In local news, Dakota County’s River-to-River Greenway Trail has made some major improvements this year. Many of them are accessible right across the street from Evolve. That’s an excellent opportunity to take a break and go for a walk or a bike ride. 

The River-to-River Greenway runs from Lilydale through Mendota Heights and West St. Paul to South St. Paul, connecting to the Mississippi River at each end. Those connections give access to trails throughout the Twin Cities.

Trail Improvements

Here’s a rundown of some of the improvements:

• Robert Street underpass: The major improvement is a safer crossing at the four-lane Robert Street with a new underpass. The tunnel is north of Wentworth at Crawford. There’s a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, October 7 at 10:30 a.m.

• Wentworth Library trails: A new trail runs behind Wentworth Library, giving access to the woods and connecting to the Robert Street tunnel.

• Livingston and Wentworth trails: New trail along Livingston Avenue connects to the tunnel and continues along newly paved trail on Wentworth Avenue to connect to Marthaler Park. Be careful crossing both Livingston and Wentworth.

• Marthaler Park: Trail through Marthaler Park has been newly repaved and rerouted.

• Garlough Park: Continue through Marthaler Park to connect to Garlough Park and newly repaved and rerouted trails. You can also continue through the Charlton underpass and access Dodge Nature Center.

That’s not all. There are even more improvements in the coming years:

• Wetland restoration: Across the street from Evolve at the former Thompson Oaks golf course, a restoration project is planned to restore a stream, cascade features, a boardwalk, and route the trail along the stream. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2022.

• Oakdale: Trail currently exists along Oakdale and can easily get you from Evolve to Thompson Park (which is seeing a ton of improvements this year), but it’s narrow and not in the greatest shape. There are plans to add and expand the trail, though construction won’t start until 2023.

• Marthaler Park: The new trails in Marthaler Park are just the first step. The park will see a series of improvements in the next few years, including a trailhead, fishing pier, larger picnic shelter, restroom facilities, and sledding hill improvements.

Take a Break

So if you’re looking to take a break from work, you can do it easily from Evolve, whether you’re looking for a walk or bike ride. Just be careful crossing Wentworth—the pedestrian crossing at Marthaler Lane just west of Evolve is your safest bet. 

Here are the distances to some local attractions:

• Wentworth Library: 1,000 feet

• Robert Street underpass: Less than .5 miles

• Marthaler Park: .75 miles

• Garlough Park: 1.25 miles

• Dodge Nature Center: 1.75 miles

• Sports Complex: Less than .25 miles

• Thompson Park: 1 mile

• Kaposia Landing & Mississippi River: 2.25 miles