Grand Rounds Scenic Byway
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The Grand Rounds Scenic Byway is a linked series of park areas in Minneapolis, Minnesota that takes a roughly circular path through the city. The corridors include roads for automobile traffic plus paths for pedestrians and bicycles, and extend slightly into neighboring cities. About 50 miles of roadway is in the system, and much of it was built in the 1930s as part of Civilian Conservation Corps projects. There are seven districts along the byway:
- Downtown Riverfront along the Mississippi River, including Saint Anthony Falls and nearby milling districts, much of which is now in the Mill Ruins Park.
- Mississippi River gorge area, with accompanying paths in neighboring Saint Paul on the east bank
- Minnehaha including Minnehaha Falls, the park surrounding that (and the Longfellow House information center), and the creek leading to it, plus Lake Nokomis and Lake Hiawatha.
- The Chain of Lakes including Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, Cedar Lake, Brownie Lake, Lyndale Park and Lyndale Homstead Park.
- Theodore Wirth (extending into Golden Valley) including Theodore Wirth Park and Wirth Lake.
- Victory Memorial with a parkway commemorating the contributions of people from Hennepin County in World War I, and marking the head of navigation for barge traffic on the Mississippi River.
- Northeast running through Northeast Minneapolis
The area was designated as a Minnesota State Scenic Byway in 1997 and a National Scenic Byway in 1998. The Grand Rounds are considered to be the most significant example of an urban byway, as most such areas run through rural regions. Portions are also part of the Great River Road along the Mississippi River.
Fortuitously, the city bought up all the land immediately adjoining its lakes during its formative period, turning them into public parks rather than allowing them to be developed into privately-owned swimming pools for the city's elite. Because of this, Minneapolis' lakes are open to all.
Heavy vehicles such as semi-trailer trucks and buses are largely banned from the byway, and the speed limit is 25 miles per hour throughout. Much of the asphalt paving along the road has a reddish tone so that drivers can more easily determine where to go upon reaching intersections.
