69.1M Visits A Near-Record Number For Twin Cities Regional Parks And Trails

ST. PAUL, MN — The Twin Cities Regional Parks and Trails System had an estimated 69.1 million visits in 2025, which is the second-highest annual visitation on record and up 5.1 percent from 2024, according to the Metropolitan Council.

The council in a news release attributed the increased demand to “nice weather and historic investment that helped support the addition of five new units to the system.”

The regional parks and trails system includes 46 regional parks, 12 park reserves, eight special recreation features, and more than 480 miles of regional trails.

The most visited regional parks were Minneapolis Chain of Lakes with 6.7 million visits, Mississippi Gorge Regional Park with 3.7 million, and Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park with 3.5 million, according to the council. The most visited regional trail was Minnehaha Parkway Regional Trail with 3.1 million visits, followed by Midtown Greenway with 1.4 million.

The council partners with the 10 regional park-implementing agencies — including the metro counties, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, St. Paul, Bloomington and Three Rivers Park District — to estimate the number of visits annually.