Minnesota State Highway 18 (MN 18) is a

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

in east-central

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, which runs from its

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their ...

with State Highway 25 in Brainerd and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with

State Highway 23 Route 23, or Highway 23, can refer to: International *European route E23 Australia * Federal Highway (Australia) * Monaro Highway * (South Australia) * Dorat Road (not signed everywhere) Austria * Autobahn Südosttangente Wien Canada * Albe ...

in Finlayson Township near

Askov Askov is a city in Pine County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 364 at the 2010 census. Minnesota State Highway 23 serves as a main route in the community, and Interstate 35 is nearby. History The village was originally within ...

and

Sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

. The eastern terminus of Highway 18 is less than 1/2 mile west of an

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

with

Interstate Highway 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bord ...

along Highway 23. For part of its route (5 miles), Highway 18 runs

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with

U.S. Highway 169 U.S. Route 169 (US 169) is a north-south U.S highway that currently runs for 966 miles (1,555 km) from the city of Virginia, Minnesota, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, at Memorial Drive. Route description Oklahoma US 169 is a major north–sou ...

in Crow Wing and Aitkin counties around the northwest side of

Mille Lacs Lake Mille Lacs Lake ( , also called Lake Mille Lacs or Mille Lacs) is a large, shallow lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in the counties of Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Crow Wing, roughly north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropol ...

. Highway 18 also runs together with State Highway 47 for in Aitkin and Mille Lacs counties around the northeast side of Mille Lacs Lake.

Route description

State Highway 18 serves as an east–west route between Brainerd,

Garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

, and Finlayson in east-central Minnesota. The route passes around the north end of

, which is a popular fishing and recreational destination in Minnesota. The section of Highway 18 from Brainerd to

is officially designated the ''POW / MIA Memorial Highway''. A section of

in Minnesota also takes on this same memorial name designation. Highway 18 passes through the

Wealthwood State Forest Wealthwood Township is a township in Aitkin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 268 as of the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 6 ...

in Aitkin County.

Banning State Park Banning State Park is a state park in Pine County, Minnesota, Pine County, Minnesota, United States, stretched along of the Kettle River (St. Croix River), Kettle River near the town of Sandstone, Minnesota, Sandstone. The centerpiece of the p ...

is located east of the

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (2012 film), an American film * ''Junction'' (2024 film), an American film * ''Jjunction'', a 2002 Indian film * ''Junction'' (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (E ...

of Highways 18 and 23; opposite the

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexico–Uni ...

freeway near

and

History

The section of State Highway 18 between Brainerd and U.S. 169 at

was authorized on November 2, 1920. The remainder of the route was authorized in 1933 and 1963. From 1933 until the mid-1950s, the eastern terminus of Highway 18 was at the present day

of State Highway 27 and State Highway 47 (then ''State Highway 56'') at Isle. Before 1963, the present day section of Highway 18 between State Highway 47 and State Highway 65 was originally numbered as State Highway 27; and the present day section of Highway 18 between State Highway 65 and

(near

) was originally numbered as ''State Highway 66'' (essentially east of

). By 1940, the only paved section of Highway 18 was between Brainerd and

. The last unpaved section of Highway 18 was east of State Highway 47 to State Highway 65, paved in the late 1960s. At one time, Highway 18 had continued farther west of State Highway 25 in Brainerd. This section was turned back to the city of Brainerd maintenance in 2001 after completion of the nearby Highway 371 Brainerd bypass.

Major intersections

References

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