Knife River Minnesota Map

About Knife River, Minnesota

Knife River is a locality in Lake County, Minnesota, United States. It is a small community with a population of 212. The population density is 122.9 people per km². Knife River is located at 46.9494°N, 91.7791°W. It observes the Central Time (America/Chicago) timezone. ZIP code: 55609.

Knife River rises where the dark, timbered currents of the Knife River spill into the vast, cold expanse of Lake Superior. It lies 19.3 miles northeast of Duluth, MN (from Duluth, MN: bearing 53°T), and is situated 7.2 miles southwest of Two Harbors. The landscape here is defined by the heavy, rhythmic breathing of the lake, which pulls at the rocky shoreline and casts a pale, silver light over the driftwood and basalt stones of the coast. To the west, the land rises toward the silent silhouette of Pork City Hill, while the waters of the Knife River carve a deep, winding path through the woods before meeting the horizon. Just offshore, the rocky prominence of Knife Island breaks the surface, standing as a solitary sentinel against the restless, shifting moods of the water. In the quiet hours, the air carries a sharp, metallic scent of cold stone and pine, a bracing clarity that lingers long after the sun has slipped below the tree line.

Knife River holds the echoes of early timber harvests and the persistent, industrious spirit of those who first sought a living from the deep woods and the rocky harbor. Economic life has long been tethered to the water, where the legacy of commercial fishing persists in the weathered docks and the small, sturdy vessels that brave the swells. Residents move with the deliberate pace of those who understand that the seasons dictate the terms of survival, from the long, frozen winters to the brief, bright bloom of summer. While the nearby Miscellaneous serves as a quiet expanse of protected land, the character of Knife River remains rooted in its history as a place of transit and trade, a waypoint between the dense northern forests and the expansive, unforgiving waters that reach toward Agate Bay. It is a place of hard, honest textures, where the work of the day is measured by the tide and the steady, unyielding flow of the river.

About This Knife River Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Knife River, Minnesota. Coordinates: 46.94938, -91.779068. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Knife River includes the ZIP code (55609), telephone area code (218), county seat of Lake County (Two Harbors), and school district assignment (Lake Superior Public School District).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.