These Are Minnesota’s Deadliest Roads to Drive This Fall

If you’re planning a trip up north to check out some of Minnesota's spectacular fall colors, this year, make sure to drive with extra care on these roads, highways, and interstates because they’ve earned the unfortunate title of being the deadliest in Minnesota in 2026.

Fall tourism is growing here in the North Star State. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says more visitors are discovering fall as a travel season, and tourism businesses increasingly rely on autumn to extend the summer tourism momentum.

Minnesota’s Roads Get Busy During Fall Color Season

The North Shore is one of the state's biggest fall-color draws, with peak color generally occurring from late September into early October, depending on elevation and proximity to Lake Superior. And if you've ever headed up north during the fall, the crowds can be substantial.

ALSO INTERESTING: Here's Why Your Lilacs Are Turning Brown and Wilting Again This Year

The Minnesota Star Tribune reports that Tettegouche State Park recorded about 78,000 visits in October 2024, up around 35 percent from 2023. And on particularly busy fall weekends, the park says it can see 5,000 visitors or more in a single day.

Get our free mobile app

Most all of those travelers will head up north by taking the road. And out of all those busy highways and interstates crisscrossing the North Star State, we now know just which ones are the most dangerous.

How Many Miles of Roads Are There in Minnesota?

Fun fact: Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but it could also be known as the Land of 135,000 Roads and Streets. That's because, according to the Research Department of the Minnesota House of Representatives, that's how many miles there are in Minnesota between town roads, city streets, county roads, and highways.

The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration says that number jumps up to 283,828 miles when you include state highways, U.S. highways, and interstate highways here in the North Star State.

Whether you're on a local or town road, a city street, a county highway, a state highway, or an interstate, traveling those roadways can be dangerous. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that nearly 39,000 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes on U.S. roadways in 2023—an increase of roughly 7% from 2019, according to the most recent data released in 2022.

These Are Minnesota’s Deadliest Highways

So, what are the most fatal highways in Minnesota? Stacker ranked data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, compiled by the NHTSA, to identify the highways in Minnesota with the most fatalities from motor vehicle crashes in 2020. Keep scrolling to find out.  And then keep scrolling to see what the price of gasoline was the year you got your driver's license!