On September 7, all of Moir/Central Park and every trail access point along Nine Mile Creek closed for the Nine Mile Creek Corridor Renewal Project. The city says the full closure stays in place until construction is complete in late 2027. That means one full winter without the corridor that runs through the middle of town, and part of a second.
The city does not clear snow from all of its trails, so the closure hits harder in winter. "Only paved trails have snow removed in the winter," the City of Bloomington's Park Maintenance Division states. Central Park had both kinds of surface on a single walk. With it closed, those two kinds of walking are now in different parts of the city.
What came off the map
The city lists Central Park, including the Moir picnic area and the Nine Mile Creek area, as 4.5 miles of trail surfaced in asphalt, wood chip and lime rock. The Sun Current's preview of the project describes paved trail north of 106th Street, an aggregate trail south of it and several bridges across the creek. So a dog walker could start on the paved section and end up on the natural-surface section without leaving the park.
According to the city's October 1 project update, crews have finished removing the old shelter buildings at Moir Park, 10320 Morgan Ave. S. Work has shifted to the creek and its banks, including re-meandering a section of the creek just south of Harrison Park, and that work runs into early 2027. A new Moir shelter building is planned for 2027. Harrison Park is also still closed while its Veterans Memorial plaza and parking lot are finished.
The rule that sorts every replacement
The city clears paved trails and leaves the rest under snow, so each walking alternative falls into one of two groups. Paved routes stand in for the creek trail north of 106th Street. South of it, the aggregate section's winter equivalent is natural-surface trail, where snowshoes help for most of the season. Dogs that need to run off leash have a third option.
| Place | Address | Surface | Dogs | Winter detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normandale Lake Park | 8401 Chalet Road | Paved lake loop | Leashed | 1.9 paved miles around the lake |
| Hyland Lake Park Reserve | 10145 Bush Lake Road | Paved and packed routes, plus groomed ski trails | Leashed, on 9 miles of dog trails | 8.6 miles of winter hiking; no walking on ski trails |
| Richardson Nature Center | 8737 E. Bush Lake Road | Natural surface | Six-foot leash on dog-friendly trails | Snowshoe rental, $7 for two hours |
| Bass Ponds Trailhead | 2501 86th St. E. | Natural surface | Six-foot leash | 0.85-mile loop, open year-round |
| Bloomington Visitor Center | 3815 American Blvd. E. | Natural surface | Six-foot leash | Free snowshoe loans with 6+ inches of snow |
| Off-Leash Recreation Area | Nesbitt Ave. and W. 111th St. | Open grass and hills | Off leash, city license required | Closed first Wednesday of each month, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
The paved half: Normandale Lake and Hyland
Three Rivers Park District lists 1.9 miles of paved trail around Normandale Lake. The park is open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. The city's trail inventory describes separate laps at Normandale, one for walking and one for biking and in-line skating, so walkers have their own lane. Three Rivers took over operations and maintenance at Normandale Lake on January 1, 2025, under an agreement with the city. The loop is paved, which is the surface Bloomington's snow policy covers, so it is the most likely substitute for the paved creek section on a weekday morning after a snowfall.
Hyland Lake Park Reserve is bigger, and a walker there needs to know one rule. Hyland has 9.5 miles of cross-country ski trails, groomed daily for classic and skate skiing, and Three Rivers does not allow hiking on them. Walkers have a separate network. Three Rivers counts 8.6 miles of winter hiking at Hyland, including a 1-mile loop and 2.5 miles of regional trail that are plowed or packed. Hyland also has 9 miles of dog trails. The district requires a six-foot leash that does not retract, and owners must pick up after their dogs.
If someone in the house would rather ski the groomed trails than walk next to them, Three Rivers requires a cross-country ski pass for skiers 12 and older. For 2026–27, a daily pass good at all parks is $12, a daily pass for natural-snow parks is $8, and a season pass for all parks is $95. Five miles of Hyland's ski trails are lit, and more than three miles have snowmaking.
