In the small communities and scenic beauty of this byway, visitors find art galleries, antique shops, Amish tours, historic sites, cave tours, and museums. Parks, forests and the Root and Mississippi Rivers provide opportunities for many recreation options, including canoeing, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, cycling, wildlife watching, fishing, and photography.

Getting to the Byway:

La Crosse, WI

• Take US-61 west to MN-16 in La Crescent, MN where the byway begins.

St. Paul, MN

• Take US-52 south to Rochester.
• Merge onto I-90 and go southwest to MN-16 by Dexter where the byway begins.

Navigating the Byway:
The Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway follows MN 16 from La Crescent west to Interstate 90. Visitors seeking Minnesota Highway 16 must pay careful attention to routing signs through this area to reach the byway, and can be quite distracted by the dramatic visual quality of this area located high above the Mississippi River Valley among the river bluffs. * The Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway is easily accessed by travelers on I-90. Direct access from I-90 to the byway (TH 16) is provided at the western end of the corridor at Dexter. Access to the byway at the eastern end is somewhat indirect from I-90 via Minnesota Highway 61. Minnesota Highway 76 provides access from I-90 to the Houston portion of the byway and provides access from Iowa to the south. Minnesota Highway 43 is the only I-90 exit specifically marked as access to the Root River Trail. * Other Access Routes from Nearby Metropolitan Areas US Highway 52 serves as a major gateway to the byway, providing the most often used access to the area from Rochester and the Twin Cities metropolitan area. * US 52 also acts as a major entry point into Historic Bluff Country from the south. The segment between Harmony and Preston is identified as an "Amish Byway" with buggy lanes provided in the roadway shoulders. * US 63 provides access from Cedar Falls/Waterloo, Iowa, to the south.