Dakota county is the southernmost of the Twin Cities' 8-county metro area. It has two candidate high points, the 1195 foot skiing attraction, Buck Hill, and an unnamed hill on private property five miles south with approximately the same elevation. Dakota County was the first stop in my 6-county tour of southeastern Minnesota on October 30, 2004. I climbed Buck Hill easily enough but was denied access to the other one.
On November 6, 2004, after completing Olmsted County's high point trio, I scaled Dakota's southern high point candidate in pitch darkness.
From my place of employment in downtown Minneapolis, I drove south on I-35 W to the ____ exit, just before the merger of I-35W and I-35E into I-35. I did not see the sign for a left turn onto Buck Hill Road. Instead it was called ____. I kept going and U-turned at Burnshaven Drive, then turned right onto ______. At the next stop light (Southcross Drive), it was marked as Buck Hill Road. I followed that to the Buck Hill parking lot. It was an abrupt right--I almost overshot it. I parked in the parking lot on the south end, and looked for the access road that goes around the south side to the top. The road does not connect with the public area. There's a drop of maybe 20 feet from the parking lot to the base of the hill. Because the walk straight up hill is shorter, I just began my ascent.
The east slope of Buck Hill is wide and evenly sloped, good for skiing, or so I'm told. There are two parallel ski lifts about 100 feet apart. One could walk up on any part of the slope, or on the gravel road around the south side, the bottom of which is in a maintenance area. Paralleling each ski lift is an associated vehicle path, the tracks do not make ruts, and probably are rarely used. The grass is cropped closely, so is probably mowed regularly. I walked up the path by the northern ski lift, arriving at the top in 10 minutes.
At the top are several skiing equipment and a shack (with a commanding view of the entire slope), and the end of the gravel road. I found a small square area, about the usual size of a benchmark mounting, but no benchmark, plastic or otherwise.
I started going down the summit road, but quickly changed my route to the grassy slope, taking the path next to the southern ski lift.
The total time out of my truck was 20 minutes.
I turned left out of the parking lot, back onto Buck Hill Road, then a right onto ___, then an immediate right onto I-35 South (this road is not accessible as an exit from the north). I stayed on I-35 for 5.8 miles, taking the County Road 70 exit. At 1.1 miles, I passed the private driveway nearest the second high point, and turned around at the next driveway, then up the correct driveway. It is a narrow one-lane paved driveway that splits left and right about half-way. I took the branch to the right, driving within 75 feet of where I had programmed my GPS with the coordinates, continuing on to the house at the end of the driveway.
I parked at the end of the driveway, and approached the house hoping for permission. There was a large "Kerry / Edwards" poster in the window. I heard loud dogs barking inside and hoped they were restrained. A young lady answered the door and I told her my plan, then the man of the house met me at the door. I restated my intention to climb the high points of all the Minnesota counties. He was certain that Buck Hill was the highest point and that I had no business hiking on his property. I thanked him and went on my way, unhappy about the way the day was going. This was the first time I have been denied access to a privately-owned candidate high point (Ramsey is government-owned).
When I came back, I walked right up to the top of the driveway, stepped a little into the woods where I noticed it fell off fast, so the road really does go right over the top of the hill.
I got back onto C.R. 70, then continued my route south on I-35 toward Scott county's high point.
| Family Member | Count |
|---|---|
| Mark | 35 |
David Olson, first ascent on July 24, 1994
Roy Wallen
Dick Ellsworth
Bob Packard
David Olson
Bob Schwab
Trapper Robbins and Roxanne Everett (July 23, 2003)
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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: |