How to Bike to the State Fair in 2025

Editor’s Note: This piece has been updated to reflect valuable advice provided by our readers after they read the original article. Thank you!

Apparently, some people dislike the Minnesota State Fair. I’m willing to bet that those people drove to and from the fair.

Don’t drive to the fair! It’s the worst way to experience it. Driving to the fair will allow you to be impressed by the cottage industry of residents who, for 12 days a year, run highly lucrative parking services from their yards. But that’s the only thing driving will do for you.

Taking a bus to the fair is a great way to arrive. There are free park & ride lots all over, as well as regular bus service (like the A Line Bus Rapid Transit on Snelling or Route 3 on Como) leading straight to the main entrance.

Biking to the fair — which opens tomorrow (Thursday, August 21) and runs through Labor Day — is also an excellent way to travel! The free bike corrals near the entrances are staffed full-time, and arriving by bike offers the simplicity of traveling straight to and from your destination with no extra steps or waiting.

However, one big catch might make your trip a lot less fun: The “last mile” infrastructure is not so great. High traffic levels and road closures and reconfigurations take place during the fair, which means some routes that normally work well for biking are unpleasant or impossible to use. St. Paul and the State Fair organization have made some overdue improvements to the cycling experience in recent years, but they don’t offer any useful resources when it comes to route-finding.

There are good bike routes into the fair that will drop you right at a bike corral, safe and happy, but it’s hard to find those routes without some trial and error. I want to help you have the best experience biking to the fair, so I will lay out a recommended route to the fairgrounds from each direction that keeps you on safe and uncongested roads or paths (to the extent that it is possible).

Think one of these routes could be improved? Email [email protected]. This is a crowdsourced effort and I hope to continuously improve these recommendations.

A Few General Tips

• The bike corrals are staffed full-time and use a ticket to check your bike in and out, so you don’t need to bring a lock, but you might want to anyway if your bike is valuable. You might want to take a photo of your check ticket in case it falls out of your wallet as you fumble with your credit card while holding three corn dogs.
• The corrals get very crowded on busy days. Be prepared for the possibility that you might need to lean your bike along the fence or wedge it into a mess of other bikes at one of the racks. A cable lock (though less secure) might provide more flexibility than a U-lock if you end up parked somewhere weird.
• In anticipation of the crowding, it’s a good idea to remove any mirrors, lights or other doodads sticking off your bike or helmet. I’ve had things get knocked off my parked bike by other people squeezing past.
• If you are riding a large cargo bike, you might prefer the South Bike Lot, which is much more spacious than the other two lots. Plan to park along the fence rather than finding room on the racks.

From the South and Southwest

This route has benefited greatly from recent infrastructure upgrades and is now one of the nicest routes into the fair. You’ll still experience some car traffic on the way, but you now have access to bike lanes or trails the entire way in, and the new South Lot is much larger and better located. You’ll probably mingle with pedestrians on the trail for the last quarter mile, so just take it slow.

1. Get yourself to Raymond Avenue. If you’re coming from south Minneapolis, cross the Lake/Marshall bridge and then take Pelham Boulevard, part of St. Paul’s Grand Round.
2. Follow Raymond north to Como Avenue. Watch out for cars making bad choices on this stretch. Also be sure to laugh at them sitting in line with no hope of finding parking as you zip past merrily in the bike lane.
3. Turn right on Como. The north side of the street has a bike trail, and you can follow that all the way in. The South Bike Lot is at gate No. 9, right off the pull-in loop.

From the West

The usually pleasant University of Minnesota Transitway becomes less nice during the fair as it receives heavy bus traffic, including many charter buses whose drivers are less courteous to cyclists than the regular Metro Transit buses. For this reason, I recommend skipping the last elevated leg of the transitway.

If you’re crossing the river, take note of the current bridge closures, notably Bridge No. 9 on the University of Minnesota campus.

