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Trip from Maple Grove, MN to Clearwater, MN

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Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Sep 6, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

47m

Distance

41.6 mi

67 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$7

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 12 min
4 AM
0h 44m ★
6 AM
0h 48m
8 AM
0h 56m
10 AM
0h 51m
12 PM
0h 50m
3 PM
0h 51m
5 PM
0h 55m
8 PM
0h 45m

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

Best Time
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city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States

Maple Grove, MN

Wikimedia Commons

Downtown Clearwater, MN, MN

Clearwater, MN

Tom Fisk

Trip Overview

The drive from Maple Grove, MN to Clearwater, MN covers 41.6 miles and takes about 47m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on I 94, I 494, Bass Lake Road for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is mostly highway. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 37.9 miles on I 94. At current regular gas prices, budget about $6.59 one way before food or hotel costs.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
I 94 37.9 mi 40m
I 494 1 mi 1m
Bass Lake Road 0.6 mi 1m
State Highway 24 0.3 mi <1m
Ash Street 0.2 mi <1m
CR 75 0.2 mi <1m
Lowerbluff Street 0.1 mi <1m
Maple Street — —

Some road-level metrics are being recalculated.

Longest stretch: I 94 — 37.9 mi, about 40m

Traffic on I-94

Hour-of-day weekday pattern from 38 FHWA count stations on your route.

Peak

4 PM

~2,901 veh/hr typical · worst 3,756

Quietest

2 AM

~175 veh/hr

Peak-to-quiet ratio

16.6×

busier at peak than in the quiet hours

12a 6a noon 6p 11p

Averaged across 99 weeks of 2023 FHWA Travel Monitoring Analysis System data. Weekday hours only (Mon–Fri).

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Maple Grove, MN and Clearwater, MN.

1

Start on CR 10

0.6 mi · 1 min · Bass Lake Road
2

Turn left

316 ft · 9 sec
Toward I 494 North Use the left lane.
3

Keep slight left at fork

0.3 mi · 45 sec
Toward I 494 North
4

Merge onto I 494

1.0 mi · 1 min · I 494
5

Keep slight left at fork

0.6 mi · 49 sec
Exit 27 Toward I 94 West: Saint Cloud Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
6

Continue on I 94

17 mi · 18 min · I 94
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7

Keep slight left at fork onto I 94

21 mi · 22 min · I 94
8

Take the exit

0.3 mi · 36 sec
9

Turn right onto MN 24

0.3 mi · 36 sec · State Highway 24
Use the right lane.
10

Turn left onto CR 75

0.2 mi · 18 sec · CR 75
Use the left lane.
11

Turn right onto Ash Street

0.2 mi · 43 sec · Ash Street
12

Turn left onto Lowerbluff Street

0.1 mi · 29 sec · Lowerbluff Street
13

Arrive at destination

Maple Street

Where to Stop

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

city in Wright County, Minnesota, United States

Mid-route town

Meal stop

Albertville, MN

21 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

Saint Augusta, MN

Fuel and coffee

A short stop after about 41.6 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.

Albertville, MN

Meal break

The midpoint is around 20.8 miles from Maple Grove, MN, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.

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

Heads-up: tricky spots

5 of 10

5 decision points cluster between mile 0.6 and 41.1 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.

7
0.6 mi into trip | ~1m in

Turn left toward I 494 North

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane. Toward I 494 North
5
0.7 mi into trip | ~1m in

Keep slight left at fork toward I 494 North

Highway fork - watch signs carefully

Toward I 494 North
8
2 mi into trip | ~3m in

Keep slight left at fork toward I 94 West: Saint Cloud

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here

Use the slight left / slight right lanes. Exit 27 Toward I 94 West: Saint Cloud
5
40.8 mi into trip | ~45m in | MN 24 / State Highway 24

Turn right onto MN 24 / State Highway 24

Lane positioning matters here

Use the right lane.
6
41.1 mi into trip | ~46m in | CR 75

Turn left onto CR 75

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$6.59 one way

$13.17 round trip

$4.02/gal 25.4 MPG avg 15 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.28 $7.01 $14.03
premium $4.85 $7.94 $15.88
diesel $5.60 $9.17 $18.34

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$7

Estimated CO2 emission: 14.6 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-08-31.

Driving Electric?

About $4 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 12.5 0 $4.37 $2.00
Efficient EV 10.4 0 $3.64 $1.66
EV Truck/SUV 16.6 0 $5.82 $2.66

Gas CO2

15 kg

EV CO2

5 kg (67% less)

This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.

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 as of Sep 4, 2026

Origin

Maple Grove, MN

Evening in Maple Grove on Saturday

Local time

7:01 PM

CDT

Current temp

86°F

Sunny

NNE 5 mph 0% chance Live forecast

Heat Advisory

Heat Advisory issued September 4 at 3:51AM CDT until September 4 at 6:00PM CDT by NWS Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN

Beach Hazards Statement

Beach Hazards Statement issued September 4 at 3:50AM CDT until September 4 at 10:00PM CDT by NWS Duluth MN

Destination

Clearwater, MN

Evening in Clearwater on Saturday

Local time

7:01 PM

CDT

Current temp

85°F

Mostly Sunny

NNE 5 mph 0% chance Live forecast

Heat Advisory

Heat Advisory issued September 4 at 3:51AM CDT until September 4 at 6:00PM CDT by NWS Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN

Beach Hazards Statement

Beach Hazards Statement issued September 4 at 3:50AM CDT until September 4 at 10:00PM CDT by NWS Duluth MN

55°F

Albertville, MN

21 mi in

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

1 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

47m on the road

The weather snapshot is not static. If you are leaving later, give both cities one more quick forecast check before departure.

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

What kind of drive is this?

41.6 mi in 47m, mostly highway — 37.9 mi of that is on I 94.

95% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
13 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 37.9 mi on I 94.

How Hard Is This Drive?

8/10

This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on I 94 and I 494. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.6 miles in.

Driving Effort 8/10

Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This is a short but busy drive. With 10 decision points packed into just 41.6 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 47m.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: at 0.6 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 0.7 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully; at 2 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.

Elevation Profile

Mostly flat terrain

998 ft 911 ft

Total Climb

180 ft

Total Descent

163 ft

Highest Point

998 ft

~32.7 mi in

Elevation Range

87 ft

About the Cities

Starting in Maple Grove, MN

Full guide →

Founded 1858

Maple Grove is a suburban city in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.

Arriving in Clearwater, MN

Full guide →

City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 47m. Total distance: 41.6 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

47m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.

First-Time Driver

Mostly highway driving (95%). Some complex stretches to watch for.

Frequently Asked Questions

The longest stretch is about 37.9 miles on I 94. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.

It helps. This route has a higher-than-average number of complex decision points, which get harder in the dark. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at Clearwater, MN before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.

Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.

The main spots that need attention: at 0.6 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 0.7 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully; at 2 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.

Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Clearwater, MN before heading back.

How this page is built

Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, EIA for fuel prices, USGS 3DEP for elevation, and FHWA TMAS for hourly traffic volumes. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.

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Explore More

Return Trip

Clearwater, MN to Maple Grove, MN

Plan the drive back the other way.

41.4 mi 47m

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