The name derives from the Dakota people who lived in the region; "Sakatah" translates into "singing hills".

The trail passes through Sakatah Lake State Park and runs through city streets in Waterville.

The more northern CGW rail line was surveyed in the late 1870s between Red Wing and Waterville.

The C&NW operated the line for a few years after the CGW merger, but abandoned the portion from Lime Siding east in the early 1970s.

The C&NW built a link between the two lines where they neared each other on the outskirts of Mankato before they both descended into the Minnesota River Valley.

The section of the Chicago Great Western Railway between Faribault and Cannon Falls is being developed by the Mill Towns Trail Association which would result in the former route of the entire Chicago Great Western from Mankato to Red Wing being converted to trail use.