Minnesota · 6 roads · 330.6 catalog miles
Best Driving Roads in Minnesota
Minnesota's routes follow lake country, forest edges, river valleys and the Driftless landscape in the southeast. The catalog lengths help separate a quick regional loop from a longer weekend drive.
These 6 editorial picks come from the RevRoutes Explore catalog. Each orange line is the exact saved itinerary, and its listed mileage follows that route rather than the full length of a named highway or byway. The list is a starting point for choosing a drive, not a live road-conditions report.
Exact catalog lines. Every orange route below is a real RevRoutes itinerary—not a pin, shortcut or newly calculated alternative.
North Shore Scenic Drive (MN-61)
145.8 miles in the Minnesota catalog region
- 145.8 mi
- Minnesota
Exact saved Explore itinerary. The displayed distance follows this line; the full named road may continue beyond the selected start or finish.
MN-61 follows Lake Superior's North Shore, bringing a substantial northeastern Minnesota corridor to the guide. Plan fuel and stops for the exact saved itinerary, and check weather along the lakeshore.
Official travel information: Minnesota traffic and road closure resources
MN-16 (Historic Bluff Country)
51.76 miles in the Minnesota catalog region
- 51.76 mi
- Minnesota
Exact saved Explore itinerary. The displayed distance follows this line; the full named road may continue beyond the selected start or finish.
MN-16 introduces Historic Bluff Country in southeastern Minnesota. It is a useful contrast to the forest-and-lake routes farther north, with a saved section that defines the actual day's drive.
Official travel information: Minnesota traffic and road closure resources
MN-38 (Edge of the Wilderness)
45.6 miles in the Minnesota catalog region
- 45.6 mi
- Minnesota
Exact saved Explore itinerary. The displayed distance follows this line; the full named road may continue beyond the selected start or finish.
MN-38 is the Edge of the Wilderness entry, placing this drive in Minnesota's northern forest-and-lake setting. Plan your service stops before committing to the itinerary rather than expecting continuous town facilities.
Official travel information: Minnesota traffic and road closure resources
MN-1 (Lake Vermilion to Ely)
39.96 miles in the Minnesota catalog region
- 39.96 mi
- Minnesota
Exact saved Explore itinerary. The displayed distance follows this line; the full named road may continue beyond the selected start or finish.
The MN-1 selection links the Lake Vermilion area and Ely. It is a destination-to-destination northern outing, so account for travel home or onward from the finish when comparing it with a loop.
Official travel information: Minnesota traffic and road closure resources
MN-60 (Zumbro River Valley)
35.93 miles in the Minnesota catalog region
- 35.93 mi
- Minnesota
Exact saved Explore itinerary. The displayed distance follows this line; the full named road may continue beyond the selected start or finish.
MN-60 gives this collection a Zumbro River Valley itinerary. Its river-country setting adds variety beside the northern routes without implying that this selected line covers every scenic section of MN-60.
Official travel information: Minnesota traffic and road closure resources
MN-210 (Jay Cooke)
11.52 miles in the Minnesota catalog region
- 11.52 mi
- Minnesota
Exact saved Explore itinerary. The displayed distance follows this line; the full named road may continue beyond the selected start or finish.
MN-210 around Jay Cooke is the short outing in this selection. Park facilities and side trips are separate from the highway route, so verify their current access if they are central to your day.
Official travel information: Minnesota traffic and road closure resources
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Planning your Minnesota drive
The shortest saved route in this guide is 11.52 miles; the longest is 145.8 miles. Choose one itinerary first and account for travel to its start and back from its finish. These are separate route picks, not an automatically connected road trip, and some can share road sections.
Check official Minnesota traffic and road closure resources before leaving. Park entry, timed reservations, vehicle restrictions and visitor-site permissions can be separate from whether the public highway is open. Follow current local instructions over an old map or article.
How we chose these Minnesota roads
This is a focused selection from the curated RevRoutes Explore catalog, ordered editorially for driving character and reputation, not mileage. We do not pad every state to the same number of picks; more roads remain available in the app. It is not an objective ranking or a claim that the editorial team has personally driven every itinerary. Distances describe the exact saved catalog lines and can differ from official byway lengths. The maps are planning aids—not live navigation or road-condition reports.
Check official Minnesota traffic and closure resources before traveling. The label-free satellite imagery is supplied by USGS The National Map; map providers receive ordinary browser requests when a map loads.
Minnesota route pages
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