U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (US 61), also known as the Blues Highway, is a major United States highway which extends 1,400 miles (2,300 km) between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River, and is designated the Great River Road for much of its route. As of 2004, the highway's northern terminus in Wyoming, Minnesota, is at an intersection with Interstate 35 (I-35). Until 1991, the highway extended north on what is now Minnesota State Highway 61 (MN 61) through Duluth and across the Canada–U.S. border, near Grand Portage. Its southern terminus in New Orleans, Louisiana, is at an intersection with U.S. Route 90 (US 90). The highway is often called the Blues Highway because it connects Saint Paul, Minnesota; St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; the Mississippi Delta, and New Orleans.
The route was an important north-south connection in the days before the Interstate Highway System. Many southerners traveled north along US 61 while going to St. Louis and Saint Paul.