Minnesota State Highway 72

Trunk Highway 72
Route information
Maintained by MnDOT
Length	76.810 mi[1] (123.614 km)
Existed	1923[2] – present
Major junctions
South end	US 71 at Blackduck
	MN 1 at Shooks MN 11 at Baudette
North end	Highway 11 at Rainy River, ON
Location
Counties	Beltrami, Lake of the Woods
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← US 71 MN 73 →

Minnesota State Highway 72 (MN 72) is a highway in northwest Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with U.S. 71 in Blackduck and continues north to its northern terminus at the Canada–US border in Baudette. The road continues as Ontario Highway 11 upon entering the town of Rainy River, Ontario at the Baudette-Rainy River International Bridge.

Highway 72 is 77 miles (124 km) in length.

Route description

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

The roadway passes through the Red Lake State Forest in northeast Beltrami County between Kelliher and Waskish. Big Bog State Recreation Area is located on Highway 72, immediately north of Waskish.

Highway 72 crosses the Rainy River at Baudette.

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 Baudette.

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. The section of present day Minnesota 172 between State Highway 11 (at Baudette) and Wheeler's Point (at Lake of the Woods) was originally designated Minnesota 72 as well between 1934 and 1963.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Beltrami	Blackduck	0.000	0.000	US 71 – International Falls, Bemidji
	Hines Township	1.829	2.943	CR 32
	Hornet Township	6.895	11.096	CR 41
	Shooks Township	9.910	15.949	MN 1 west, CR 36 north	West end of MN 1 overlap
	Shooks	14.970	24.092	MN 1 east – Northome	East end of MN 1 overlap
	Kelliher	19.586	31.521	CR 36 west
		19.696	31.698	CR 36 east
	Shotley Brook	29.752	47.881	CR 23
Lake of the Woods	Swiftwater Township	59.889	96.382	CR 1
	Township 158-30	62.375	100.383	CR 16 (Hay Creek Road)
	Boone Township	62.873	101.184	CR 16 (51st Street SE)
	Rapid River Township	65.878	106.020	CR 7 (39th Street SE)
	Gudrid Township	71.875	115.672	CR 19 (15th Street SE)
	Baudette	73.880	118.898	CR 35
		74.680	120.186	MN 11 east – International Falls	East end of MN 11 overlap
		76.377	122.917	MN 11 west – Warroad	West end of MN 11 overlap
		76.518	123.144	CR 26 (2nd Street NE)
Rainy River		76.864	123.701	Highway 11 east – Rainy River
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

Route map: