- [Narrator] On this episode of "River & Trail," we journey the flowing waters and the lush trails of the Minnesota River.

From Le Sueur to Mankato, this tributary has had a lasting impact on the region.

(lively music) (lively music continues) (water babbling) (water babbling continues) (lively music) - [Narrator] Once known as St.

Peter's River, the Minnesota River was renamed to its current form in 1852 by a vote of the U.S.

Congress.

(gentle dramatic music) (gentle dramatic music continues) The Minnesota River runs from Big Stone Lake near the South Dakota border, southeast toward Mankato, following a path that was cut by Glacial River Warren in the distant past.

(lively music) From Mankato, it runs north until it meets the Mississippi River near St.

Paul, draining nearly 17,000 square miles of land and doubling the flow of the Mississippi.

(lively music) (lively music continues) - I'm a fisheries biologist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and my title is the Minnesota River Fisheries Biologist.

So essentially I'm tasked with monitoring and managing fish populations throughout the entire 300-mile Minnesota River, so all the way from Big Stone Lake on the border of Minnesota and South Dakota, you know, all the way downstream to the confluence of the Mississippi River in St.

Paul.

And that consists of doing things like fish surveys, surveying populations, surveying anglers, and helping inform decisions regarding management.

(lively music) The Minnesota River is an extremely diverse fish community reflective of its connection with the Mississippi River.

And in fact, you might be surprised to know that there'd be over 80 species of fish that could be found right here in the Minnesota River.

Many of those species are small minnows or might be rare, but there is at least 30 or 40 that are quite common and people are likely to see in the river, and many of those they catch when they're fishing.

There's only really a couple non-native species, and really only one that's established, and that's the common carp, which is commonly found in lakes and rivers throughout Minnesota.

Other than that, there's just been a few occurrences or documented catches of other invasive carps, like bighead and silver carp, but those are just rare occurrences.

There's no evidence of those species being commonplace or reproducing within the Minnesota River.

There is about 10 or so that are most common that we see in our fish community surveys, and those do include the non-native common carp, but then of course some of the important game fish such as flathead catfish, channel catfish, walleye, and freshwater drum.

And then we have some native sucker species that are quite abundant, such as shorthead redhorse, bigmouth buffalo, river carpsucker, and really the most abundant species are of course the smaller minnows and shiners.

And the three most common of those are emerald shiner, spotfin shiner, and gizzard shad.

So, yeah, again, there's like 10 or 12 species that are really common, but within this really diverse community of over 80 species.

I'll take my kids out here, or other people will come out and you'll fish for an afternoon and you might catch 10 different fish species.

It's a lot of fun.

But all in all, the majority of the fish that are caught and harvested out of the Minnesota River consist of channel catfish, freshwater drum, and then walleye and sauger.

So despite being a very diverse fish community, a lot of people catch those kind of key species.

And we know from creel surveys that about half of the angling effort, or half of the people fishing the Minnesota River, are specifically targeting catfish, whether it be flathead catfish or channel catfish.

So very popular catfish destination, really good walleye fishing, but yet you can also catch a really cool diversity of species from shovelnose sturgeon to shortnose gar to trophy walleye.

I'd say over the last 20 or 30 years, the fish community in the rivers remain relatively stable.

Most of the species that should be here or expected to be here have been here.

Certainly there's short-term cycles within any given species.

Like right now, there seems to be more smallmouth bass than there were 10 years ago, but that probably won't persist long-term.

It's just part of the natural cycles of fish populations.

But if you were to go back 70 to 100 years prior to the Clean Water Act, you would've found a much less diverse, much less healthy fish community that was impacted by pollution and other perturbations.

And that's not to say that there aren't still impacts to the fish population now, but all in all, we have a very healthy and expected fish community in the Minnesota River.

(lively music) People love coming to the Minnesota River to fish.

The good truth is that really the fishing is really good throughout the entire Minnesota River, especially all the way from Granite Falls Dam downstream to the Mississippi River.

Upstream of Granite Falls Dam, there are fewer species, so there aren't species like flathead catfish or sauger, but really any given reach within the river, again, below Granite Falls Dam can provide excellent fishing and a kind of a finer scale.

Individual species have kind of habitat preferences.

So species like flathead catfish, they like hanging out by big logjams, or smallmouth bass like hanging out by rocks and riprap.

And then there are species like channel catfish and freshwater drum that are seemingly just everywhere in the river.

