I hate to say that the Sistonen’s Fire Tower has been taken down since so many of you still want to visit the spot, I will leave the trail information here.
Round-trip: 2 km
Difficulty: Moderate
Location: Kakabeka, ON
This is the 5th fire tower I have visited and I definitely have ‘Fire Tower Fever’. It’s hard to say if it’s the view from the summit, the tower, or the idea that for 50-70 years the “fire spotters” looked out over the forests from the solitary cabs at the top of these towers. The fire spotters could see smoke from about 25 km away. By the time the smoke rose above the trees so that the fire spotter could see it, the fire would have been a fairly large fire already.
Follow Highway 11/17 from Kakabeka Falls for about 15 km then turn left onto Wijala Rd. Take the next left onto Wolfe Rd and follow it for 1 km and look for a left turn onto an unnamed road. Follow this road as far as you are comfortable with your vehicle. You will see a parking area at the base of a hill before the road really gets rough. From here follow the road up the hill to where it thins down to a trail that leads to the top where the fire tower is located. You won’t even be able to see the tower for most of the hike.
Bummer 🙁
Fire tower was taken down.
Hiked to this tower today, very cool! Gaining access to the ladder is very difficult!