Scott County has a single highpoint, at a junction of four rough gravel roads in a wooded area just outside of Elko, and just NW and above its water tower. Since the topographic map was made, the area north of the high point has been populated with a large housing area. I visited the area on October 30, 2004, after my partial completion of Dakota County.
At first I was looking for the nearest point (within town) to the high point, but got hopelessly lost. I then went to Plan B, which was stopping on the thru-road (Xerxes) at a point nearest the top. It is a steep incline all along that curve. I got to within 400 feet, and was looking for a place to park, but that road has no shoulder. Just past the closest point was a gravel road going uphill. It was marked with a sign that could be interpreted as "No Trespassing".
I parked there, trying to stay off the road to allow traffic to pass if necessary, but there really was not much room to park there, either.
In addition to that main road, there was a less-developed vehicle path to the right, which appeared to be a more direct route to the top. I followed that path to a point near the top where I turned left onto another gravel road, for the brief hike up.
The Geological marker is in the middle of the intersection where the four unmaintained gravel roads meet. It was raining, so I didn't look around much, but there is a nice view.
For the way down I took the main road. Just below the top was a large concrete slab, angled on the slope, painted like a U.S. flag. Just past that the road deteriorated into a rutted, rocky, steep road. I stayed off the road where I could grab onto small trees and plants to keep me from falling down. Then I got back on the road and ran down the last few yards to my truck, arriving there exactly at noon. The total time out of my truck was 6 minutes.
From there, I got back onto I-35 south, turned east onto U.S. Highway 60 toward the Goodhue County High Point.
| Family Member | Count |
|---|---|
| Mark | 36 |
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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: |