Highway 23

[CoteauKid]

Originally Posted by 601halfdozen0theother

Maybe someone else can do 35W around the Terrible Cities then down 169 to Mankato then 60 to 90. That might be quicker. Something else to explore, anyway!

My route from Sioux Falls to the Cities is always 90 to Worthington, 60 to Mankato, and 169 north the rest of the way. With the exception of a short stretch (which I think is being upgraded now), 60 is a four-lane from Worthington to Mankato, and then 169 is a four-lane the rest of the way. And the river valley from Mankato to LeSueur is gorgeous!

[dwilkows]

From Sioux Falls to northern Minnesota, the MN 23 route is the quickest. There are quite a few 4 lane sections, for instance between Willmar and St. Cloud there are less than 15 miles of two lane road. 23 also skirts Marshall, Willmar and Paynesville, but unfortunately still travels through the heart of St. Cloud. St. Cloud is known around these parts as the worst urban area to drive through--bumper to bumper and very long waits at traffic lights!

Depending on what part of the Iron Range you want to visit, a good route would be 23 to Cloquet, then 33 to U.S. 53 and up to Virginia, MN.

[mn shutterbug]

Originally Posted by dwilkows

St. Cloud is known around these parts as the worst urban area to drive through--bumper to bumper and very long waits at traffic lights!

That has to be so true. When travelling from Marshall to Duluth and back occasionally, that was the one stretch of highway I really dreaded. I believe there are 14 or 16 stop lights on 23 and the time I hit all but 2 green, I felt like I had won the lottery.

[demtion35]

We take that road often from central MN up to 35 to Duluth.

[theedgeoflight]

Originally Posted by dwilkows

From Sioux Falls to northern Minnesota, the MN 23 route is the quickest. There are quite a few 4 lane sections, for instance between Willmar and St. Cloud there are less than 15 miles of two lane road. 23 also skirts Marshall, Willmar and Paynesville, but unfortunately still travels through the heart of St. Cloud. St. Cloud is known around these parts as the worst urban area to drive through--bumper to bumper and very long waits at traffic lights!

Depending on what part of the Iron Range you want to visit, a good route would be 23 to Cloquet, then 33 to U.S. 53 and up to Virginia, MN.

and that's only going to get worse as the holiday shopping season approaches. BTW I'm from Benson.