Plain and simple: This trail has developed into one of the "must ride" trails in Minnesota.  MORC has taken the initiative in working with Dakota County to turn a really marginal doubletrack XC ski loop into their flagship trail featuring some of the best riding in Minnesota, with nearly 10 miles of singletrack (and more on the way).

 

First there is a beginner (warm-up) loop directly out of the parking lot. It heads off from the southwest corner of the parking lot and wanders through the pine trees and grass fields of the north end of the park.  This warm-up loop is about .78 miles long. 

 

The rest of the trail loop starts where the beginner trail exits.  The trail, called "Dream II", was built in 2004 to replace the old ski trail.  It winds its way among pine trees as it works its way up the initial climb.   You will find some of Lebanon's best scenery on this trail, as well as a couple of fun expert bypass sections.  The first bypass is a rock ride and the second is a double jump.  Beware of the double jump!  (recently modified and under construction)  If you ride this jump too fast and you end up launching into an unstable landing area.   Eventually you will wind your way up and cross back over the ski trail to the original singletrack that was built back in 2001.   Its called the "Joey Trail" or the "E" trail (according to the trail markers).

This singletrack is really fun. It's fast, it's smooth, and it's winding. There's a good mix of everything... trees, rocks, roots.  This is one of the best areas of the entire park.  It's wide open rolling singletrack. Once you get an idea of what the corners are like, you can really fly. This is a great intermediate singletrack section that would be fun for people of varied abilities.

 

New as of 2006 is a section called "Stooges Run".  This trail bypasses an old section of doubletrack that used to be part of the old "Larry, Curley & Mo" climbs.  This section was built in an effort to keep riders off the ski trail for winter riding.  Now the trail crosses straight over the ski trail and climbs up over a log-switchback and curves around before diving back down to hook up with the beginning of the existing climb.

 

This climb is dubbed "The Bypass".  This climb last about a quarter of a mile and is one of the more sustained climbs at Lebanon Hills.   It gets its name because it replaced a real steep gravel climbs that are now closed and being re-claimed due to erosion.  At the top of this climb there is yet another new section of trail that we call the "Upper Bypass".  This section winds around a hill among some rather tricky rocks (for an intermediate section anyway) then back down to an area where many trails come together.   

 

The Upper Bypass was added in the fall of 2008, adding a bit of distance and fun riding among rocks.   A bit of trivia:  The rock on the very top is the highest part of Lebanon Hills.

 

Your options at this gathering point are an Intermediate Bypass trail (which will take you back to the parking lot) or the more advanced loops. 

 

The "Intermediate Bypass" was completely changed in 2006.  What used to be a small section of shared ski trail was rerouted to be completely singletrack.   With the completion of this trail, Lebanon Hills became 100% singletrack!  This new section features more great views of the park, a few small downhill rock gardens, and a very large rock jump.  What used to be a largely ignored section of trail has become a part of almost everyone's "normal" lap.   This trail leads you out to the parking lot, so before you take it you will want to read about our more advanced trail alternatives.

 

The "X Loop" or "Expert Loop" is much tighter than the rest of the singletrack at Lebanon, and has quite a few rock sections and log piles. The rocks are a ton of fun, and really well situated.  If you don't like riding log piles, this may not be the trail for you.  There are near a dozen log piles of various sizes in the first few hundred feet alone.

 

Once through this dense log pile area, you are in for some really fun tight and technical riding with some rock gardens and the occasional log pile placed at just the right interval to make this one of the most unique trails to ride. 

New in 2006 is "Tedman's Curve", which is a short but technical advanced optional route that includes a bermed turn that took a full month of trailwork sessions to complete.   This is one of the most technical rocky sections of trail at Lebanon Hills and will continue to get "worse" as the rocks become more exposed.

This area leads up to a sharp right turn that can trip up even the more advanced rider.  While we don't have the quantity of rocks seen in other states, these rocks are plentiful and very well placed.  Clearing Tedman's Curve and the old X Rock Garden has become the most recent badge of honor among regulars at Lebanon Hills.

 

After this rock area you will find yourself riding through a more spread out rock garden, a sharp set of S-turns, and a small climb up to one of the highest part of the entire park.  From this area you start a run ride that winds its way down and out of the the expert loop via some real fast corners and the occasional log jump.  When the expert loop ends, you hang a right on some gravel doubletrack and head for the tree line. Just before you go into the trees, the trail veers off to the left, meeting up with the Intermediate bypass mentioned earlier.  MORC did a lot of work to seed some of the older trails back into nature last year and hope everyone enjoys the new routes that have been created in this area.  The expert loop is just over a mile long.

In 2003 a new more challenging expert loop that actually starts about 2/3 of the way through the current expert loop.  You will cross a rather tall log and see a very large log pile (enhanced in 2006) to your immediate left.  This challenge, if you wish to accept it, leads out into 1.55 miles of more flowing trail with slightly more difficult obstacles.  The trail itself is much faster than the original expert loop, but along the way you will find more advanced challenges such as larger and less "straight" log piles, narrow rocky climbs, longer rock gardens, rock drops and jumps, narrow bridges, log drops, tabletop jumps.. the list goes on and will continue to grow as MORC has time to continue working and inventing new ways to challenge your skills.   Be sure to check out the Log Ladder climb, and a small section of new trail that climbs up to one of the highest points on this trail.  The trail was constructed as part of the 2007 National Trails Day event in cooperation with Dakota County and REI.  (100 volunteers showed up to help build this trail!)  The new log ladder features 7 larger log "step-ups" that are spaced fairly close together.  The log ladder helped us get up to a rock feature and keep the trail sustainable (not to mention fun!). 

