Minneapolis to Duluth is 2 hr 52 min and 154.2 miles by road, Minneapolis to Rochester is 1 hr 55 min, and the longest of the 55 pairs below, Moorhead to Grand Marais, takes 7 hr 37 min.
Every time and distance is measured, not typed: we asked an OpenStreetMap routing engine for the car route between the center points of 11 Minnesota cities that anchor our regions. Road times and miles are measured with OSRM on OpenStreetMap data between city-center points, run on November 1, 2026, with no live traffic, closures or weather. Real trips take longer at busy hours and in winter.
Traffic, weather and construction: none are counted. Winter storms close or slow roads, especially north of Minneapolis and along the North Shore; check 511mn.org before a winter drive.
City-center points: each city is one point found by OpenStreetMap place search, not a street address. A park, venue or trailhead outside town adds time.
Other tools: a map app will give different numbers because it adds live traffic.
154.2 road miles and 2 hr 52 min without traffic, measured with OpenStreetMap routing on November 1, 2026. Winter weather and Friday evening traffic can add a lot.
How long is the drive from Minneapolis to Grand Marais?
5 hr 20 min and 264.3 road miles, measured. Most of that is the leg to Duluth; the North Shore road after Duluth is slower than the interstate.
Are Saint Paul and Minneapolis close?
The measured drive between the two city centers is 17 min and 10.1 miles. Peak-hour traffic is not included.
Why do your times differ from my map app?
Ours are routing without live traffic, so they are best-case. A map app on the day of travel adds traffic and closures.
Sources
Road times and miles are measured with OSRM on OpenStreetMap data between city-center points, run on November 1, 2026, with no live traffic, closures or weather. Real trips take longer at busy hours and in winter.
Checked November 1, 2026 by It’s Minnesota. Cite this page: It’s Minnesota, “Minnesota Drive Times Between Cities” (itsminnesota.com/drive-times/), checked November 1, 2026. Free to quote with a link.