Great River Road
Minnesota
Map
Byway Details
- Designation
- National Scenic Byway
- Length
- 571 mi in Minnesota
About Great River Road
The Great River Road is a 570.7-mile National Scenic Byway in Minnesota, a long drive that links a string of towns from Bemidji in the north to Red Wing, Hastings and St. Paul, and on to Winona, La Crescent and New Albin near the Wisconsin line. Summer is the most comfortable time to make the trip. Typical averages from a nearby weather station at Itasca show July highs around 79°F with lows near 55°F, while January highs average just 17°F. The route passes through dozens of communities, including Brainerd, St. Cloud, Little Falls, Rice, Sauk Rapids, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Hastings, Red Wing, Wabasha, Winona and La Crescent. Camp Itasca and Winnie Dam Campground sit along the way, and paddlers can pick up the Verchota Canoe Trail or the Reno Bottoms Canoe Trail.
Scenic byway data: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
Facts about this place
When to go
Best time to go: May–Sep. The mildest months here, with typical highs of 65–79°F and lows of 39–55°F.
Typical monthly averages (not a forecast) from the Itasca Univ Of Minn, MN weather station, 2.4 mi away. High / low in °F.
- Jan17° high-4° low
- Feb23° high-2° low
- Mar36° high12° low
- Apr51° high26° low
- May65° high39° low
- Jun74° high51° low
- Jul79° high55° low
- Aug77° high53° low
- Sep68° high44° low
- Oct52° high32° low
- Nov35° high19° low
- Dec22° high5° low
Where it is
- Towns along the route
- Bemidji · Bena · Ball Club · Cohasset · Grand Rapids · La Prairie · Palisade · Aitkin · Deerwood · Cuyuna · Crosby · Merrifield · Brainerd · Fort Ripley · Little Falls · Rice · Sartell · Sauk Rapids · St. Cloud · Clearwater · Monticello · Champlin · Fridley · Brooklyn Center · Hilltop · Columbia Heights · Minneapolis · Mendota · Mendota Heights · Lilydale · St. Paul · Newport · South St. Paul · St. Paul Park · Inver Grove Heights · Hastings · Red Wing · Frontenac · Lake City · Wabasha · Kellogg · Minneiska · Minnesota City · Goodview · Winona · Homer · Trempealeau · Dakota · Dresbach · La Crescent · Brownsville · New Albin
Source: USGS GNIS populated places
Nearby
- Tioga TrailHiking0.1 mi
- Winchell TrailHiking0.1 mi
- Sugar Loaf TrailHiking0.1 mi
- Winnie Dam Campground - USACECamping0.1 mi
- Cyclops AreaRock climbing0.1 mi
- Winter WallRock climbing0.1 mi
- East End, TheRock climbing0.1 mi
- Camp ItascaCamping0.1 mi
- Bimijiwan Recreation AreaCamping0.5 mi
- Verchota Canoe TrailCanoeing0.6 mi
- Richards Townsite BoatingLake fishing0.8 mi
- Reno Bottoms Canoe TrailCanoeing0.8 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 2 miles of the route, PostGIS distance)
