Reopening of Minneapolis' Kenilworth Channel thrills paddlers

The Kenilworth Channel between Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles has reopened — to the delight of kayakers, canoeists and paddleboarders in Minneapolis.

The channel, sometimes called the Cedar Channel, had been closed for almost two years — first to stabilize the channel walls and then as three bridges were built over the channel as part of the Green Line light rail extension. Paddlers who had gotten used to dead ends between the two lakes were thrilled to find the channel newly open.

"This is the first time we've gotten this far!" said Amanda Riddlec of Hopkins as she steered a paddleboard under one bridge. Riddle has paddled around Cedar Lake many times before but had never been through the channel.

"We're going to see how far this goes!" said Contessa Johnson, paddling with Riddle.

The reopened channel and largely finished trio of bridges are a milestone of progress for the Green Line project. One bridge replaces a freight rail bridge, another is a trail bridge and the third eventually will carry the light rail.

Channel walls built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration, the Depression-era jobs program, were rebuilt and stabilized on new concrete. Many of the stones laid in the 1930s also were used on the new walls.

Nearby Cedar Lake Parkway also reopened earlier this month after being closed for almost a year for light rail construction.

Ongoing light rail construction could mean a few short-term channel closures in the next few years, Parks spokesperson Dawn Sommers said, but no one anticipates another long-lasting closure.

"They did a really nice job with it," said Dave Johnson of Minneapolis, paddle-boarding with his dog Tilly. The channel is a little deeper and easier to use, he said, and the remade stone retaining walls look better.

But the new walls and bridges overhead were secondary to the beauty of being on the water as cicadas sang in the late August sun.