But if you're just looking for someplace to go fishing, you don't have to think that you're missing out on some secret hotspot.

There's lots of fish to be caught throughout much of the river.

(lively music) We're really fortunate on the Minnesota River to have a lot of public access to the river.

And in fact, what's really special about the Minnesota River is that over half of the angling effort is from shore anglers, which differs a lot from a lot of our lake fisheries.

And we're fortunate, again, we have over 50 different boat ramps or accesses along the river, various state land from aquatic management areas to wildlife management areas.

Many cities and counties have parks and public access locations, as well as state parks.

And then there's National Wildlife Refuge property along the river.

If you were to go to the Minnesota DNR webpage and search for the Recreation Compass, you could find a really cool interactive map that shows much of those public lands and boat accesses.

And anywhere you can safely and publicly access the river can probably provide a pretty good shore fishing spot, or a place to get your boat on the water to go fishing as well.

There's lots to do on the Minnesota River.

Of course, any sort of boating or paddling, lots of people like to kayak and canoe on the Minnesota River.

Many people just enjoy the river valley and the river itself for things like hiking and camping and birdwatching.

And then other sort of consumptive uses like various types of hunting and trapping are all popular throughout the Minnesota River and along the lands in the valley.

(lively music) The Minnesota River is just a really cool and important resource in Southern Minnesota, and it's very neat to have 270 miles or so of free-flowing river throughout Southern Minnesota that has a diverse fish community and excellent fishing opportunities for people that wanna get out and enjoy fishing in Southern Minnesota, and really just a beautiful habitat that flows through a part of the state that's often considered, you know, dominated by agriculture.

(lively music) (lively music continues) (water babbling) (lively music) - Throughout history, rivers have played a central role in building community.

Historically, as well as presently, the Minnesota River has contributed greatly to business, industry, and recreation in the Mankato area.

Today, we'll take a closer look at the recreational aspect of this enormous, attractive waterway on this episode of "River & Trail."

While Northern Minnesota is considered prime lake country, Southern Minnesota is notorious for rivers and streams, several of which flow into the Minnesota River northbound for the Mississippi confluence near St.

Paul.

The Minnesota River Valley features a wide variety of recreational trails sprinkled throughout this scenic corridor.

Charley Serrill is a member of the Mankato Area Mountain Bikers Organization, or MAMB.

- So we, MAMB, built and maintain the Kiwanis Trail system.

MAMB has been a nonprofit volunteer-based organization established in 2011.

Our mission is to create recreational opportunities in the form of mountain bike trails.

We were given the Kiwanis land by the city and the Kiwanis Club probably 2012, 2013, and that's when we, you know, built the mountain bike trails out there.

- So Kiwanis's role then was basically like a financial support for it?

Is that funding?

- It's the Kiwanis Club that, it's their park.

The city land and Kiwanis Club, I don't know if you wanna say own the land, but we are the stewards of the mountain bike trail and most of the land there.

Kiwanis is our main trail system, and it's a great place for beginners, kids, families.

Just last week, the local mountain bike high school race team hosted their practice out there.

It's all-encompassing from, you know, novice riders to intermediates to expert riders, people that, you know, wanna have something fun to do in their backyard.

- [Presenter] While the trail's proximity to the Minnesota River is appealing, it can also be a nemesis.

- You know, part of the reason that it was given to us to build a mountain bike trail on is because it is in the floodplain, so there's not a whole lot else you can do with that.

So, you know, there's an archery range there and then there's a dog park, off-leash dog park, as well as like a bathroom facility that's, you know, high and dry like the parking lot.

But most of the land that the trail's on is kind of below the floodplain, so it's something that, you know, affects the trails every other year.

- [Presenter] One of my favorite things about the Kiwanis Trail is the tight little skills track at the beginning.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (planks thudding) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) Like things to start a little slower?

Head over to the short track for a fun and visually stimulating warm-up ride.

♪ Just walk away ♪ ♪ Just walk away ♪ ♪ Take your time ♪ ♪ Take your time ♪ ♪ Put it in your own pocket ♪ ♪ Put it in your own pocket ♪ ♪ Slow it down ♪ ♪ Slow it down ♪ ♪ Close your eyes ♪ ♪ Close your eyes ♪ ♪ Baby call it off ♪ ♪ Baby call it off ♪ ♪ You're in charge ♪ ♪ You're in charge ♪ ♪ Buckle up ♪ ♪ Buckle up ♪ ♪ Baby trust the fall ♪ ♪ Baby trust the fall ♪ ♪ I ♪ ♪ I ♪ ♪ I know that load is heavy ♪ ♪ I know that load is heavy ♪ ♪ Sometimes life's a bit messy ♪ ♪ Sometimes life's a bit messy ♪ ♪ Tryna figure out ♪ ♪ Tryna figure out ♪ ♪ Go figure ♪ ♪ Go figure ♪ ♪ I ♪ ♪ I ♪ ♪ Stuck in the middle ♪ ♪ Stuck in the middle ♪ ♪ I'm not a savior ♪ ♪ I'm not a savior ♪ ♪ Still tryna work it all out ♪ ♪ Still tryna work it all out ♪ ♪ Take your time ♪ ♪ Take your time ♪ ♪ Put it in your own pocket ♪ ♪ Put it in your own pocket ♪ ♪ Slow it down ♪ ♪ Slow it down ♪ ♪ Close your eyes ♪ ♪ Close your eyes ♪ ♪ Baby call it off ♪ ♪ Baby call it off ♪ ♪ You're in charge ♪ ♪ You're in charge ♪ ♪ Buckle up ♪ ♪ Buckle up ♪ ♪ Baby trust the fall ♪ ♪ Baby trust the fall ♪ (planks thudding) ♪ Fall ♪ ♪ Fall ♪ - [Presenter] Okay, send it.

Nice.

♪ Sign off ♪ ♪ Sign off ♪ ♪ Stay out ♪ ♪ Stay out ♪ ♪ Feel it ♪ ♪ Feel it ♪ ♪ Ah ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ - [Presenter] If you're in the mood for a paved trail ride, the Minnesota River Valley boasts a plethora of options.

The Red Jacket Trail to the south and the Sakatah Trail to the north are both excellent choices that have been or will be featured in other episodes of "River & Trail."

The connecting link to these two magnificent beauties is the Minnesota River Trail, which can be easily accessed from the culturally artistic Old Town neighborhood at the heart of downtown Mankato.

While this ride offers great views of where the Minnesota River splits Mankato and North Mankato, the condition of the trail is a little questionable.

With several rough patches and blind spots along this short stretch, I'd recommend experienced riders only.

But a bumpy trail is always better than no trail, and what it lacks in aesthetics, it makes up for in access.

I'd recommend a stop at Reconciliation Park to learn more about the Native Americans who tragically lost their lives near this site in 1862.

The history here should never be forgotten, despite its tendency to sometimes make us feel uncomfortable.

(somber music) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) If you'd like a much smoother option in the River Valley region, check out the brand-new scenic Hummingbird Trail, stretching from Henderson to Blakeley, Minnesota.

Hummingbird offers various views and vistas along an eight-mile route through the heart of Minnesota.

Here you'll see abundant wildflowers and occasional wildlife as you pedal your way through the rolling hillsides.

The only negative I perceived was the trail's unfortunate proximity to busy Highway 6, where the noise and motion can be a little distracting, (engine roaring) but a trail near a highway is always better than no trail at all.

And the Hummingbird Trail is certainly worth the trip.

♪ Bathe in that cool water ♪ ♪ Bathe in that cool water ♪ ♪ Forget about all our cares ♪ ♪ Forget about all our cares ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ (lively music) - [Presenter] One attraction along the Minnesota River has little to do with water, but everything to do with adventure.

(lively music) - Kerfoot Canopy opened in 2013.

It's an outdoor recreation business that really focuses on getting people outside in adventure, team-building a little bit, away from all the technology we have today, really just having fun, making a memorable experience.

(lively music) The Kerfoot name has a lot of history.

It all started with my great-grandma, Justine, who was a legendary pioneer up on the Canadian border.

She started a lodge up there in basically unexplored terrain, and she grew it pretty big.

Then from there, my grandpa continued it, grew it more, and my dad moved down here.

He wanted to continue something like that with the family, so he started this.

(upbeat music) We have 14 ziplines.

The highest one is gonna be about 150 feet off the ground.

Our longest is 1,200 feet, and then we also have a suspension bridge in there.

And what's really nice about our course is we start you nice and low and slow to really kind of get the fundamentals of ziplining down, and as you go throughout the course and you get more comfortable, we get you to higher, faster, more fun stuff.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (lively music) The Minnesota River Valley really contributes to the experience because it gives us unique terrain and valleys and rivers and all that that's nowhere else, and really makes things just look beautiful.

The summer is definitely the most popular time.

