Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail
Encyclopedia
Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail is a 41 miles (66 km) paved multi-use rail trail
connecting Faribault
and Mankato
, Minnesota
, USA.
It is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
, which converted it from a railroad line. The name comes from the Dakota
people who lived in the region; "Sakatah" translates into "singing hills". It began as a snowmobile trail and is now shared by hikers, joggers and cross-country skiers. There are sections of parallel dirt trail for horseback riders but they are not continuous. The landscape is mostly cultivated land with remnant stands of prairie
and Big Woods
. The trail passes through Sakatah Lake State Park
and runs through city streets in Waterville
.
and Waterville
though construction did not begin until 1882 by the Central Railway Company of Minnesota under the management of A. B. Stickney
. Stickney was head of the Minnesota & Northwestern Railroad which would later become the Chicago Great Western Railway
in 1891. The route from Red Wing
to Waterville was completed in 1882, and the route from Waterville to Mankato, Minnesota, was completed in 1887. By 1889, the line had been renamed Wisconsin, Minnesota & Pacific and was under the trusteeship of the Rock Island railroad. The Rock Island sold the WM&P to the Chicago Great Western in the mid-1890s which operated the line until 1968 when the CGW was merged in to the Chicago & Northwestern. The C&NW operated the line for a few years after the CGW merger, but abandoned it in the early 1970s. Area snowmobilers began using the trail followed by the State's acquisition of the route, with a view toward creating a rail trail, began in 1974, and Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail was officially dedicated in 1980. It was a dirt trail for its first decade; the entire length was paved between 1991 and 1995.
to Red Wing is now the Cannon Valley Trail
. The section of the Chicago Great Western Railway between Faribault and Cannon Falls is being developed by the Mill Towns Trail Association which would result in the former route of the entire Chicago Great Western from Mankato to Red Wing being converted to trail use.
Rail trail
A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...
connecting Faribault
Faribault, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,818 people, 7,472 households, and 4,946 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,644.8 people per square mile . There were 7,668 housing units at an average density of 605.8 per square mile...
and Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, USA.
It is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recreational trails, and recreation areas as well as managing minerals,...
, which converted it from a railroad line. The name comes from the Dakota
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
people who lived in the region; "Sakatah" translates into "singing hills". It began as a snowmobile trail and is now shared by hikers, joggers and cross-country skiers. There are sections of parallel dirt trail for horseback riders but they are not continuous. The landscape is mostly cultivated land with remnant stands of prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
and Big Woods
Big Woods
Big Woods refers to a type of temperate hardwood forest ecoregion found in south-central Minnesota. "Big Woods" is a direct translation of the name given to the region by French explorers: Grand Bois.-Trees:...
. The trail passes through Sakatah Lake State Park
Sakatah Lake State Park
Sakatah Lake State Park is an state park of Minnesota, USA, on a natural widening of the Cannon River near the town of Waterville. The Dakota native to the area called it "Sakatah" which means "singing hills". To honor this native heritage, some of the trails in the park have been given Dakota...
and runs through city streets in Waterville
Waterville, Minnesota
Waterville is a city in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2010 census. It is close to Sakatah Lake State Park on the Cannon River.-Geography:...
.
History
The rail line was surveyed in the late 1870s between Red WingRed Wing, Minnesota
Red Wing is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, on the Mississippi River. The population was 16,459 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Goodhue County....
and Waterville
Waterville, Minnesota
Waterville is a city in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2010 census. It is close to Sakatah Lake State Park on the Cannon River.-Geography:...
though construction did not begin until 1882 by the Central Railway Company of Minnesota under the management of A. B. Stickney
Alpheus Beede Stickney
Alpheus Beede "A.B." Stickney was the first president of Chicago Great Western Railway, serving in that position from 1884 to 1909.- Youth and education :...
. Stickney was head of the Minnesota & Northwestern Railroad which would later become the Chicago Great Western Railway
Chicago Great Western Railway
The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad...
in 1891. The route from Red Wing
Red Wing, Minnesota
Red Wing is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, on the Mississippi River. The population was 16,459 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Goodhue County....
to Waterville was completed in 1882, and the route from Waterville to Mankato, Minnesota, was completed in 1887. By 1889, the line had been renamed Wisconsin, Minnesota & Pacific and was under the trusteeship of the Rock Island railroad. The Rock Island sold the WM&P to the Chicago Great Western in the mid-1890s which operated the line until 1968 when the CGW was merged in to the Chicago & Northwestern. The C&NW operated the line for a few years after the CGW merger, but abandoned it in the early 1970s. Area snowmobilers began using the trail followed by the State's acquisition of the route, with a view toward creating a rail trail, began in 1974, and Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail was officially dedicated in 1980. It was a dirt trail for its first decade; the entire length was paved between 1991 and 1995.
Extent
The section of the Chicago Great Western from Cannon FallsCannon Falls, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,795 people, 1,550 households, and 996 families residing in the city. The population density was 946.4 people per square mile . There were 1,611 housing units at an average density of 401.8 per square mile...
to Red Wing is now the Cannon Valley Trail
Cannon Valley Trail
The Cannon Valley Trail is a paved, multiple-use trail that follows the Cannon River in southeast Minnesota.The trail follows an abandoned Chicago Great Western Railway corridor for between Cannon Falls, Minnesota and Red Wing, Minnesota. In the spring, summer, and fall months, the trail is open...
. The section of the Chicago Great Western Railway between Faribault and Cannon Falls is being developed by the Mill Towns Trail Association which would result in the former route of the entire Chicago Great Western from Mankato to Red Wing being converted to trail use.