Clearwater County's High Point, at 2005 feet is the only Minnesota county outside of Cook and Lake that exceed 2000 feet. It is located in Section 4 of La Prairie Township. Clearwater County also has the distinction of being the headwaters for the Mississippi River, at Lake Itasca. I had been eager to complete this county for a long time. My chance came on May 27, 2005, after completing Norman County.
From State Highway 113, I drove north on Height of Land Road,
and turned left onto an unnamed, poor gravel, road. I suspect that this road is not the one shown on the topographical map, but is a short distance before it. The two roads met a short distance uphill.
I drove up this road
to a point 0.15 mile from the top where it became too muddy for my Escort to climb. I pulled over to the side, in the unlikely event that another vehicle would be using this road, and parked.
I continued up this road all the way to the top, where it looped around near the tower and building.
The highest point is underneath the lookout tower. As Dan Richardson noted, the bottom section of the tower ladder is still missing.
I returned to my car on the trail and resumed driving east.
When I came to the road split, I took the left branch, the one probably depicted on the topographical map. It was very rocky, worthy of 4WD status. I would not recommend this road for a passenger car. Fortunately, mine was not damaged, and I reached the Height of Land road soon after. I turned left on my way to Mahnomen County's High Point areas.
| Family Member | Count |
|---|---|
| Mark | 157 |
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http://www.topozone.com
Minnesota Atlas & Gazeteer by Delorme, 3rd Edition, 2001.
| File Name: | |
| Written by: | Mark Ness |
| Last Revised by: | Mark Ness |
| on: |