The winter's very light on tours.

All the seasons do have kind of the best part of them.

In the winter, it almost feels like a completely new course because all the leaves are gone and you can see so much further without that.

And then you do have to be bundled up a little more with the temperature.

And then in the fall, the colors are just unbelievable.

The fall colors on all the trees are just really, really beautiful.

In the summer, it's usually the weather people love, so all the seasons kind of have their own specialty.

The typical people who come out here are just people looking to have a really good time outdoors with their friends or family.

There are a few restrictions, and so that'll be like the age.

You do have to be 10 years old for the zip line.

You do have to be 275 pounds or less.

The minimum is 70 pounds, and you do have to have a good ability to brake, because it is a self-braking course, but it's not super hard to do.

When people come here for the first time, the first thing they can expect to see is a really welcoming face in the office.

The office will get them a bit of a rundown, then they'll go out, they'll meet their guides.

Guides will be super fun, full of energy, get them ready.

They'll go up, and then they can expect a really high-quality guided experience zipline.

When people get up on the zip line, one of the things that surprises people the most is the valleys up there.

They're a lot bigger and kind of there's a lot more cool terrain than most people expect, and it gets a lot higher and faster.

People overcome their fears out here all the time.

It happens probably every tour.

There's someone who's just terrified to go up, but again, with that course, we start them really nice and low and slow so they can get their feet underneath them.

It really helps their confidence before we move on to the faster stuff, and usually they end up having an amazing time.

So this is the ropes course here behind me.

It's different from the zip line because it's a lot more challenging and it's not self-guided.

We have a lot of people come out here and they're like, "Oh, is it just for kids?"

That is not the case at all.

Any adult who gets up there ends up saying, "Wow, this is way harder, way more challenging than I thought it was going to be," and they had a lot of fun on it as well.

(gentle music) When people come here, I really hope they take away just a really fun, memorable experience with their family or friends out here.

I hope that's the main takeaway.

(lively music) (zipline whirring) - [Presenter] Just five miles north of the Kiwanis Trail up Highway 169, you'll find a much more technical mountain biking experience at Seven Mile Creek Park.

This multi-use trail nestled into the creek valley offers a variety of steep ascents and descents with a heavier gravel surface.

- The Seven Mile Creek Park is a multi-use trail.

I believe it's one of two county parks that Nicollet County owns and maintains.

It is super gorgeous.

I actually spend a lot of time out there in the spring, summer, fall, and winter.

It is basically a ravine, big ravine that was carved out by the creek.

If we were out west, it'd be called a box canyon because it has three high walls, two on either sides and one in the back that basically dead-ends the park.

- [Presenter] And out here, when they say multi-use trail, they mean multi-use.

- [Charley] So there are walkers, dog walkers, horseback riders.

There even used to be a guy that walked a goat out there.

(laughing) (goat bleating) - I like to bring my dog out here.

We like Seven Mile Creek because it's got a lot of hills and stuff and it's good for exercise.

I guess maybe my favorite thing about Seven Mile is it's kind of enclosed so you don't see all the farmland around here.

- It's a different style of riding.

It's a wider double-track.

I mean, it's wide enough that you can drive a car on there, but you can't obviously.

And it's kind of maintained like a gravel road in the sense that it's crowned and capped a little bit so that water can run off.

And they do use a lot of dirt and gravel too.

You know, it's not just dirt, it's a lot of rock and gravel to keep it sustainable over time.

It's fun to ride out there.

Again, like Mount Kato, there is some good elevation.

You're constantly going up or constantly going down.

You have to be a pretty able rider, I would say.

- [Presenter] I've been visiting Seven Mile Creek Park for years, because it's such a unique and versatile destination that draws you back again and again.

Forget about busy streets and city noises.

Seven Mile virtually insulates you from these distractions, wrapping you in a warm blanket of beauty in any season.

♪ All I see is in light ♪ ♪ All I see is in light ♪ ♪ All I see is in light ♪ ♪ All I see is in light ♪ ♪ Something in me ♪ ♪ Something in me ♪ ♪ Feels like all of me ♪ ♪ Feels like all of me ♪ (water splashing) ♪ All I see is in light ♪ ♪ All I see is in light ♪ ♪ Something in me ♪ ♪ Something in me ♪ ♪ To this world ♪ ♪ To this world ♪ (gravel crushing) (lively music) (lively music continues) (lively music continues) (lively music continues) (lively music continues) (playful music) - [Narrator] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

(birds calling)