Winneshiek County Highpoint Trip Report
four unnamed areas (1,360+ feet)
Date: March 21, 2005
Author: Mark Ness
Winneshiek County has a pair of large contour areas near the northern state line,
the westernmost is split between Section 12 of Burr Oak Township and Section 7 of Hesper Township.
The other in that pair spreads out between Sections 7 and 8 of Hesper.
The other pair is two small hills in Section 15 of Hesper.
I visited all these early in the morning on March 21, 2005.
From the intersection of U.S. 52 and County Road A14, in northern Winneshiek County:
I stayed on A14 for 1.1 miles and turned left onto another gravel road
(the one that cuts through the westernmost high point area of Winneshiek County.
I drove 1 mile north on that road and turned right on the State Line Rd.
I drove on the State Line Rd for 100 yards or so,
turned north into Fillmore County, Minnesota and parked on the roadside for the night (March 20).
area 1
On Monday morning, the 21st, I walked from my car to area 1.
It is quite large, extending into Fillmore County,
which is where the highest ground is, and it slopes gently down to the south,
so the highest land is at the treeline of the farmstead just 15 feet south
of the state line road. I could see that the ground to the south was lower,
but kept walking south for a while, just to be sure. 16 minutes hiking time.
I resumed driving east on the state line road for 1 mile and turned south
for 0.2 mile on Prairie Spring Road to park at the road crest of area 2.
area 2
area 2 is the largest of the four contours. I explored the area east of the road first,
and concluded that the high point of the eastern area is probably in the field at the road crest.
Other high ground is 100 yards east of the road crest, and 100 yards southeast of that point.
Then I explored the area west of the road.
The highest point of that part of the contour appears to be at the part of the field
nearest the road crest. Other high ground in that part is about 100 yards west
of the crest and 200 yards northwestwest of that point. 30 minutes hiking time.
I continued south on Prairie Spring Road for 0.8 mile and turned left onto C.R. A14.
I continued east on A14 for 2.3 miles, and parked on the road side across from house 1956.
area 3
Area 3 barely rises above the surrounding terrain. Even the road is higher.
Not a good candidate for the county high point. 4 minutes hiking time.
I continued driving east on C.R. A14 for 0.35 mile and parked on the roadside near area 4.
area 4
Area 4 is a larger hill than area 3, with noticeable rise. 4 minutes hiking time.