The Casey Jones State Trail consists of three segments. The longest segment is 12 miles of former railroad grade between the city of Pipestone and the Pipestone/Murray county line. The eight mile segment from Pipestone to County Road 67 is paved. The next two miles leading into the town of Woodstock have a graded gravel surface, and the remaining two miles have an unmaintained, natural surface. A second, small, natural-surfaced segment runs west one and one-half miles from the city of Lake Wilson. The third portion of the trail is a six mile, paved loop between Lake Shetek State Park and the city of Currie. Horseback riding is not allowed on this portion.
- Landscape
The trail connects points of natural interest, such as remnants of tallgrass prairie, wooded ravines, Lake Shetek and the sloughs around it, which are remnants of the glacial landscape that once covered southwestern Minnesota. Historical and cultural sites around the area include sites associated with Laura Ingalls Wilder in Walnut Grove, railroad artifacts in Currie and Tracy, wind towers, and the pipestone quarries in the Pipestone National Monument.
The trail is situated in the rolling vastness of the agricultural landscape that characterizes the upper Great Plains, with individual homesteads appearing like islands in a sea of corn and soybeans. The landscape is truly the "heartland" of America. The seeming infinity and openness to the sky are highlights of this trail.
- About Casey Jones
The Casey Jones State Trail is named after the famed railroad engineer Casey Jones, who died in a railroad accident in 1900 and was immortalized in a well-known ballad. The trail was one of the first state trails authorized by the state of Minnesota when State Trail legislation was passed in the late 1960s.
- Trail uses
Accessible Outdoors (electric wheelchairs allowed on Lake Shetek Loop)- Trail events
Events calendar
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- Permits
- You will need a Horse Pass if you will be horseback riding or carriage driving. Horses are not allowed on the six miles of paved trail between Lake Shetek State Park and the city of Currie.
- You will need a vehicle permit to park in a state park.
- Snowmobiles must be registered or have a snowmobile state trail sticker.
- No other fees or passes are required to use the trail.
- Parking
Do not leave valuables in your vehicle!
Parking is available at the following trail accesses:
- Pipestone: Parking located off Highway 23.
- Woodstock: Parking available at the community park.
- Lake Wilson: Parking available at the community park.
- Currie: Parking available at the End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum.
- Lake Shetek State Park: Parking available.
- Restrooms
Restroom facilities are available along the trail within Lake Shetek State Park.
Restrooms are also available at End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum from May through October.
- Winter
The trail connects with the Grants-in-Aid (GIA) trail system, which provides many miles of groomed snowmobile trails in the area.
Hiking
Biking
In-line skating
Horseback
Snowmobiling