Kenilworth and Cedar Lake trails reopen after seven years

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board reopened the stretch between Cedar Lake Parkway and Target Field on Nov. 28, 2025, returning one of the most heavily used bike and pedestrian corridors in Cedar-Isles-Dean. A short segment of the Kenilworth Trail between the Midtown Greenway and Cedar Lake Parkway stayed closed afterward for finishing work tied to the tunnel systems house.

The corridor had been fenced off since 2019, when the Metropolitan Council closed it to build track, stations and the Kenilworth tunnel for the Metro Green Line Extension. The Park Board describes the route as among the most intensely used trails in its system, which made the long closure especially felt by commuters who relied on it to reach downtown from St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Southwest Minneapolis.

During the closure, cyclists and pedestrians were pushed onto longer street detours. The reopening returns a continuous, off-street route through the Kenilworth corridor and along the lakeshores it connects, ground that had been walled off behind construction fencing for years.

The closure was a direct consequence of the Green Line Extension, a project whose budget has climbed from an estimated $1.3 billion in 2013 to about $2.86 billion, with passenger service now slated for 2027. The trail's return pairs with the August 2023 reopening of the Kenilworth Channel to paddlers as a second restored link in a neighborhood worn down by the construction.

The Park Board and the Metropolitan Council post trail and project updates online. Notice a maintenance issue or a connection problem on the restored corridor? Send us a tip.