Teepee Tonka Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Historical Significance · River/Creek · Swimming · Wildflowers · Wildlife

The main parking area for the south end of the trail is at the Trailside Center at the end of Rustad Road. There are indoor restrooms in the Center. There is also parking is at a pull-out on Rustad Road just south of Upper Pond. The main parking area for the north end of the trail is at TeePee Tonka Park.

If you park at the Trailside Center, the most direct path to the south end of the Teepee Tonka is via the Prairie Loop and Raspberry Trails. The north end of the trail starts at TeePee Tonka Park, near the archery range. The trail connecting these two points is wide and easy to follow. About 0.2 miles south of the park, it crosses the Straight River on a pedestrian bridge. It can be used as an out-and-back connection between the park and the Nature Center or as a way to add miles to a hike starting and ending within the Nature Center.

The trail's most unusual feature is its passage through a 442-foot long tunnel 0.3 miles from the park or 0.5 miles from the Teepee Tonka Trail's junction with the Cherry Trail. In 1937, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) crew spent 121 days digging this long tunnel (along with 42 1,100 cubic foot lateral bins) into the sandstone hill here. The tunnel and bins were used, as a cost saving measure, to store vegetables for the state school and colony then located above (what's located above now is a state prison).