The natural-surface half, with snowshoes you can borrow
Central Park's wood-chip and lime-rock sections have their closest winter match in the eastern part of the city, at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Refuge trails are open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Dogs are welcome wherever people are allowed, on a six-foot leash, and owners carry waste out where there are no bins.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lends adult and child snowshoes for free at its visitor centers once there are at least six inches of snow. At the Bloomington Visitor Center, checkout runs Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Snowshoes rented at Richardson Nature Center in Hyland cost $7 for a two-hour limit.
These three refuge trailheads are within Bloomington:
- Bass Ponds Trailhead, 2501 86th St. E. The refuge calls it a former Izaak Walton League fish hatchery a few steps from the Mall of America. A steep driveway leads down to a flat 0.85-mile loop around ponds, marsh and a spring-fed stream. In winter it is open for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and fat-tire biking.
- Forest Loop at the Bloomington Visitor Center, 3815 American Blvd. E. This 0.4-mile natural-surface loop opens with a steep descent and is used for snowshoeing in winter. It is also the place to borrow snowshoes.
- Old Cedar Avenue Trailhead, 9551 Old Cedar Ave. S. The boardwalk here is being replaced, and the refuge expected the work to finish in late November. During the project, parking is reduced and the Bluff Trail west of the lot is closed weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
On the west side, Richardson Nature Center at 8737 E. Bush Lake Road shares Hyland's five miles of snowshoe trail with the park's recreation area. It is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
The dog that needs to run
Leashed loops don't help much with a dog that needs to run. The city's Off-Leash Recreation Area for Dogs at Nesbitt Avenue and W. 111th Street covers 25 acres of open grass, hills, trees and a pond, with a separately fenced section. Dogs need a current city dog license, must be under voice control, and must be leashed while entering and leaving. Handlers keep a leash in hand at all times. The area closes for maintenance from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month. The next two closures fall on December 2 and January 6.
Dated reasons to get out before the year ends
Richardson Nature Center's November and December calendar gives the natural-surface trails a reason to visit beyond exercise. All of these are from the Three Rivers program listings:
- Women's Hike and Campfire, Friday, Nov. 6, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., $8 per person. If there is snow, participants use snowshoes or traction devices.
- Drop-In Discoveries, every Sunday from 3 to 4 p.m., free. Topics run from Turkey Talk and Backyard Birds in November to Animals that Hibernate and Animal Tracks in December.
- S'mores Scavenger Hunt, Saturday, Nov. 14, 10 to 11:30 a.m. or 2 to 3:30 p.m., $15 per group of up to five.
- Buckthorn Wreath Making, Saturday, Nov. 21, 10 a.m. to noon or 2 to 4 p.m., $32 per person.
- Crafting with Buckthorn, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2 to 3:30 p.m., $8 per person.
- Raptors of Minnesota, Saturday, Dec. 26, 10 to 11 a.m., $6 per person.
- Sledding and S'mores, Thursday, Dec. 31, noon to 4 p.m., free.
The two buckthorn sessions connect to the creek corridor. Buckthorn is an invasive plant, and invasive plants are part of what the Nine Mile Creek project is clearing out.
Why the corridor will look different when it reopens
The Minnesota Star Tribune reported in July that the $20 million project is partly funded by a local sales tax. It targets erosion and invasive species and aims to restore the oak savanna that once covered the area. That means removing trees that compete with native oaks. The same Star Tribune report found neighbors divided. Save Our Woods formed to oppose the removals and keep the corridor's shade. Members of Bloomington Neighbors Nurturing Nature argued that the oaks offer the most biodiversity and resilience to climate change.
When the corridor reopens, parts of the walk will be more open to the sky than before, the creek will follow a new course south of Harrison Park, and Moir Park will have a new shelter. The city's project page at bloomingtonforward.org/9mile lists the city's own suggested alternatives and is the place to check for progress over the coming months.
A park project that runs into late 2027 can also come up when you sell, since buyers often ask what is happening near a home. If you live near the corridor and want to know how a long closure like this one comes into a sale, The Kent Group is glad to talk it through with you, with no pressure and no rush.
