Classic Roads: Edge of the Wilderness National Scenic Byway

Minnesota is famously known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes—it says so right on the state’s license plates. If you want to ride to some of the best and most scenic of Minnesota’s many fishing lakes, aim your headlight toward the Edge of the Wilderness National Scenic Byway.

This byway, which stretches northward along SR 38 from Grand Rapids to the small town of Effie at the northern terminus, winds for 47 miles around pristine lakes. It’s one of the most entertaining motorcycle roads in Minnesota, if not all the Upper Midwest.

The Edge of the Wilderness cuts right through the heart of Chippewa National Forest, following the trace of an ancient Ojibwe trail. Established in 1908, the Chippewa National Forest was the first national forest east of the Mississippi and is said to be home to more lakes than any other national forest in the nation. 

In fact, Itasca County, which contains the entire Edge of the Wilderness byway, counts more than 1,000 lakes within its boundaries.