Minnesota State Highway 68 (MN 68) is a

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

in southwest and south-central

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, which runs from

South Dakota Highway 22 South Dakota Highway 22 (SD 22) is a state highway in Hamlin and Deuel counties in South Dakota, United States. It connects Hazel and Clear Lake. SD 22 originally extended from the Wyoming state line, following what is now U. ...

at the

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

state line near

Canby Canby may refer to: People * Canby (surname) Places

;In the United States * Canby, California * Canby, Iowa * Canby, Minnesota * Canby, Oregon * Canby Creek, a stream in Minnesota * Canby Mountains, Oregon {{disambiguation, geo ...

, and continues east to its eastern terminus at its

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their i ...

with U.S. Highway 169 and State Highway 60 in South Bend Township near

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

Route description

State Highway 68 serves as an east–west route in southwest and south-central Minnesota between

Canby Canby may refer to: People * Canby (surname) Places

;In the United States * Canby, California * Canby, Iowa * Canby, Minnesota * Canby, Oregon * Canby Creek, a stream in Minnesota * Canby Mountains, Oregon {{disambiguation, geo ...

, Minneota,

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

, Morgan, Sleepy Eye, New Ulm, and

Minneopa State Park Minneopa State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was established in 1905 to preserve Minneopa Falls, a large waterfall for southern Minnesota, and was expanded in the 1960s to include the lower reaches of Minneopa Creek and ...

is located five miles (8 km) west of

. The park entrance is located on Highway 68 near its intersection with U.S. Highway 169.Minnesota DNR web page for Minneopa State Park - Link
/ref> Highway 68 has concurrencies with: *

U.S. Highway 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south United States highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA superhighway, NAFTA ...

, in

. * State Highway 19, in and east of

. *

U.S. Highway 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Interstat ...

, in Redwood County. *

U.S. Highway 14 U.S. Route 14 (abbreviated U.S. 14 or US 14), an east–west route, is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It currently has a length of 1,398 miles (2,250 km), but it had a peak length of 1,429 miles (2,300 km). For ...

, west of New Ulm. * State Highway 15, south of New Ulm.

History

Highway

Highway 68 was authorized in 1920 between Canby and Marshall. Its western terminus was extended to the

state line in 1934. In 1963, Highway 68 was expanded easterly between Marshall and Mankato by consolidating former ''State Highway 272'', ''State Highway 93'', and ''State Highway 83'', and re-numbering them ''68''. Highway 68 was paved from

Canby Canby may refer to: People * Canby (surname) Places

;In the United States * Canby, California * Canby, Iowa * Canby, Minnesota * Canby, Oregon * Canby Creek, a stream in Minnesota * Canby Mountains, Oregon {{disambiguation, geo ...

by 1940. Many remaining sections of the present day Highway 68 were still gravel by 1953. The present day route was completely paved by 1960.

Major intersections

References

{{reflist 068 Transportation in Blue Earth County, Minnesota Transportation in Brown County, Minnesota Transportation in Lyon County, Minnesota Transportation in Redwood County, Minnesota Transportation in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota New Ulm, Minnesota