February 2017

Believe it or not, St. Paul is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country, even despite Minnesota’s cold, harsh winters that make riding just a little more challenging from roughly November to March. But over the years, the city of St. Paul has invested heavily in bicycle infrastructure, which includes everything from building and maintaining a huge network of off-street bicycle pathways and trails to adding more and more bike lanes throughout the city that help ensure riding a bike in town is safer and more efficient. 

If you’re new to the St. Paul area or are perhaps thinking about buying a home in St. Paul sometime in the near future, you’re probably still somewhat unfamiliar with all the bicycle amenities the city has to offer. But as

The Bruce Vento Regional Trail is one of the most used recreational trails in the entire Twin Cities region. Stretching nearly 7 miles long, the Bruce Vento Trail not only runs through St. Paul but also parts of Vadnais Heights, Gem Lake, and Maplewood as well. 

The trail itself occupies an abandoned stretch of the Burlington Northern Railroad, while also intersecting with the Gateway State Trail in Maplewood, which continues to a point just east of beautiful Lake Phalen. 

For potential St. Paul home buyers who love getting outside and staying active, living near the Bruce Vento Trail is absolutely a gift that keeps on giving. Even during the winter months, as long as there isn’t a ton of snow on the ground, it’s refreshing to get outside to go for

More public transit options could be on the way for St. Paul, which could even include service to parts of Western Wisconsin, believe it or not. 

According to reports, there seems to be a strong push for privately financed passenger rail service from Eau Claire, WI all the way back over to St. Paul’s Union Depot, which could potentially include a stop in nearby Stillwater, MN as well. 

Already, thousands of Wisconsin residents commute to the Twin Cities each and every day, so train service to at least some of these cities and towns seems to make a lot of sense on the surface.

The idea of passenger train service from Western Wisconsin to St. Paul is nothing new, however, and has actually been discussed as far back as 2009. But this most recent