Trip from Lakeville, MN to Babbitt, MN

Drive Time

5h 6m

Distance

256.9 mi

413 km

Drive Score

8/10

Great drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$37

one way

EV Charging

Loading...

station data

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 41 min
4 AM
4h 53m ★
6 AM
5h 7m
8 AM
5h 34m
10 AM
5h 16m
12 PM
5h 13m
3 PM
5h 17m
5 PM
5h 32m
8 PM
4h 59m

Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.

Downtown Lakeville, MN, MN

Lakeville, MN

Tom Fisk

Downtown Babbitt, MN, MN

Babbitt, MN

Tom Fisk

Trip Overview

The drive from Lakeville, MN to Babbitt, MN covers 256.9 miles and takes about 5h 6m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on Holyoke Avenue, 202nd Street West, 202nd Street West / Richard J for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. At current regular gas prices, budget about $36.74 one way before food or hotel costs.

Trip Pace

Same-day drive is realistic

A same-day return is possible, but it will make for a full day on the road.

Break Rhythm

1 planned break

Plan on a short reset every 3 to 4 hours to stay fresh behind the wheel.

Midpoint

128.5 miles from Lakeville, MN

A natural place for your longest stop of the day , about 2h 33m into the drive .

Drive Character

Expect a 5h 6m drive with frequent turns across 256.9 miles of local and secondary roads.

This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 37 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Holyoke Avenue is one of the defining roads on this drive.

How Hard Is This Drive?

Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. There are only a few real navigation decisions along the way.

Route Complexity 3/10

Easy - simple navigation with a manageable amount of wheel time

This is a straightforward 5h 6m drive. You will face about 0 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

Where does it get tricky?

This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Lakeville, MN to Babbitt, MN is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Holyoke Avenue Unavailable Refreshing
202nd Street West Unavailable Refreshing
202nd Street West / Richard J Unavailable Refreshing
Kenwood Trail / Richard J Unavailable Refreshing
Kenwood Trail /Richard J Unavailable Refreshing
Kenwood Trail Unavailable Refreshing
I 35 North Unavailable Refreshing
Purple Heart Memorial Highway Unavailable Refreshing

Per-road distance and duration are being refreshed from OSRM for this route.

Longest stretch: Holyoke Avenue — detailed segment metrics are refreshing.

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Lakeville, MN and Babbitt, MN.

1

Start on 207th Street West

23 ft · 5 sec · 207th Street West
2

Turn right onto Holyoke Avenue

0.4 mi · 1 min · Holyoke Avenue
3

Enter the roundabout and take exit 3 toward 202nd Street West

197 ft · 4 sec · 202nd Street West
4

Exit the rotary onto 202nd Street West / Richard J. Ames Memorial Highway

0.5 mi · 51 sec · 202nd Street West / Richard J. Ames Memorial Highway
5

Continue on Kenwood Trail / Richard J. Ames Memorial Highway

0.7 mi · 1 min · Kenwood Trail / Richard J. Ames Memorial Highway
6

Continue on Kenwood Trail /Richard J. Ames Memorial Highway

1.6 mi · 2 min · Kenwood Trail /Richard J. Ames Memorial Highway
7

Enter the roundabout and take exit 2 toward Kenwood Trail

125 ft · 2 sec · Kenwood Trail
8

Exit the roundabout onto Kenwood Trail

1.2 mi · 2 min · Kenwood Trail
9

Take the ramp right toward I 35 North

0.2 mi · 23 sec · I 35 North
10

Merge slight left

2.6 mi · 2 min
11

Keep slight right

16 mi · 19 min
12

Keep slight left

2.7 mi · 4 min
13

Keep slight left

0.4 mi · 36 sec
14

Merge slight right onto Purple Heart Memorial Highway

351 ft · 5 sec · Purple Heart Memorial Highway
15

Take the exit slight left toward I 35E North, US 10 West

5.2 mi · 6 min · I 35E North, US 10 West
16

Keep slight right to continue on US 10 West, I 694 West, I 694 East

0.3 mi · 20 sec · US 10 West, I 694 West, I 694 East
17

Take the exit slight right toward I 35E North, I 694 East

0.5 mi · 35 sec · I 35E North, I 694 East
18

Merge slight left

0.8 mi · 1 min
19

Keep slight left to continue on I 35E North: Duluth

18 mi · 19 min · I 35E North: Duluth
20

Keep slight left

105 mi · 1 hr 52 min
21

Take the exit slight right toward MN 33: Cloquet, Iron Range

0.6 mi · 58 sec · MN 33: Cloquet, Iron Range
22

Enter the roundabout and take exit 2 toward the route

128 ft · 2 sec · the route
23

Exit the roundabout

19 mi · 25 min
24

Take the exit straight

0.4 mi · 30 sec
25

Merge slight right

37 mi · 43 min
26

Enter the roundabout and take exit 2 toward the route

112 ft · 1 sec · the route
27

Exit the roundabout

10 mi · 13 min
28

Take the exit slight right toward MN 169: Ely

0.5 mi · 44 sec · MN 169: Ely
29

Continue on State Highway 169

6.1 mi · 8 min · State Highway 169
30

Turn right onto Highway 21

11 mi · 15 min · Highway 21
31

Continue on County Highway 21

0.4 mi · 54 sec · County Highway 21
32

Continue on Highway 21

13 mi · 18 min · Highway 21
33

Continue on Ely-Babbitt Road

0.7 mi · 1 min · Ely-Babbitt Road
34

Continue on County Highway 70

0.2 mi · 18 sec · County Highway 70
35

Turn right onto Babbitt Road

0.4 mi · 1 min · Babbitt Road
36

Turn left onto South Drive

0.3 mi · 46 sec · South Drive
37

Arrive at your destination

Trip Plan

Morning Departure

An early start around 7-8 AM gets you there with plenty of daylight left.

