Welcome
The Mill Towns Trail is a scenic recreational trail in southeastern Minnesota, currently partially built. When completed the trail will link existing trails: the Cannon Valley Trail from Cannon Falls to Red Wing, and the Sakatah Singing Hills Trails between Faribault and Mankato. The Mill Towns name recognizes the historic mills that were once important to the economy of this area.
Friends of the Mill Towns Trail formed in 1992. Over three decades later, we still work to support the completion of the trail.
News
Mill Towns Trail advancing in 2025-2026
In 2025-2026 the central portion of the trail will extend in both directions, with scheduled construction north from Northfield and south within Dundas. See: "Northfield and Dundas councils move forward on Mill Towns Trail project," Northfield News, 11 February 2025. (May require payment.) Information about what is planned during this phase is also available on the City of Northfield website.
Friends meeting: 17 September 2025
The next meeting of Friends of the Mill Towns Trail will be held on Tuesday, September 17 at 6 pm. Join us at Downtown Bicycles, 321 Division St., downtown Northfield.
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Support the Mill Towns Trail
We encourage everyone to join us, particiapate and make donations. Here's how you can get involved:
Become a member
Write to us (info@milltownstrail.net or Box 282 Northfield MN 55057) to ask about membership. Members receive progress reports and provide the support needed to continue to plan and publicize the trail, seek grants, and enlist wider support.
Attend a meeting
Our meetings are held about quarterly on weekday evenings at Tom's Downtown Bicycles in downtown Northfield. The more people we have at our meetings, the more good ideas we have to work with.
Make a donation
Send donations to Friends of Mill Towns Trail, Box 282, Northfield, MN 55057. Donations are vital. We have used contributions to pay planners and design engineers, to cover matching grants, and to help fund enhancements to the trail such as decorative cement blocks and the Dundas trailhead kiosk. The money our supporters provide is crucial to the success of this project.
Maps
The Minnesota DNR's map is simple and lists the rules.
Our interactive map requires more computer skills but lets you move around to see a lot of information.
The City of Northfield has maps and plans of the construction through Northfield scheduled for 2024-26.
About the Mill Towns Trail
History
The communities along the Mill Towns Trail have both natural and cultural histories in common. They share the broad Cannon River Valley and have made use of the river's energy through the creation of a series of mill dams between 1850 and 1910. Local historian Tom Neuhaus has identified thirty mill sites that are located along the Cannon river between Cannon Falls and Faribault.
It is said that the process of hard wheat milling was perfected in Rice County. When the local mills were first milling wheat, they made flour from the hard spring wheat that grew in this area. This flour was not wholly desirable, due to impurities from specks of wheat bran.
Alexander Faribault learned a French milling process that milled the hard spring wheat into a finer flour. He and the LaCroix brothers from Montreal built a mill based on this technique. The Archibalds, who were milling in Dundas, became interested in the new purifying process, and had the LaCroix brothers install a purifier in their mill. The Dundas flour became known for its quality, and eventually became Gold Medal Flour.
In the five communities through which the Mill Towns State Trail will pass, there are over sixty structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The downtown commercial areas of Faribault, Northfield and Cannon Falls are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
We recommend this story by Paul R. Fossum of Carleton College: "Early Milling in the Cannon River Valley," Minnesota History 11.3, September 1930, pages 271-282, available at JSTOR.
Our partners
The Mill Towns Trail Joint Powers Board consists of representatives of the City of Faribault, the City of Dundas, the City of Northfield, and Rice County.
Goodhue County, Dakota County, and the City of Cannon Falls are key partners in creating existing and future miles of trail. Goodhue County, Cannon Falls and Red Wing also co-administer the Cannon Valley Trail, which connects to the Mill Towns Trail at Cannon Falls and runs to the Mississippi.
Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota has been a key collaborator, including with the purchase of 70 acres near Cannon Falls.
The Rotary Club of Northfield has provided generous support for this project via Friends of the Mill Towns Trail. We thank them for their partnership.
The Mill Towns Trail is a Minnesota State Trail, administered by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
We thank the many donors have contributed to the Friends of the Mill Towns Trail. Our funds are smaller than the public funding but facilitate construction by being fast and flexible. Join us and send your donation to Friends of Mill Towns Trail, Box 282, Northfield MN 55057.
Our officers
President: Meg Otten
Treasurer: Ben Playter
Secretary: David Detert
More information
The Internet Archive has our old websites from
2004 to
2018.
Contact us
Friends of the Mill Towns Trail, Box 282, Northfield MN 55057. Please send any questions, comments, corrections and suggestions to info@milltownstrail.net. Photo at Mill Park in Dundas by Deborah Rose, 11 July 2024, copyright Minnesota DNR, used by permission. Edited 3 July 2025.