Lebanon Hills

Address: 4801 Johnny Cake Ridge Rd, Eagan, MN 55122

Website: https://www.co.dakota.mn.us/parks/parksTrails/LebanonHills/Pages/west-trailhead.aspx

Maintained by: Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists (MORC)

Amenities: Flush Toilets, Picnic Tables, Skills Park, Bike Repair Station, Bottle fill station.

Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan is one of the most popular mountain bike trails in the metro area and a perfect place for new riders. It was the first place Ryan took our kids and it remains on Maggie’s list of favorite trails.

Lebanon Hills is a huge park with lots of different access points. The main trailhead for the mountain bike trails, which is where you can access the skills park and green loop, is the West Trailhead on Johnny Cake Ridge Road.

The trailhead boasts a large paved parking lot, flush toilets, and a large covered picnic area. There is a drinking fountain with a bottle fill station and a bike repair station. As far as trailheads go, it doesn’t get better then Leb.

On the other side of the bathrooms/picnic area from the parking lot, there is large skills park with areas to hone your skills with skinnies, rollers and berms. My kids love taking laps around here while we finish loading and unloading.

Access to the beginners Green Loop is directly behind the bathrooms. This is where most riders start as you can access the harder trails from the green loop, but there is direct access to the blue trail from the very north side of the parking lot.

Don’t let the blue and black bike signs on the post confuse you, this is the green/easy trail as indicated by the top sign. The bike signs are for summer and winter biking routes, to differentiate them from hiking or cross country ski trails. But once you’ve figured out the signs, you won’t be lost. There is a sign and a map at every trail crossing and every sign is numbered so you always know exactly where you are.

There are over 11 miles of trail at Lebanon Hills. The green trail is 1.68 miles, the blue about 5 and the rest are black trails that I haven’t seen. My kids can do two, maybe 3 loops around the green trail at a go. Leb was a great trail when my kids were just starting, but it is not a favorite of mine personally because I get bored doing the same loop multiple times when other trails, like Carver Lake give you the option of shorter or longer rides without having to repeat the same trail multiple times. The Blue loop is longer, but too technical for my kids, with drops, rock gardens, and more climbing than they enjoy.

Focusing on the green trail, the first half is a climb and the second half is a decent. Between the two is bit with some super fun berms and a section that lets you choose between berms or jumps.

There are no real obstacles on the green trail, it’s smooth and appropriate for any skill level. There are some areas with rocks or bricks and a few short bridges, but everything is wide and easy to cross.

Like I mentioned, the whole first half of the loop is almost all uphill, but it isn’t super steep and my kids have no problem making it up. I do more whining then they do. The worst of the climbing is over by this stump at sign 224. It’s good spot to stop for a drink and catch your breath.

The next section brings you toward the berms, which are quite fun.

And now you are choosing your own adventure. I highly recommend the jumps, they are all perfectly rollable and kid friendly. The jumps are to the left, and there is also the option to take a plain trail, or use it as a return trail and repeat this section.

From this point, it’ll downhill and it is super fun. You go racing back through the woods down hills, over bumps, and finally end up twisting through pine trees before you come out right next to where you started. The only thing to look out for is the branch off for the blue trail, it is well marked, but just stay to the right.

And now you are ready to start another loop, or head back to the skills park.

One word of warning, this is a very popular trail and can be very busy at peak times. Since the green trails lead to the blue trails, a lot of faster bikers may pass you. Don’t let that discourage you, just let them follow you until there is a good spot to stop and let them pass.

Recently Ryan and I tried out the blue trails by ourselves to see if our kids would be up to the challenge. We arrived to find the entire parking lot full. It’s a big lot, there were so many people there, on a Tuesday?!?! We ended up parking at the Galaxie “Trailhead”, which is decent option if you are trying out the blue and black trails, but you can’t get to the green trails from here without taking the blue. The trailhead is really just street parking next to an opening in the woods, but it was very quiet.

As I mentioned before, the blue trail here is a little more technical than some of the others in the area. I made it through, but it wasn’t the flowy trails that I like. It was a lot of climbing and all the downhill seemed to be “ruined” by rock gardens and ladder drops, all of it rollable, but it certainly slowed me down. It was not my style and we decided our kids aren’t ready for it, but if you are up for challenge and like more technical features, I am not trying to desuade you from giving it a try. The trail is very popular and it can’t all just be it’s suburban location.

So to sum it up. Lebanon Hills is a great trail for first timers with a skills park and very accessible beginners trail. It’s great for families because of the flush toilets, ample parking, and picnic area, and as your skills advance it has many miles of more advanced trail to challenge you. As an intermediate mountain biker who loves her flow, this is not my idea trail, because the green trail gets repetitive and the blue trail is more technical and doesn’t have the flow that I love. But the location in the heart of the south metro makes it an easy trail for many people to access and it is definitely worth a stop.