Mill Towns State Trail is a work in progress with three segments that are currently unconnected totalling six miles. The trail parallels the Cannon River and connects into the cities of Northfield, Dundas and Cannon Falls. It will ultimately serve as a 25-mile connection between two other long-distance trails: Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail and Cannon Valley Trail.
The name of the trail comes from the many mills that were constructed on the Cannon River in settlement times. The vision is for the trail to intepret this history of flour milling industry to sprung up and fostered the growth of cities and led to Minnesota being a major milling state in the early 19th century.