 

If you do not feel comfortable riding the expert loop, do not enter the XX loop.

 

The "XX Loop" or "Double Expert Loop" exits right where the original expert loop and intermediate trail split off, so you are faced with three options: take the expert loop back to the double expert loop, take the expert loop back to the parking lot, or take the intermediate trail back to the parking lot.  If you want, you can circle around riding expert loop all day if you like.  This is the beauty of a stacked loop trail system.

The last part of Lebanon was opened up early 2004 and is affectionately known as the "Dream Trail".  This trail takes what used to be a sketchy section of ski trail and re-routed it into some beautiful new singletrack!  The fast flowing downhills are still there, but you are treated to a new climb back up to the top of a hill and then back down again.  You eventually wind your way around across a bridge, up through an open meadow and connect back into the beginner trail. 

 

New as of 2008 is what we call the "Lake Loop" - a 1.2 mile intermediate trail.  This trail bypasses a very small section of eroded trail, but adds some really fun and fast berms, 3 sections of boardwalk (each over 50' long) and more hidden goodness.   There is the upper pond (soon to be the home of one of the Gnomes) and the lower pond/lake that is mostly green in the summer.   Many have commented that this is the best section of trail MORC has yet built.   This new section has increased the distance of Lebanon Hills to that of Murphy Hanrehan, both being around 9.6 miles long.

The Area

Lebanon Hills is located in the southeast Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area right on the boarder of Eagan and Apple Valley, Minnesota.  Being right in the metro gives riders plenty of options for places to eat, sleep or even camp.    Lebanon Hills Regional Park is a large park spanning over 2,000 acres and offers miles of trails for activities other than biking.   The Lebanon Hills Campground is just a half mile south of the bike trails.  There are lots of places to eat nearby on Cliff Rd. or up in Eagan Town Center.  A few rider favorites are Doolittles, Bonfire Grill, and Old Chicago (the usual Thursday post-group ride hangout).

Overall Impression

Lebanon Hills sees a lot of rider traffic for a reason.    MORC has been working on this trail system for many years and has perfected the art of trail building and design along the way.   As such, the subtle differences between trails can be felt, but in a good way.  Through the dedicated efforts of MORC and the Lebanon volunteers this has become one of the top riding experiences around.   The newest sections even addressed the distance issue the trail once had, allowing you to make upwards of 10 miles in a lap depending on where you ride.  There is a little something for everyone at Lebanon and the ownership taken by the many trail volunteers shows. 

It is worth noting that parking has become a problem at Lebanon Hills.  The lot is quite small, and you will be ticketed if you park on the grass or between no-parking signs.  Options around the park are limited, so if you must ride during early evening on week nights or on weekends you may be taking a chance to find parking.  There is a park just to the north of the lot, and there are a lot of walkers and trail runners in this area as well.  Parking is especially poor on Tuesday nights during regular trail work.  Check the forums for discussions regarding parking alternatives.  (2008 Update) Rumor has it that Dakota County may be working to resolve the parking and facilities issue - stay tuned for more on that in the Lebanon Hills Forum!

Winter Riding:  Lebanon Hills is open for winter riding.  We have been overwhelmed at how many riders come out each year to extend their riding season.  MORC often has night group "stomps" when the snow is fresh to help pack them down, so if you have skis, snowshoes or even just like to hike please come help us out.   It is also important to watch temps during the winter season and stay off the trail when it gets above or even near freezing.  Riding during these times leave ruts in the snow that eventually freeze and make for a very unpleasant riding experience.

Night Riding:  Lebanon Hills is open for night riding.   It is important to note that the entire trail system and parking lot are CLOSED at 10pm sharp.   This means you need to be off the trail and out of the lot by that time, as the gates need to be closed.   Please don't delay, as you will get a ticket for being there past 10.    Failing to follow this simple rule will jeapordize our night riding priviledges in the future.     Also, be ready for anything at night... there are a lot of wildlife out there, and riders sometimes get turned around.   Ride with extra caution at night as you never know what to expect.    Consider not riding alone.

2010-11 Plans:  MORC has a mile of beginner trail planned and Dakota County has mentioned some parking lot improvements are on the way.   Check the forums and our Facebook page for updated information.

Suggested Route:   A typical lap at Lebanon normally consists of Dream I -> Joey Trail -> Stooges Run -> Bypass -> Upper Bypass -> X Loop -> XX Loop -> Intermediate Out -> Dream Trail -> Beginner Trail -> Parking Lot.

You can also take the X Loop exit which will hook up with the Dream Trail.  Because of the new Intermediate Out trail this section often gets ignored, but is very much worth it.

Intermediate level riders may want to skip the X and XX loops and simply exit out by taking the Intermediate Out trail just after the Upper Bypass.

These trail names become more clear by reading the review (above) and by looking at the map on the Map page of the trail review.

 

Trail reviewed by John Lundell, Lebanon Hills Trail Steward / Dirt Boss

From the west (Savage area), hop on Hwy13. Stay on 13 past I-35W. Turn right on Cliff Road. Follow Cliff Road east over Hwy 77, and I-35E. Turn right on Johnny Cake Ridge Road. Half a mile on your right you'll see the park.

From the south get on I-35, take I-35E at the split. Exit at Cliff Road. Take a right (east) and then turn right on Johnny Cake Ridge Road. Half a mile on your right you'll see the park.

From the north get on I-35W heading south. Exit at CR13. Follow the directions from the west. OR Take Hwy 77 or I-35E south. Exit at Cliff Road. Follow directions from the west.