If you’ve been a reader of this site for a while you will know that I love fire towers. I would have liked to have seen what it was like when they were in active use.
Roundtrip: 100 m
Difficulty: Easy
Location: Hovland, MN
This tower was interesting to me because it was constructed differently than the other towers I have seen. Some of the other fire towers I’ve posted this far are: Mt Sophie, Sistonen’s, Aldina, Hazelwood, and Mt Maud.
Like the other fire towers I’ve visited in Northern Minnesota, the Hovland Tower is easy to get to. You can drive right up to it if your vehicle has fairly high clearance. From Highway 61 south in Hovland Minnesota, turn north onto the Arrowhead Trail (County Road 16) and drive for 4 km then turn left onto Tower Road and drive for 2.8 km until you reach the base of the tower.
Sorry, went there yesterday after seeing it but chickening out in 2016 because I was by myself, and it’s DOWN. Do a google search and you’ll see it coming down (so sad!). Also be forewarned: there is a big ol’ hornet’s nest on the other side of the new radio tower that my dog and I sadly discovered, so don’t bother.
The other commentor is incorrect that this fire tower has came down; you will pass a new ARMER tower on the way to this tower. Park at the yellow gate and climb the hill.
Sadly this tower is no more. We made the trip in last week and discovered only a cell tower. Further research we found that it came down July 2017. https://youtu.be/flSB3CwJuUQ