Evening Departure

A late afternoon start means arriving after dark. Morning is better.

You can normally do this drive in one day.
Plan roughly 1 meaningful break for fuel, food, and rest.
The halfway point lands around 128.5 miles from Lakeville, MN, or about 2h 33m into the drive.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

Departure

Before you leave

Start with fuel, water, and navigation already sorted so the first hour feels easy.

First stop

Around 80 miles or 1h 35m in

Use this first pause for coffee, a restroom break, and a quick traffic check ahead.

Halfway reset

Around 128.5 miles or 2h 33m in

This is the best place for your longest stop, a real meal, and a full fuel check.

Final approach

Final hour starts around 4h 11m

Traffic, exits, and arrival timing usually matter more near Babbitt, MN than in the middle of the route.

Before You Leave

+

Open the route before leaving Lakeville, MN so your first major turns are already loaded.

+

Leave with enough water and a charging cable within reach, not packed away.

+

Check your fuel range against the first long segment, especially if you are starting outside city service areas.

Day 1

Settle into the route from Lakeville, MN

This is one driving day of about 256.9 miles and 5h 6m.

Your first comfortable stop window is around 80 miles from Lakeville, MN.
This route can stay practical as a one-day drive if traffic stays reasonable.
Plan about 1 real break rather than only quick fuel stops.

Where to Stop

Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.

Halfway Point

Midpoint

About 128.5 mi from Lakeville, MN · 2h 33m into the drive

Downtown Cloquet, MN, MN

Mid-route town

Meal stop

Cloquet, MN

128 mi into the route

Best for: Lunch, fuel, and a longer reset

This sits close to the middle of the route, so it works well for the longest stop of the day.

Pacing Suggestions

Rock Creek, MN

Fuel and coffee

A short stop after about 80 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.

Cloquet, MN

Meal break

The midpoint is around 128.5 miles from Lakeville, MN, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.

Arriving in Babbitt, MN

The final approach into Babbitt, MN usually feels slower than the middle of the drive, so avoid planning your tightest schedule at the very end.

Try to arrive with enough fuel left to skip an immediate station stop unless you already know the area around Babbitt, MN.

These stop ideas are pacing suggestions — the exact town or exit can change with traffic, hotel plans, and fuel range.

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$36.74 one way

$73.49 round trip

$3.63/gal 25.4 MPG avg 90 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $3.92 $39.66 $79.32
premium $4.39 $44.42 $88.84
diesel $5.64 $57.07 $114.15

No toll roads detected on this route.

Estimated Trip Cost (one way, 1 person)

Fuel

$37

Meals

$25–$50

Total

$62–$87

Rough estimate based on US averages. Hotel $80–$140/night, meals $25–$50/day.

Estimated CO2 emission: 89.9 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-06.

Driving Electric?

About $27 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 77.1 0 $26.97 $12.33
Efficient EV 64.2 0 $22.48 $10.28
EV Truck/SUV 102.8 1 $35.97 $16.44

Gas CO2

90 kg

EV CO2

30 kg (67% less)

Plan for 0 charging stops, roughly every 270 miles. Allow 25-40 minutes per stop at a DC fast charger.

DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.

Travel Intel

Current conditions at both ends of the drive.

Forecast data refreshed 3 days ago

Origin

Lakeville, MN

Late night in Lakeville on Monday

Local time

5:29 AM

CDT

Current temp

71°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Babbitt, MN

Late night in Babbitt on Monday

Local time

5:29 AM

CDT

Current temp

33°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Seasonal Notes

Summer travel usually means heavier construction, hotter rest stops, and busier weekend traffic around major cities.

Winter travel shortens daylight, so a route that looks manageable on paper can feel much longer after dark.

Holiday weekends tend to make both departure and arrival windows slower than the raw route time suggests.

Time zone

Same local time

Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.

Temperature spread

38 degrees cooler at arrival

A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.

Road read

5h 6m on the road

An early start around 7-8 AM gets you there with plenty of daylight left.

Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.

Frequently Asked Questions

The drive from Lakeville, MN to Babbitt, MN covers 256.9 miles and takes about 5h 6m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are Holyoke Avenue, 202nd Street West, 202nd Street West / Richard J. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 128.5 miles from Lakeville, MN. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $36.74 one way. This estimate uses 25.4 MPG — your actual cost will vary with your vehicle's fuel efficiency and current gas prices.
An early start around 7-8 AM gets you there with plenty of daylight left. A late afternoon start means arriving after dark. Morning is better.
Plan about 1 meaningful break for fuel, food, or rest. Plan on a short reset every 3 to 4 hours to stay fresh behind the wheel.
This is a straightforward 5h 6m drive. You will face about 0 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.
This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Lakeville, MN to Babbitt, MN is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.
The route from Lakeville, MN to Babbitt, MN does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.

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Explore More

Return Trip

Babbitt, MN to Lakeville, MN

Plan the drive back the other way.

256.3 mi 4h 8m

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