From December 1 through March 31, about two miles of the Dakota Rail Regional Trail in Orono will close between North Shore Drive and Orono Orchard Road. Three Rivers Park District will not post a detour. The closure is the trail section of a regional sewer project. The same pipe goes under Old Crystal Bay Road, North Shore Drive and Brown Road before it reaches the trail. The Metropolitan Council plans to work on it one street at a time until spring or summer of 2028.
Once you know the pipe's route, the gap in the trail makes sense. So do the next two construction seasons on the streets around Crystal Bay.
Why the Closed Section Is Exactly Where It Is
Met Council calls the project Orono Sewer Improvements, project 802897. It's building a new regional sewer pipe that starts at lift station L59 on Lilac Lane and ends at Orono Orchard Road to the northeast. The published route:
- From lift station L59 on Lilac Lane, south on Old Crystal Bay Road
- East on North Shore Drive
- North on Brown Road
- Near Brown Road and Lakeview Avenue, onto the Dakota Rail Trail corridor
- Along the trail to the end point at Orono Orchard Road
The trail closure covers only step five. That's where the pipe leaves the streets and follows the old rail grade. The map shows an existing regional sewer pipe that starts in the same area. Instead of turning northeast along the trail, it continues east to Shoreline Drive and then runs northeast under Shoreline Drive toward Woodhill Country Club.
The new pipe is a backup, not a replacement that gets switched over and forgotten. Met Council's capital-program fact sheet calls the work the Orono Interceptor 7113 Forcemain Replacement. It describes the new line as a redundant forcemain running beside the existing forcemain 7113, which was built in 1979 and is nearing the end of its service life. With a second pipe in service, crews can inspect the existing line under Shoreline Drive and then rehabilitate or replace it. In other words, the trail work is the first step of a longer plan for the sewer serving this part of the lake.
Why Winter, and Why the Timeline Runs Past This One
Three Rivers says it scheduled the trail closures for fall and winter because trail use drops sharply in the cold months. The closure has a set end date of March 31. After that, the parts of the trail affected by the sewer work will be repaved.
The street work runs longer. Met Council expects construction to start in late 2026 and finish in spring or summer 2028. Crews will use both open-trench and trenchless tunneling, and they'll limit construction to one street at a time. The project page openly says the trade-off. Working street by street makes the project take longer, but it avoids long-term disruption across the neighborhood. Met Council lists road closures, intersection restrictions and traffic detours as expected effects. It also says driveway access will stay open.
Met Council's documents frame the schedule slightly differently:
| Source | Construction window stated |
|---|---|
| Orono Sewer Improvements project page | Late 2026 start, spring/summer 2028 completion |
| Community meeting flyer | Work through fall 2027, final restoration spring/summer 2028 |
| Capital-program fact sheet | 2026 through 2029 for the broader 7113 project |
The project page and flyer cover the Orono pipe itself. The fact sheet covers a wider program, which probably explains the extra year. Either way, the streets near Old Crystal Bay Road and Brown Road will have construction for longer than the trail will.
Met Council held its in-person pre-construction meetings this fall at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts, 2240 North Shore Drive. For street-by-street updates as work moves along the route, Met Council offers email and text alerts through a signup form on the Orono Sewer Improvements project page.
The Mound End Is on a Separate Schedule
West of Orono, a different project will cut the trail sooner. Starting October 15, Three Rivers will close about 2.5 miles between Shoreline Drive in Mound and Westonka Recreation Park in Minnetrista, past Gale Woods Farm. That section is scheduled to stay closed through the end of February while Xcel Energy replaces the high-voltage transmission line that runs alongside the trail.
The Laker Pioneer reported that this is the line connecting Mound to St. Bonifacius, near the trail and Minnetrista City Hall. Xcel expects the work to continue through spring 2028. Xcel spokesperson Kevin Coss told the Laker Pioneer that "most work will take place along the existing right-of-way." He added that service interruptions aren't expected and any brief planned outages will be announced in advance. The same article says Minnetrista signed a three-year lease letting Xcel stockpile construction materials on city property. The grading there is expected to make the site more usable later, possibly for parking.
A third, shorter closure is already in place in downtown Mound. Since October 5, the trail has been closed at Commerce Boulevard while Hennepin County rebuilds the crossing ramps to meet ADA standards. A detour is posted. The county lists the Commerce Boulevard road and trail closure through early November. Drivers are routed via Shoreline Drive, Willshire Boulevard and Bartlett Boulevard.
All three side by side:
| Closure | Dates | Cause | Detour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commerce Boulevard crossing, Mound | From October 5 through early November | Hennepin County ADA ramp upgrades | Posted |
| Shoreline Drive, Mound to Westonka Recreation Park, Minnetrista | October 15 through end of February | Xcel Energy transmission line replacement | None |
| North Shore Drive to Orono Orchard Road, Orono | December 1 through March 31 | Met Council sewer line | None |
For about two weeks in late October and early November, the Mound closures overlap. From December through February, both long gaps are closed at once. That leaves the western Dakota Rail as a series of separate open stretches.
What Stays Open Between the Gaps
Three Rivers says the trail remains open between the closed areas. According to the trail page, Dakota Rail is plowed in Orono, Spring Park, Wayzata, Minnetonka Beach and part of Mound. Three Rivers describes winter maintenance on regional trails as a partnership with local cities.
So the eastern stretch from Wayzata past Navarre toward Spring Park still works as a winter walk or ride. Official trail parking includes 175 Grove Lane and the lot at 3401–3465 Lyric Avenue in Navarre. Farther west, there's parking at 5515 Lynwood Boulevard in Mound and at Gale Woods Farm. The Gale Woods lot sits inside the Xcel closure, so it won't connect to open trail until that section reopens at the end of February.
Where the Lost Miles Can Go Instead
For anyone who usually uses the Orono stretch for longer loops, these nearby trails have published winter rules:
- Luce Line State Trail. The DNR describes the Luce Line as a 63-mile former railroad grade. Hikers, skiers and winter bikers are directed to the section between Vicksburg Lane and Stubbs Bay Road. West of Stubbs Bay Road, the trail is groomed for snowmobiles and closed to those uses. The DNR lists Long Lake-area parking reached via Old Crystal Bay Road, Watertown Road and Stubbs Bay Road.
- Baker Park Reserve. Three Rivers lists 9.1 miles of groomed trails for classic and skate skiing, plus a 5.2-mile winter-only multi-use trail that opens as snow allows. Winter hiking is allowed on the multi-use trail but not on the groomed ski trails.
- Saga Hill Nature Area. The City of Orono describes Saga Hill as 28 acres of woods with unimproved paths and a parking lot. The city's September/October newsletter recommended it for fall foliage walks. The city page doesn't say whether the paths are maintained in winter.
Once March 31 passes, the Orono section is scheduled to reopen with new pavement where crews dug. The streets on the rest of the pipe's route are scheduled to have construction until 2028.
Lynn has lived in this community and on this lake for two decades, and projects like this one belong in the neighborhood picture too. That includes which streets are getting new infrastructure and when the work is expected to finish. If you're planning a sale or purchase near Crystal Bay, North Shore Drive or Brown Road over the next two years, Lynn Reiners can walk you through the construction timeline as part of your plan. Schedule your personal market consultation with Lynn.
