Minnesota State Highway 72 (MN 72) 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 northwest

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 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. 71 in Blackduck and continues north to its northern terminus at the Canada–US border in

Baudette Baudette is a city in, and the county seat of, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,106, and in 2018 the population was estimated at 1,003. Baudette is known as the Walleye Capital of t ...

. The road continues as

Ontario Highway 11 King's Highway 11, commonly referred to as Highway 11, is a Ontario Provincial Highway Network, provincially maintained highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. At , it is the second longest highway in the ...

upon entering the town of

Rainy River, Ontario Rainy River is a town in north-western Ontario, Canada, southeast of Lake of the Woods. Rainy River is situated on the eponymous Rainy River, which forms part of the Ontario-Minnesota segment of the Canada–US border. Across the river is the t ...

at the Baudette-Rainy River International Bridge.

Route description

State Highway 72 serves as a north–south route between the communities of Blackduck, Shooks, Kelliher, and

. The roadway passes through the

Red Lake State Forest The Red Lake State Forest is a Minnesota state forest located primarily in Beltrami County, although portions extend into Koochiching County. The forest borders the Pine Island State Forest to the east and Upper Red Lake to the west. Minnesota S ...

in northeast

Beltrami County Beltrami County ( ) is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,228. Its county seat is Bemidji. The county's name comes from Italian adventurer Giacomo Beltrami from Bergamo, ...

between Kelliher and Waskish.

Big Bog State Recreation Area Big Bog State Recreation Area, a recent addition to the Minnesota state park system, is located on Minnesota State Highway 72, north of Waskish, Minnesota. It covers 9,459 acres (38.3 km2), primarily swamps, bogs, and upland "islands". T ...

is located on Highway 72, immediately north of Waskish. Highway 72 crosses the Rainy River at

History

State Highway 72 was authorized as one of the first two Minnesota legislative routes in 1923. This portion of the route was located between Blackduck and

. The route was paved by 1942. At one time, Highway 72 had continued farther north, extending over what is now State Highway 172 in

Lake of the Woods County Lake of the Woods County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,763, making it the second-least populous county in Minnesota. Its county seat is Baudette. The county co ...

. The section of present day ''Minnesota 172'' between State Highway 11 (at

) and Wheeler's Point (at

Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods (french: Lac des Bois, oj, Pikwedina Sagainan) is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over long and wide, containing more than 14,55 ...

) was originally designated ''Minnesota 72'' as well between 1934 and 1963.

Major intersections

References

{{Reflist 072 Transportation in Beltrami County, Minnesota Transportation in Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota