Current Progress
This page details current progress as of 2/18/2026
Thanks to funding from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) in 2024–totaling $426,000–we’ve been making steady and exciting progress towards building the Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail.
This year, we’re focusing our efforts on two key areas:
The City of Chatfield and Lost Creek Hiking Trail — officially approved for designation December 2025!
Central Fillmore County, from Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center to the Big Woods/Newburg area
Central Houston County, from Beaver Creek State Park to the Caledonia area
This trail relies on land access, and the corridor or route may change if a landowner provides access outside of our proposed route. Ready to explore having the Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail cross your land?
Two exciting trail segments will be available soon:
The Lost Creek Hiking Trail, a 6.5-mile system in Chatfield, will become the official start of the MDHT, by the summer of 2026.
The City of Chatfield approved the designation of a 2.5-mile stretch from the end of the LCHT through to the eastern side of town. This section will be available by the summer of 2026.
We know that building a continuous long-distance hiking trail takes time–and we’re in it for the long haul. While it will likely be about ten years before the full trail is complete, we’re optimistic we’ll have miles on the ground by the summer of this year, with more to come each year after that.
In these areas, we’ve been:
Reaching out to new landowners and local government to start conversations about potential trail partnerships.
Visiting properties and walking the land with landowners who have already signed Letters of Intent.
Preparing to design and purchase signage for spring designation in the Chatfield area
To date, approximately 20 landowners are actively working with us to bring this trail to life–and we know there are many more to connect with in the months and years ahead.
We also recently made some other big steps:
Purchased equipment for the trail and built out our trailer to hold all of the tools. This will increase our on-the-ground efficiency during trail work days!
Developing access agreements with an attorney to bring to our committed landowners this spring/summer.
Began a new LCCMR grant for the 2027 RFP. Our grant will be submitted in mid-March with results released by July of this year.
Beyond land access, we’ve been building relationships with local communities. We’ve met with three towns along the trail corridor to discuss potential routes through their downtowns and hosted community listening sessions in each location to hear directly from residents. We’re now reviewing what we heard and will be following up with each community to keep the momentum going.