1. Take the U of M Transitway east.
2. When you hit Energy Park Drive, turn right to leave the transitway. This stretch is short but unpleasant, and you may want to ride on the sidewalk to keep clear of cars doing dangerous things.
3. Turn left on Raymond Avenue. Continue to watch for bad car behavior on this stretch. As with the S/SW route, be sure to laugh at the motorists at a standstill as you breeze past them to the best parking spot at the fair.
4. Turn right on Como. The north side of the street has a bike trail, and you can follow that all the way in. The South Bike Lot is at gate No. 9, right off the pull-in loop.

From the Southeast

Avoid Snelling Avenue at all costs. Your options from this direction are limited, but thankfully, there’s one good route. Lexington Avenue has a separated path on the west side of the street that can get you safely across the train yard and into Como Park. You might need to disregard Google Maps’ directions for the first part of the route, as it doesn’t seem to recognize all of the available paths.

1. Pick up Lexington Avenue starting at West Minnehaha Avenue. Use the asphalt path on the west side of Lexington.
2. The path will take you across two bridges over Pierce Butler Route and the train tracks. Keep following it north across Energy Park Drive (mind the cars at this crossing).
3. Keep following the path north through an underpass below one more set of train tracks and into Como Park. You can bend left here to take a diagonal through the park, but the easiest route is to continue straight until you hit Como Avenue.
4. Turn left on the path just before Como. When you hit the west edge of the park (at Hamline Avenue), jog over to the path along the north side of Como.
5. Follow the Como path into the South Bike Lot near the main gate to the fair. Expect the path to be crowded with pedestrians for the last quarter mile.

From the East

Entering via the South Bike Lot lets you stay on separated paths and is a more reliable and convenient entry gate. Expect the last quarter mile to be congested. If the North Bike Lot is more convenient for you, feel free to take that instead — just following Hoyt Avenue in ought to work fine.

1. Take either Wheelock Parkway or Como Avenue until you hit the lake.
2. Head west on the paths through Como Park.
3. When you hit the west edge of the park (at Hamline Avenue), jog over to the path along Como Avenue.
4. Follow the Como path into the South Bike Lot near the main gate to the fair. Expect the path to be crowded with pedestrians for the last quarter mile.

From the Northeast

You’ll probably want to stay off Snelling and Larpenteur. Beyond that, most side streets will work, so follow a route that’s convenient. Arona Street has low traffic and gets a stoplight to cross Larpenteur Avenue, so it’s a good option.

1. Take Roselawn Avenue or Garden Avenue west to Arona Street, then turn left to head south towards the fairgrounds.
2. Turn right on Hoyt Avenue and follow it across Snelling Avenue and into the fair.
3. The North Bike Lot will be on your right immediately after you cross Snelling.

From the North

Are you riding to the fair from this direction? Email [email protected] to share your experience. We’re looking to gather more data on this route.

A few options are available, none of them great. Larpenteur is unpleasant — there’s a bike lane, but given the heavy fair traffic and dangerous street design, you might consider riding on the (narrow, crappy) sidewalk for that section.

Gortner Avenue has a bike lane and is OK, but a bit exposed. Just keep your head on a swivel. There’s a safer and quieter route available on the bucolic gravel roads through the University of Minnesota farm plots near the St. Paul campus. The entrance gate at Fairview is open; however, it is signed “Authorized Personnel Only.”

1. Take Fairview Avenue south.
2. Turn right at Larpenteur Avenue.
3. Turn left onto the bike lane on Gortner Avenue.
4. Turn left on Buford Avenue, and follow it straight into the West Bike Lot.

From the Northwest

Feel free to improvise on this one. Most of the streets on this side of the fairgrounds are rideable and safe.

1. From Como Avenue, take Hendon Avenue east.
2. Turn right on Cleveland Avenue and left on Buford Avenue, or cut through the paths on campus until you reach Buford Avenue.
3. Follow Buford Avenue straight into the West Bike Lot.

You Made It!

Congratulations on biking to the fair. Now enjoy your day in a walkable neighborhood and remember: Finish the milkshake before you get back on the bike to head home. Your bottle cage ain’t gonna cut it.

Feedback welcome! The comments have been disabled at Streets.mn, so email [email protected] with any feedback or suggestions: what you liked, what didn’t work, what could be better. Enjoy the fair!