Our Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota Highpointing Page

1 unnamed hill: 1315+ feet

Introduction

Lake of the Woods County is Minnesota's northernmost county. Part of it extends north of the 49th parallel--only Alaska is farther north. It is also Minnesota's newest county, breaking away from Beltrami County in 1924. Its highest point is in Section 7 of an unnamed township, near the Norris Camp landing Strip. Because of the large amount of swampland in this county, most of the high ground has a road on it, so the walk to this one is short. I visited this area on May 28, 2005, after completing Roseau County.

Approaches to the Lake of the Woods High Point Trailhead

From the intersection of County Road 9 and Penturen Forest Road in Roseau County,
I drove east for 2 miles, then south 1 mile on C.R. 9, and turned left onto Butterfield Forest Road.
I drove east, then northeast on Butterfield F.R. for 5.75 miles and parked on the roadside 0.12 mile from the top.

A couple of months after I visited this area, I read an account by the First Ascender, Fred Lobdell, that he saw a bear in the woods after parking, but was able to avoid it.

The Trail

What is shown on the topographical map as a clearing is new growth, as is the area around the 1315-foot contour. There is no trail, I just walked between the old growth and new growth on the way to the high point.

I arrived at the high point area in 8 minutes. Due to the 5-foot contour interval and the largeness of the area and the density of the new trees, I walked around the area for several minutes.

The Summit

I thought that the highest point was near this taller dead tree:

The Climb Down

I returned the same way--13 minutes round trip.

The Route Out

I turned around here and drove west on Butterfield F.R. to an unsigned road and turned left. Later I saw it signed as Four Town Road NW. It is shown on DeLorme as C.R. 704.
I drove south on this road for 20.4 miles and went straight on C.R. 44.
I continued south on C.R. 44 for 2 miles and turned left onto State Highway 89, on my way to Beltrami County's High Point group.

Our Progress

Other Ascents and Trip Reports

Bibliography

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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: