In 2023, the county completed the 
Sustainable Trail Study at Lebanon Hills Regional Park. It looked at all 50 miles of trails in the park and identified ways to:
- Achieve safe, sustainable trails throughout the park
- Improve ADA accessibility
- Provide quality nature-based visitor experiences
The county will develop a plan for trail improvements based on the study. This will establish priorities and funding needs for future projects.
The plan will provide a routine maintenance schedule to keep all trails in high quality. It will also improve the sustainability of the trail system.
In some cases, trails could be removed or realigned. This would occur to decrease impacts on natural resources or to improve visitor experience. Some trail segments have deep gullies or loose gravel. These conditions can be dangerous and unpleasant for trail users.
The project will consider the protection of natural resources and recreation. When it's complete, it will provide a sustainable trail system that will lessen environmental impacts while reducing maintenance costs.
For background, review the Lebanon Hills Regional Park Master Plan and Natural Resources Management Plan.
Identified project priorities
West segment
- Reduce mountain bike and hiking trail intersections by combining and realigning trail sections.
- Convert mountain bike green trail for adaptive-use mountain bikes. Consider making adaptive mobility devices available.
- Maintain clear sightlines at mountain bike and hiking trail intersections. Establish features to slow mountain bikers down at intersections.
- Remove some skate ski and summer hiking trails.
- Realign and take out severely eroded hiking and skate ski trails using sustainable design principles.
Middle segment
- Assess feasibility of accessible trail around Wheaton Pond.
- Design the hiking loop around Gerhardt Lake and Apple Pond (not intended to be ADA accessible).
- Design more hiking trails to campground and other park uses.
- Allow for shared use of equestrian and hiking trails.
- Realign or take out severely eroded trails.
East segment
- Design south neighborhood connection to Jensen Lake loop trail and take out informal trails.
- Design hiking loop around Holland Lake (not intended to be ADA accessible)
- Improve gravel trail around Schulze Lake with the preferred trail surfacing alternative.
- Establish shared equestrian and hiking trails.
- Design summer and winter hiking trail connection to the equestrian trailhead.
- Provide year-round hiking access from nearby neighborhoods to avoid conflicts with ski trails.
- Take out redundant trails and restore with native vegetation.
Project timeline
December 2024-February 2025: Public engagement/stakeholder meeting
March 2025: 60% Preliminary Design complete
June 2025: 95% Preliminary Design complete
Fall 2025-2026: Construction and trail decommissioning
Contacts
For questions or information about maintenance at the Holland Trailhead and surrounding area:
Randy Cunningham, Grounds Maintenance Supervisor
randy.cunningham@co.dakota.mn.us
651-480-1251
For questions or information about the maintenance study and general project questions:
Mike Adams, Greenways Senior Project Manager
mike.adams@co.dakota.mn.us
651-554-6538