Minnesota State Highway 169 is a 48.853-mile-long (78.621 km) highway in northeast Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with U.S. Highway 53 in Wuori Township and continues northeast to its northern terminus at the intersection of Lake County Road 18 and Power Dam Road in Fall Lake Township. State Highway 169 becomes Lake County Road 18 at this point.

U.S. Route 53, or U.S. Highway 53 (U.S. 53), is a north–south U.S. highway that runs for 404 miles (650 km) from La Crosse, Wisconsin to International Falls, Minnesota. It is the primary north–south route in northwestern Wisconsin, serving as a vital link between I-94 at Eau Claire, Wisconsin and the Twin Ports of Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota. The entire route from Eau Claire to the city limits of Superior is a four lane divided highway. The highway's northern terminus is at the Fort Frances–International Falls International Bridge in International Falls, Minnesota, at the Canada–US border. Its southern terminus is in La Crosse, Wisconsin, at U.S. Highway 14.