Grand Rounds Scenic Byway

Grand Rounds Scenic Byway

Parks Directory of the United States / National Scenic Byways

Address: c/o Explore Minnesota Tourism
121 7th Place E - Metro Square Suite 100
Saint Paul, MN 55101
Phone: 888-868-7476;
Web: www.byways.org/browse/byways/2243/ Description: Byway encompasses more than 50 miles of parks, parkways, bike paths and pedestrian paths, and greenways that encircle the city of Minneapolis and trace the Mississippi River, Minnehaha Creek, and a chain of several lakes. Points of interest include Butler Wildflower Garden at Theodore Wirth Park; a large rose garden at Lake Harriet; Minnehaha Park and Falls; Our Lady of Lourdes Church, the oldest continually used church in Minneapolis; Mill Ruins Park, with its stone arches, canals, and traces of 19th century flourmills; and Saint Anthony Falls Heritage Trail system, which connects several historic areas in the heart of the city. Byway passes near several museums and cultural centers including Orchestra Hall, Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Guthrie Theater, and Mill City Museum.
Legth: 52 miles. Start/Endpoint: Byway begins in downtown Minneapolis at the intersection of 8th Avenue and the James I Rice Memorial Parkway. It follows a series of connecting routes that include sections of the West River Parkway and East River Parkway, Godfrey Parkway, East Minnehaha Parkway and West Minnehaha Parkway, East Lake Harriet Parkway and West Lake Harriet Parkway, William Barry Parkway, East and West Lake Calhoun Parkways, West Lake of the Isles Parkway, Cedar Lake Parkway, Theodore Wirth Parkway, Victory Memorial Parkway, Webber Parkway, St. Anthony Parkway, Columbia Parkway, Stinson Parkway, and Ridgeway Parkway, with the byway designation ending at the edge of the Francis A. Gross Golf Course. Time to Allow: 3-4 hours. Designation/Year: National Scenic Byway (1998).

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