
• Off-road vehicle areas (ATV, off-road motorcycle, and 4X4 truck opportunities, and snowmobiles), as the Minnesota DNR provides and supports these opportunities
• Enterprise facilities that generate enough revenue to pay for their own costs (for example, some water parks and downhill ski areas).

These activities remain ineligible for regional funding, as they more closely align with the responsibilities of other recreational providers. Additional information and criteria for incorporating new facilities and activities into the Regional Parks and Trails System can be found in the Regional Parks and Trails Grant Administration Guide.