small town of Hackensack before reaching MN 200 just south of Walker, a regionally important city in northern Minnesota. Highway 371 and Highway 200 begin an concurrency at this intersection; Highway 371 north and Highway 200 west continue to the northwest together as they pass around Walker Bay, the western arm of Leech Lake, one of the largest lakes in Minnesota. The two pass the former Ah-gwah-ching facility, which was serviced by the unsigned MN 290. Highway 371 and Highway 200 concurrently reach downtown Walker, a town where travelers can find most amenities. Also in Walker is the eastern terminus of MN 34, which provides the main route between Walker, Park Rapids, and Detroit Lakes to the west. Several miles northwest of Walker, Highway 200 splits off Highway 371, heading west towards Lake Itasca while Highway 371 stays heading north. Highway 371 will not intersect any more state highways on its mainline routing after this intersection. Meanwhile, the landscape now becomes less treelined and more hilly as the route progresses towards Cass Lake, the final city on Highway 371. The route enters Cass Lake from the south, passes through downtown and ends at U.S. Highway 2 just north of downtown, although the roadway itself continues north as a local street. Memorial designations On August 7, 2006, the highway was dedicated as the Purple Heart Memorial Highway in honor of veterans who have been wounded or died in combat. Until 2005, most of Highway 371, except for the Brainerd bypass, was also officially designated the Paul Bunyan Expressway. This was a unique name designation because the portion of Highway 371 from Pequot Lakes to Cass Lake is not built to expressway standards. The portion of Highway 371 bypass around Brainerd is officially designated the C. Elmer Anderson Memorial Highway. State Park Crow Wing State Park is located near Highway 371 at the confluence of the Mississippi and Crow Wing Rivers. The park is located nine miles south of Brainerd and Baxter. The park entrance is located one mile west of the junction of Highway 371 and County Road 27. The entrance is on County Road 27. History Minnesota 371 was originally designated as US 371 from 1931 to 1973. During 1973, US 371 was re-designated Minnesota 371. The former US 371 designation was concurrent with US 2 from 1931 to 1973 between Cass Lake and Bemidji with a terminus at US