Minnesota State Highway 16 (MN 16) is an two-lane

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 southeast

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 interchange with Interstate Highway 90 in

Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...

and continues east to its eastern terminus at the

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

state line concurrent with U.S. Highways 14 and 61 outside La Crescent just west of

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

. The route was designated as a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

in 2003 as the ''Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway''. The roadway follows the route of old U.S. Highway 16.Highways and Gas Stations - MN State Highway 16 page

Route description

Bridge on Mississippi River between Minnesota and Wisconsin

Minnesota Trunk Highway 16 serves as the scenic east–west route in southeast Minnesota. The national scenic byway links together

, Grand Meadow, Spring Valley,

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

, Lanesboro, Rushford Village, Peterson, Rushford,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Hokah, and La Crescent. Highway 16 parallels

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

throughout its route and allows travelers the opportunity to experience Minnesota's Driftless Area. The route passes through the

Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest The Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest is a reserve of current and former forest in Minnesota's Driftless Area. Only of the land is state owned, with the remainder owned by private individuals and community groups, governed by ease ...

Fillmore Fillmore may refer to: Places Canada * Fillmore, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Fillmore No. 96, Saskatchewan United States * Fillmore, California * Fillmore District, San Francisco, California * Fillmore, Louisiana * Fillmore, Illino ...

and

counties.

Forestville Mystery Cave State Park Forestville Mystery Cave State Park is a state park in Minnesota. It contains the village of Forestville, which has been restored to a 19th-century appearance. The Minnesota Historical Society operates it as a historic site. Below ground the pa ...

is located near Highway 16 in Fillmore County. The park is located between Spring Valley and

. Further east, the Inspiration Point Wayside Rest is a rest stop outside Lanesboro that overlooks the

Root River Valley In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

. The eastern terminus for Highway 16 is the Wisconsin state line at the Mississippi River outside La Crescent, concurrent with U.S. Highways 14 and 61. The western terminus for the route is its interchange with

History

State Highway 16 was designated in 1980. The route was originally part of old U.S. Highway 16 from 1926 to 1980. U.S. 16 was mostly replaced by Interstate Highway 90 within Minnesota. State Highway 16 from

to La Crescent is the only remaining section of this former U.S. route that exists as a trunk highway separate from Interstate 90. After crossing the Mississippi River Bridge and the Wisconsin state line, old U.S. 16 continues on as Wisconsin Highway 16. The only section of U.S. Highway 16 that remains in the present day is the east–west route between

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

and

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

Major intersections

References

{{Reflist

016 HV-016 is a former military unit of Norway, that was a part of the Home Guard. It was established after 1985 to "stop terror- or sabotage actions that could weaken or paralyze Norway's ability to mobilize its military and its ability to resist". ...

Minnesota Transportation in Mower County, Minnesota Transportation in Fillmore County, Minnesota Transportation in Houston County, Minnesota