Minnesota State Highway 38

Minnesota State Highway 38 (MN 38) is a 46.766-mile-long (75.263 km) highway in north-central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with U.S. Highway 2 in Grand Rapids and continues north to its northern terminus at its intersection with State Highway 1 in Effie.

Trunk Highway 38
MN 38 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length	46.766 mi[1] (75.263 km)
Existed	1933[2]–present
Tourist routes	Edge of the Wilderness
Major junctions
South end	US 2 in Grand Rapids
Major intersections	MN 286 at Marcell
North end	MN 1 in Effie
Location
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Counties	Itasca
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highway System Interstate US State Legislative Scenic
← MN 37 → MN 39

The entire length of Highway 38 has been designated a National Scenic Byway under the name Edge of the Wilderness.^[3] It is also sometimes called the Northwoods Highway.

Route description

State Highway 38 serves as a north–south route between Grand Rapids and Effie in north-central Minnesota. The route is noted for being a twisty roadway.

The route passes through many lake resort areas, such as Wabana Lake, Trout Lake, and others.

Highway 38 passes through the Chippewa National Forest between Itasca County Road 19 and Bigfork.^[4]

Scenic State Park is located 7 miles east of the junction of Highway 38 and County Road 7 at Bigfork. The park entrance is located on County Road 7.^[5]

Highway 38 parallels State Highway 6 throughout its route.

History

Edge of the Wilderness route markers.

State Highway 38 was authorized in 1933.^[2]

The route was completely paved by 1940.^[2]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Itasca County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Grand Rapids	0.000	0.000	US 2 – Duluth, Bemidji
Marcell	28.493	45.855	MN 286 west – Talmoon
Effie	46.858	75.411	MN 1 – Cook, Northome CSAH 5 north	Roadway continues as CSAH 5 north
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi