October 23, 2008: Northern Bruce Vento/Northern BNSF Regional Trail Hike (Maplewood)

Join the hiking group for a hike along the northern portion of the Bruce Vento/BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad) Regional Trail in northern St. Paul and Maplewood. The trail is a "rails-to-trails" trail developed by Ramsey County. The trail follows a former Burlington Northern rail line. U. S. Congressman Bruce Vento (1940-2000) was a 12-term liberal Democrat from St. Paul who championed environmental and homeless causes, including efforts to ban oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, efforts to preserve tropical rain forests, and efforts to make it easier for the Hmong who fought with the U.S. in the Vietnam War to become U.S. citizens. Vento died of malignant mesothelioma, a cancer apparently caused by inhaling asbestos fibers as a young worker at a St. Paul East Side manufacturing plant. The BNSF dates back to 1849, initially as the Aurora Branch Railroad. The Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) was created in 1970 by the merger of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company (CB&Q), the Northern Pacific Railway Company (NP), the Great Northern Railway Company (GN), and the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway Company (SP&S). In 1980, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company (Frisco) was merged into the BN and the merger in the late 1990’s of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway is reflected in the choice of the current name of the railroad. The BNSF is an aggregation of a total of 330 prior railroads.

If driving: Take I-94 to I-35E in downtown St. Paul and proceed north on I-35E to the Larpenteur Avenue/Wheelock Parkway exit. Proceed on the frontage road to Larpenteur Avenue, the second street connected to the exit off ramp, and turn east (right) on Larpenteur Avenue. Continue on Larpenteur Avenue to Parkway Drive (the third stop light after leaving the freeway) and then go northeast (left turn) on Parkway Drive. Parkway Drive becomes Frost Avenue after crossing Arcade Street/Highway 61 in Maplewood. Park at the Flicek Park parking lot, 1141 Frost Avenue, which is about 7/8ths of a mile from the junction of Highway 61 and Parkway Drive/Frost Avenue. Flicek Park is primarily a set of baseball fields with a parking lot and is located on the north side of Frost Avenue, just across from a pontoon boat sales room and a dog grooming facility.

If coming by public transit: Take Metro Transit route(s): 61. The closest bus service point appears to be the corner of Arcade and Larpenteur. Applicable Metro Transit Map / Bus Schedule information

Interested hikers will reassemble after the hike at a nearby restaurant (Champps Restaurant, northwest corner of I-35E and Larpenteur Ave, St. Paul) for dessert or dinner.

Google Maps map to the hike starting point

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This webpage was last updated on September 21, 2008.