Official page for Historic Bluff Country National Scenic Byway. Share Your Journey of of SE
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Southeastern Minnesota Historic Bluff Country, Inc. was created to support travel, tourism, and economic development to the area twenty miles north and south of an 88 mile long stretch of Minnesota State Highway 16. Originally a state byway, it was designated a Federal Scenic Byway in the early 2000s and HBC continues to administer that federal program which brings guests to the area both from the US and abroad. Historic Bluff Country National Scenic Byway takes travelers on a journey through southeastern Minnesota’s picturesque Root River Valley as well as a trip back in time to the classic Americana of festivals, local businesses, and small town living. Weaving through the heart of Minnesota's Driftless Area did not allow for U.S. Highway 16 (one of many names preceding MN-16) to easily be reconfigured into the Audubon-inspired four-lane highways of our Interstate system. So in the late 1950s, I-90 by passed the untouched beauty of the Root River Valley Bluffs which would have been wiped away had the Wisconsin, Nebraskan, or Illinoisan Glaciations not left it uncovered for million of years.
Historic Bluff Country became a state scenic byway in 1995, but the history of not only the highway itself, but this unique and ancient landscape demanded national recognition. The 88-mile route extends from the Minnesota and Wisconsin border in La Crescent to the edge of the Minnesota Prairies in Dexter. It both starts and ends by intersecting with the now semi-truck congested I-90. Bluff Country is not only a gorgeous alternative to the interstate, but a crucial piece of living history and just the sort of experience they don’t make anymore. With too many scenic overlooks, comfy accommodations, delicious eateries, picturesque drives and local shops to count, take a drive between the bluffs or ride the ridge in Southeastern Minnesota for a travel adventure that’s one of a kind.
