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Root River South Bank: Rushford to Lanesboro

Root River South Bank: Rushford to Lanesboro is 29.8 miles of point-to-point riding through Fillmore County in Minnesota — Bluff Country, the Root River valley, the Mississippi bluffs and the ridge roads above them. Moving time is about 36 minutes; allow 50 with stops — a quick spin. It is scored CS-3, Spirited: 46 corners, 145° of turning per mile, 1,249 feet of climbing. The roads it uses, in the order you ride them, are in the app.

Curviness
CS-3Spirited · 1.55/mi
Distance
29.8 mi36 min riding
Corners
4659% sharp · Tight
Climbing
1,249 ft42 ft/mi · Hilly
Shape
Point-to-pointQuick spin
Roads
Backroads100% county & local
Traffic
714vehicles a day, median
Speed limit
60 mphtypically 55
Open this route in the app

About this road

The south side of the Root River between Rushford and Lanesboro is one of the most scenic valley segments in the Minnesota set. River views, bluffs, and occasional glimpses of the Root River State Trail keep the water present throughout. Lanesboro is frequently called one of Minnesota’s prettiest small towns; its historic main street and river setting justify the reputation. The valley is narrow enough that road and river stay in close conversation. The point-to-point structure makes the progression between Rushford and Lanesboro clear and purposeful. Use it as a scenic highlight within a larger Root River itinerary, or as a moderate half-day focused entirely on the intimate scale of the valley corridor. Natural scenery and the preserved river-town character of Lanesboro form one of the region’s most coherent pairings of road and place.

How it rides

46 corners over 29.8 miles — 1.55 a mile, and 145° of turning for every mile ridden. That scores CS-3, Spirited on the five-point curviness scale. 59% of those corners are sharp ones, and the road reads as tight.

What it climbs

The road climbs 1,249 feet in total, 42 feet per mile, between 709 and 1,260 feet — 550 feet of relief. The longest single climb is 547 feet over 4.0 miles, and the steepest grade on it is 7.6%. By Driftless standards that is hilly.

Surface, speed and traffic

Paved end to end. 100% of it is back road rather than highway. Posted speeds run to 60 mph, typically 55, measured across 44% of the route. Where traffic counts exist — 21% of the miles — the median is 714 vehicles a day, busiest at mile 0.0 with 3,471.

Where to stop

2 of the towns on this road have somewhere to stop — 2 fuel, 7 food, 2 bars.

Longest stretch without fuel: 29.3 miles. Worth knowing before you set off if your tank is small.

Listed alphabetically, and chosen by us rather than rated by anybody. The order you reach them, and the mile each one sits at, are in the app.

Worth knowing

Turn-by-turn directions and the spoken guidance are in the app. Every figure on this page is measured from the route itself — corner counts and gradients from the road geometry, elevation from the national elevation dataset, traffic from the state transport departments where counts exist.

Nearby roads