Farm Loop Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Fall Colors · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

The area is closed to equestrians from November 1 through April 30 to allow for firearms deer hunting. Hikers should use caution from mid-December to early-January as pheasant, deer, and late-season goose hunting will be ongoing.

The property is jointly managed by the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in conjunction with Dakota County and Empire Township.

The University of Minnesota manages UMore Park, a 4,772-acre property on the southern edge of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. The 11-mile Lone Rock Trail system runs through gently rolling terrain, including woodlands, restored prairie, wetlands, and agricultural land at the south end of UMore Park, in an area called the Vermillion Highlands.

The Farm Loop Trail is one of the four trails in the Lone Rock Trail system. The trails in this system are mostly wide, natural surface (mowed grass) double tracks connected by a few gravel roads. The hiking in summer is enlivened by wildflowers and the winter hiking (or snowshoeing) by big views out over the snowy terrain.

Start hiking from the Lone Rock Trailhead off of Station Trail Road, south of 170th Street. There are maps with intersection numbers at each major trail junction. For the Farm Loop Trail, go either clockwise or counter-clockwise from the trailhead through Intersections 1, 2, 3, and 4.