The Luce Line State Trail follows the corridor of a former railroad line and has been maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources ( DNR ) since 1976 .

The trail runs 63 miles , from the western metro suburb of Plymouth to the small town of Cosmos in west-central Minnesota .

From Plymouth to Winsted , the surface is crushed limestone , with a parallel trail for horseback riding . West of Winsted , the trail has a mowed-grass surface from Cedar Mills to Cosmos .

In Hutchinson , the trail is paved from Zebra Avenue to just west of Hutchinson on County State Aid Highway ( CSAH ) 115 .

From CSAH 115 to Cedar Mills , it is comprised of crushed granite ; from Cedar Mills to Cosmos it is mowed grass .

Efforts are being made by the city to entice visitors to the lakefront promenade , parks , and the downtown areas of Winsted from those Luce Line entry points .

Where the trail enters Winsted by Southview Park on the east , signage was added in 2010 , titled “ Winsted Byway .”

The signs can be found throughout town along the trail , and they direct visitors north to Mill Reserve Park and the lakefront promenade .

Plans are being considered to create a plaza entry in this area , as well , to provide trail users with seating , and landscaping to make it more inviting .

A paved city trail along the north side of Main Avenue , where pedestrians previously had to use the street , was completed in 2010 . It ’ s one of the city ’ s efforts to provide a safe walkway through town for trail users .

The Luce Line Trail entry on the west side of Winsted is south of the Cenex Winsted Farmer ’ s Co-op , on the west side of McLeod County Road 1 .

Ribbon-cutting events , celebrating the trail-paving project , took place in Winsted and Hutchinson in 2015 .

The trail is available for multiple uses , such as hiking , biking , inline skating , cross country skiing , and snowmobiling . A parallel horse trail is included .

The Luce Line State Trail , which goes through Winsted , stretches 63 miles , from Plymouth to Cosmos .

About 19 miles ( from the Carver County line east of Winsted to McLeod County Road 115 west of Hutchinson ) was paved in 2015 to enhance this amenity .

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources ( DNR ) completed the trail base prep ( including the creation of a parallel horse-riding trail ) in 2014 .

The cost of the prep work , $ 1.7 million , came from several sources . The DNR contributed $ 500,000 ; Winsted , $ 100,0000 ; Hutchinson , $ 750,000 ; Silver Lake , $ 10,000 ; and McLeod County , $ 500,000 . Surplus funds went toward paving .

Paving was made possible through a bonding bill Governor Mark Dayton signed in 2014 that included funding for several trail projects in Minnesota , including $ 1.732 million for the Luce Line .

Currently , trail users going through Winsted take city streets to connect to the trail on the other side of town . Winsted created a connecting trail along Kingsley Avenue , routing people along Winsted Lake and through the downtown area .

There is a severance in the trail between County Road 1 and County Road 9 . Signs have been installed directing trail-users to County Road 9 , Baxter Ave , and County Road 1 . The fi nal paving of the airport segment took place in 2019 .

Hutchinson

Silver Lake

Winsted is near the middle of the Luce Line State Trail , which runs from Plymouth in the east , to Cosmos in the west . 36