Minnesota has a unique system of "Inter-County" designated roads that provide a middle-of-the-pack
designation for county roads that can make good alternatives to state or federal highways.
Across the entire state, there are only eight such designations, each with its own letter.
All roads marked as such are also in central Minnesota north of I-94.
The nine roads that are part of this system can be split into three categories:
The following counties in Minnesota have roads designated as Inter-County:
Inter-County A starts at the Todd-Stearns border as Todd County 11 and follows the
road through the entire county before becoming Wadena County 2. Upon entering Wadena
County, the road runs concurrent with US-10 for a short distance, jumping from Aldrich
to Verndale, before continuing north as County 23. This designation is kept for the rest
of the life of Inter-County A until it reaches the Wadena-Hubbard border. Continuing
to follow the road will bring someone along Hubbard County 6 until its termination with
MN-87 in Hubbard.
Between Wadena and Todd counties, this road is also colloquially known as the U-trail.
Inter-County B has its southern terminus at MN-238 in Elmdale, Morrison County. It runs north as Morrison CR 1 and meets Inter-County E and US-10 at Randall. Upon crossing the Crow Wing river, it remains County Road 1 in Cass County, temporarily runs concurrent with MN-210 for a short distance north of Pillager, and continues until Pine River. Signage and designation terminates at this point, but by following MN-84 north out of the town, Inter-County B resumes at MN-200 as County 8 until its termination in Bena at US-2. Slightly east of Bena, Inter-County B picks up one final time as County 9 where the inter-county designation drops at the Itasca County border when crossing the Mississippi River. The road continues as Itasca CR 9 until it terminates at MN-46 shortly thereafter.
Inter-County C's southern end is with MN-27 approximately halfway between Little Falls and Pierz. It starts as Morrison County 45. When crossing into Crow Wing County to the north, it retains its County 45 designation. It briefly runs concurrent with County 2 but maintains a largely straight path until Brainerd. When in Brainerd, it temporarily follows MN-210 slightly eastward before continuing north as County Road 3. This path then continues until it reaches County 1 / Inter-County D east of Fifty Lakes.
Inter-County D has a western terminus at the Otter Tail - Wadena border, where it starts as Wadena County 8. At US-71 in Sebeka, the road becomes County 12 and remains as such until the east side of Wadena County. Once crossing the border, it becomes Cass County 20 until reaching MN-64. After a short concurrency northbound, Inter-County D continues further east as County 2 until MN-371 in Pine River. It runs through the town along Front Street and Barclay Avenue until crossing the titular Pine River before a south-turned-east Cass County 1 carries the route through the final portions of the county. Upon reaching the border with Crow Wing County, the road maintains its number and continues as such through Fifty Lakes and Emily. Its eastern end is Crow Wing County's border with Aitkin County, where the road becomes County 3 and connects to US-169 and beyond.
Inter-County E starts at MN-29 just west of Miltona as Douglas County 14.
It spans three counties with the same number and route, running through
Browerville in Todd County and Randall in Morrison County. This western
portion terminates in Randall right after crossing the railroad paralleling
US-10. Following MN-115 east out of the town brings one along the southern
edge of Camp Ripley, and once meeting the interchange with MN-371, is downgraded
to Morrison County 47. The Inter-County E designation is picked up at this point,
where said designation remains until the road's eastern terminus at MN-27 northeast
of Pierz and west of Onamia.
Inter-County E is arguably the least confusing Inter-County route out of
the six spanning multiple counties, as it maintains the same designation across three
counties and aside from the temporary termination in favor of a state highway,
remains a singular contiguous route.
The western end of Inter-County F is at the four-way stop where MN-27
meets Douglas County 82 and Todd County 51. As such, this route begins
in Douglas County as Todd County 51, just to keep everyone on their toes.
Upon reaching Todd County 2, Inter-County F follows it across the county,
running concurrent with US-71 for a very short distance, MN-28 for a less
short distance, and becoming Morrison County 19 to then end up concurrent
with MN-238 in Upsala. It leaves the city to the east along County 21
until reaching County 24. Following County 24 north into Bowlus, the route
then turns back to the east as County 26. It keeps this number as it crosses
US-10 in Royalton. As it approaches its finish line, County 26 terminates at
a T-intersection with County 33, where Inter-County F follows it north for a bit,
and after crossing a small river, leaves towards the county border as
County 32. It concludes its overly complicated journey at the Morrison-Mille Lacs
border, where the subsequent Mille Lacs County 16 connects to US-169 north of Milaca.
After the peace of Inter-County E, Inter-County F is incredibly complicated. It consists
of eight different numbers across its rather measly two counties,
excluding the weirdness of Todd County holding the name of a very small portion of road
within Douglas County.
Inter-County G is a short designation fully within Isanti County. Neither Apple Maps nor OpenStreetMap have this route documented, but the Wikipedia page claims that it runs from MN-47 in Dalbo (or west of that on County 13 - the wording is unclear) to MN-65 south of Braham.
Inter-County H was a short designation also fully within Isanti County. It is claimed to have run from the Sherburne County border, starting as County 28, onto County 5 until it met the Chisago County border. However, this route is claimed to have been removed in 2016.
Inter-County J is the only Inter-County route within only one county that OpenStreetMap maintains documentation for. It is a short designation following exactly the same road as Mille Lacs County 20, stretching from US-169 to County 24 near the county line