MN 371 serves as a south–north route in central and north-central Minnesota between
Little Falls,
Baxter,
Brainerd,
Nisswa,
Pequot Lakes,
Walker, and
Cass Lake. The highway is a four-lane expressway, with some freeway segments, from
Little Falls to
Jenkins at County Road 16 (CR 16) in Crow Wing County. From that point north, the road becomes a two-lane highway for the remainder of the route. Rural four-lane segments are generally posted at a maximum speed limit, with open-road two-lane segments set for a maximum speed limit. MN 371 departs from US 10 at
Little Falls heading north, paralleling the
Mississippi River on the east side of the river. MN 371 is a freeway-standard route coming off US 10 as it passes on the west side of Little Falls's industrial sector. The first interchange heading northbound is with CR 46, which is the only interchange within the Little Falls area for the freeway portion. After Little Falls the route enters rural farmland, which characterizes the rest of the route's freeway portion. The next interchange is near the Fort Ripley military base, where it meets
MN 115 and CR 47 at a
diamond interchange. MN 115 serves the military base to the west; a large tank used as a monument is on the east side of the interchange. It formerly sat on the west side of MN 371 before the interchange with MN 115 was built in the early 2000s. This interchange with MN 115 was the last part of the MN 371 freeway upgrade to be completed. The MN 371 freeway ends a few miles north of MN 115 at CR 48, but maintains a four-lane
divided highway configuration. North of CR 48, MN 371 crosses into
Crow Wing County and enters the town of
Fort Ripley, spending a short time passing through the center of the town. It quickly leaves Fort Ripley and continues north as the landscape steadily becomes less farm-oriented and more forested. After Fort Ripley the highway turns northeast for several miles and clips the southeast corner of
Crow Wing State Park. A few more miles northeast, MN 371 intersects
Business MN 371 (Bus. MN 371); this is the
Brainerd exit. In 2000, MN 371 was moved onto the C. Elmer Anderson Memorial Highway, which bypasses Brainerd to the west, and the old roadway into downtown Brainerd was redesignated Bus. MN 371. MN 371 itself turns back to the north and crosses the
Mississippi River before entering
Baxter, a smaller city just west of Brainerd. In Baxter, MN 371 intersects
MN 210, another major arterial route for northern Minnesota. MN 371 heads north through Baxter's business district, then enters the
Gull Lake area, a popular tourist destination. MN 371 crosses an intersection with CR 77 and CR 48. CR 77 is a three-quarter loop around Gull Lake to the west, while MN 371 makes up the eastern quarter. MN 371 passes north past several lakes and many resorts, and reaches the town of
Nisswa at a junction with CR 77 and CR 13; CR 13 goes into Nisswa, while CR 77 goes back around Gull Lake to the west. MN 371 remains a four-lane divided highway, as the landscape becomes noticeably more forested. The next town on the route is
Pequot Lakes, most famous for its
fishing bobber water tower. MN 371 exceeds freeway standards from the intersection with CR 107 to the intersection with CR 112 and Patriot Avenue. Right after the intersection with CR 16, MN 371 turns into a two-lane road (one lane in each direction). The road leaves the town behind quickly. Several miles north of Pequot Lakes and after passing through the town of
Jenkins, MN 371 enters
Cass County. The forested landscape subsides for a short while as MN 371 comes to the town of
Pine River, the largest town on the route between Brainerd and
Walker, where it intersects the southern terminus of
MN 84. MN 84 heads northeast to
Chickamaw Beach and
Longville while MN 371 continues due north. The forests return as MN 371 reaches the town of
Backus, on Pine Mountain Lake, where it meets
MN 87 for a short
concurrency. After MN 87 splits off to the east just past Backus Airport, MN 371 heads into rural forest for about , broken only by the small town of
Hackensack before reaching
MN 200 just south of Walker, a regionally important city in northern Minnesota. MN 371 and MN 200 begin an concurrency at this intersection; MN 371 north and MN 200 west continue northwest together as they pass around Walker Bay, the western arm of
Leech Lake, one of Minnesota's largest lakes. The two pass the former
Ah-gwah-ching facility, which was serviced by the unsigned
MN 290. MN 371/MN 200 concurrently reaches downtown Walker, a town where most amenities can be found. Also in Walker is the eastern terminus of
MN 34, which provides the main route between Walker,
Park Rapids, and
Detroit Lakes to the west. Several miles northwest of Walker, MN 200 splits off MN 371, heading west toward
Lake Itasca while MN 371 heads north. MN 371 intersects no more state highways on its mainline routing after this intersection. Meanwhile, the landscape becomes less treelined and hillier as the route progresses toward
Cass Lake, the final city on MN 371. The route enters Cass Lake from the south, passes through downtown and ends at
US 2 just north of downtown, although the roadway itself continues north as a local street.
Memorial designations • On August 7, 2006, the highway was dedicated as the Purple Heart Memorial Highway in honor of veterans who have been wounded or died in combat. • Until 2005, most of MN 371, except the Brainerd bypass, was also officially designated the Paul Bunyan Expressway. This was a unique name designation because the portion of MN 371 from Pequot Lakes to Cass Lake is not built to expressway standards. • The portion of 371 bypass around Brainerd is officially designated the C. Elmer Anderson Memorial Highway. ==History==