Hennepin County is Minnesota's most populous county, with Minneapolis as the county seat. Hennepin's highest ground is within the Minnetonka city limits, located in the front yards of three different houses--two on Highpoint Court and one on Stonegate Lane.
Matthew and I visited these areas on September 6, 2004, just after Ken Jennings' return to Jeopardy on the last day of the Labor Day weekend. We left Tammy and the younger kids in the van, while we went exploring.
From our home in Anoka County, we took I-94 East (actual direction was almost straight south), to I-394 West, then to I-494 South, then to Minnesota State Highway 7, then south on Williston Road (traffic flow does not permit a left onto Woodhill Road).
We took the first left off of Williston Road, which is Highpoint Court, a one-block, dead end road, that features two candidate high points.
I was expecting to be in the vicinity of the easternmost HP area, but became confused at seeing Highpoint Court, so we turned around at the dead end, and returned downhill to a bank parking lot.
I consulted my maps again, trying to decide whether to proceed to the eastern one or walk up to those two. I decided to walk back up to where we turned around, rather then park there, since I did not know how welcome we would be there. I reset my GPS course for the westernmost HP, turned off the van, and started to walk up, but Matthew became despondent at being left behind. I would have taken him with me, but he had neglected to bring shoes.
It was a warm day, and a short walk, so I welcomed him to come along. He was very happy and helpful, and we started walking uphill, past a water tower.
I continued monitoring my GPS, as we turned left onto Highpoint Court, and saw that the first HP was across the street at 14713 Highpoint Court. I walked up to the house and knocked, but it was not answered. I saw that the highest ground was right next to the house and we went and stood on that.
There is no Geological marker nor registration book.
Here's a picture of me right next to the summit tree. Matthew moved too fast for me to get a still photo of him, and wanted me to snap his summit photo downhill, which I declined. I was trying to show him about what highpointing actually is, but, at four years old, is still too young to understand it.
We walked back down to the street, where I reprogrammed my GPS for the next one, which was at the next house, the one that occupied the dead end, and set off for that.
As we approached the front door to 14709 Highpoint Court, and the highest ground, a large golden retriever challenged us from the porch. This was our first experience with a guard animal, so we backed down hill to the street. Then the lady of the house called off the dog. I announced our intention to reach the highest ground in Hennepin County. She knew that it was on their property, and granted us permission to stand there.
There is no Geological marker nor registration book.
Then the man of the house emerged and I told him our plan. He also knew about their priviledged status, and told me there used to be a geological marker, but it was removed by construction. I thanked him for his time (they were preparing supper), and returned to our van.
Back in our van, I reprogrammed my GPS for the easternmost HP area. We drove on the Service Road eastward to Woodhill Road, then turned right onto Woodhill Road, passing Quigley, and turning left onto White Oak Road, which curves to the south, then took a left onto Stonegate Lane. I monitored my GPS, and identified the house whose property held the last, and what I figured would be the highest point, since the topo map showed it to be 1130 feet, while the others were between 1120 and 1130. I continued driving past it, and turned around at the cul-de-sac, and parked on the north side of the street adjacent to the house at 14180 Stonegate Lane.
We walked up the house and rang the bell. The dog here was much smaller and stayed in the house. The lady of the house answered. I apologized for the trouble, and announced our intention to reach the highest ground in Hennepin County. She knew that it was on their property, and that there was a geological marker, and granted us permission to stand there.
She also showed me the paperwork for the marker, and showed us the garden where it was. She said that it was a plastic marker with a stick. We looked for it but the flowers in it were too tall to see the marker. Spring is the best time to see it.
This tree, along the east side of the house, appeared to be the highest ground. It was about 30 feet north, and 3 feet higher than the benchmark garden.
We walked back down to our van, and had a celebratory meal at McDonalds®.
Most of the highpointing I've been doing lately has involved long walks and some wetland crossing, so noone has come along with me. This was my first accompanied HP visit since Mother's Day.
| Family Member | Count |
|---|---|
| Mark | 29 |
| Matthew | 15 |
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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: |