The Coon Rapids Dam walkway is 12 feet wide. It is the trail link between two regional parks run by two different agencies. On the east bank, Anoka County Parks runs Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park. On the west bank, Three Rivers Park District runs Mississippi Gateway Regional Park in Brooklyn Park. This fall, almost every scheduled program near the dam is on the west bank. The walkway that gets you there from Coon Rapids has closed at least three times in the past year.
Three Rivers' Mississippi Gateway page currently posts this notice: "The walkway/trail connection on the Coon Rapids Dam will be closed for maintenance beginning October 12 and continuing until further notice." The notice gives no year and no reopening date. Before you plan a walk or bike ride across the river, it's worth checking the Mississippi Gateway park page on the day you go.
A walkway with a closure history
The walkway came out of a mid-1990s modification to the dam that added a new walkway and gate system, according to the Minnesota DNR's dam safety page. A two-year rehabilitation followed starting in 2013. Gate work on the Anoka side was finished before the spring 2014 high water, and work on the Hennepin side was finished in spring 2015. A structure that also holds back the Mississippi needs regular upkeep, and closures for that upkeep have come up often in the past year.
| When | How long | What was reported |
|---|---|---|
| Week of June 27, 2022 | About a week | Closed for walkway maintenance. Highway 610 bridge named as the nearest crossing |
| November 18, 2025 | One day, 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Routine maintenance on the walkway or dam structure |
| February 16–27, 2026 | About two weeks | Walkway repairs planned by Three Rivers and Anoka County |
| Beginning October 12 | Until further notice | Maintenance, per the current Three Rivers notice, year not stated |
The 2022 closure turns up in a Twin Cities Bicycling Club forum post. The 2025 and 2026 closures were covered in local news reports. The pattern stays the same across all of them: notices come with short lead times, and "until further notice" is a normal way to describe how long a closure will last.
Why a closure matters more this fall
The walkway matters more than it used to because of where the activity is. Mississippi Gateway reopened on September 6, 2025, after a rebuild. That rebuild added the Gateway Center and a Treetop Trail. CCX Media reported that the Treetop Trail opened to the public that Saturday and that the visitor center has live animals, concessions, and bike and rod-and-reel rentals. Three Rivers lists about 2.5 miles of paved trails at the park and a Treetop Trail more than 900 feet long. The Gateway Center also has indoor river exhibits, natural play areas outside, and free nature-themed backpack kits.
That building is where this fall's programs take place. The Three Rivers activity listings for Mississippi Gateway show a full October and November:
- Drop-In Discoveries: River of Words, Sunday, Oct. 11, 1–3 p.m., free. This is the day before the posted closure date.
- Drop-In Discoveries: Nature Play, Wednesdays, Oct. 14 and Nov. 4, 10 a.m. to noon, free.
- Adapted Fishing and Archery, Oct. 18, 1–4 p.m., $15 per person, ages 10 and up.
- Drop-In Discoveries: Meet the Animal Ambassadors, Sundays, Oct. 18, Nov. 1 and Nov. 22, 1–3 p.m., free.
- Mammal Skulls Up Close, Oct. 24, 10–11:30 a.m., $6, ages 16 and up.
- Trick or Treat Geocaching, Oct. 30 and 31, sessions at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., $7.
- Big Year of Rivers: Trivia Night on the River, Nov. 5, 7–8:30 p.m., $10 per team of up to four.
- Use a Rock Saw, Nov. 7, two morning sessions, $6.
- Minnesota Biomes, Nov. 14, 10 a.m. to noon, $6.
- Drop-In Discoveries: Fall Phenology, Sunday, Nov. 15, 1–3 p.m., free.
- Build Your Own Fishing Rod, Nov. 28, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., $150.
- Forts and Fires, Nov. 28 and 29, 1–3 p.m., $6, ages 5 and up.
On the Coon Rapids side, the Anoka County Parks events calendar showed no October or November programs at Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park when we checked. The county's October listings were mostly at Wargo Nature Center. So this fall, the river's scheduled calendar sits almost entirely in Brooklyn Park, and the shortest trail route there from Coon Rapids runs over the dam.
Seven of those dates fall on or after October 12, and five of them are free drop-ins. A family on the east bank that planned to walk over for Animal Ambassadors on October 18 may now be making a car trip.
The two detours
When the walkway is closed, there are two alternate river crossings. Local coverage of the February 2026 closure named the Highway 610 bridge to the south and the Ferry Street bridge, Highway 47, to the north. The bicycling club post from 2022 also called the 610 bridge the closest crossing. None of the sources we reviewed gave a detour distance, so we won't guess at one. Both bridges sit well upstream or downstream of the parks. Driving to Mississippi Gateway works the whole time. The park is at 10360 West River Road in Brooklyn Park and is open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The closures shut the link between the parks, not the parks themselves. During the February closure, both parks stayed open, and the land trails and the Treetop Trail were still accessible. The thing you lose is the loop: walking out from one bank, crossing over the gates, and coming back.
What stays on the Coon Rapids bank
When the walkway is closed, the east bank still has a full outing. The Anoka County park page lists a visitor center open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, a boat launch, a fishing pier, walking and biking trails, and connections to the regional trail system. The county names carp as a popular Mississippi River catch at the park. Across the river, the fishing deck below the gates is on the Mississippi Gateway side. Three Rivers warns that water levels and current speeds change there, and fishing from the dam walkway is prohibited even when the walkway is open.
Birds don't need the walkway. The Coon Rapids Dam eBird hotspot logged a checklist on October 5, 2026, with 104 mallards, a bald eagle, Canada geese, double-crested cormorants, and a great blue heron. Pelicans are a different story. The Minnesota DNR, as quoted in HometownSource, says American white pelicans leave the state each fall as lakes and rivers freeze and usually come back in early spring. That makes late fall the end of the window to see them on the river.
Planning around the gap
Put together, these sources point to one practical habit for this fall. Pick the program first, then check the walkway, then choose the route.
- Look up the date on the Three Rivers activity listings. Several paid programs require registration, and Park Pals had already closed registration when we checked.
- Check the top of the Mississippi Gateway page for the walkway notice on the morning you go.
- If the walkway is closed and you're walking or biking, use the 610 bridge or the Ferry Street bridge. Otherwise, drive to West River Road.
- If the plan was an east-bank walk, the Anoka County visitor center, pier, and trails are all still open.
Sunday's River of Words drop-in on October 11 is the last scheduled program before the posted closure date. The free Fall Phenology session on November 15 is on the far side of whatever this closure turns out to be.
A river crossing that comes and goes shapes everyday life in Coon Rapids, and it's the kind of local detail we pay attention to on our side of the river. If you're weighing how close you want to be to the Coon Rapids Dam trails, or which bank fits the way you like to spend a weekend, The Paul E Team is glad to talk it through with you.
