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 Elba Fire TowerPosted by:  dcrep
N 44° 05.319 W 092° 00.701
15T E 579119 N 4882193
A fire lookout tower in the city of Elba, Minnesota.
Waymark Code: WMC8JY
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 08/08/2011
Views: 3
The Elba Fire Tower was built in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It is 110 feet tall, and is situated on a bluff directly east of the town of Elba, Minnesota.
The tower is open to the public to climb. The parking lot is located along county highway 26, about one third of a mile east of the intersection with state road 74 (Elba's Main St). From the parking lot, a trail of stairs goes to the base of the tower. There are over 600 steps to climb just to reach the base of the tower.
According to the sign at the base of the tower, the tower is closed November 1 through March 31. It is also closed after dark, during storms and high winds, and when snow and ice are present. Up to 6 people are allowed at the top at one time.
The tower was originally run by the State Division of Forestry. The tower is no longer in active use as a fire tower. The tower today is run by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and is on Whitewater Wildlife Management Area (WMA) land. According to the DNR's website, the tower is the farthest south of Minnesota's fire towers. The tower is 110 feet tall with a 7 foot x 7 foot cab. A video about the tower is available at nearby Whitewater state park.
The DNR website says the tower was constructed in 1936, while the signs at the parking lot of the tower say it was constructed in 1933.
The tower is also an NGS benchmark station (PID PP2238).
Height of Look-Out Tower in feet: 110.00
Difficulty: 
Opening times and fees:
Open during daylight hours, April through October, no fee
Parking Area: N 44° 05.465 W 092° 00.634
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Visit Instructions:
Please log only if you have been up there and you must include a photo of the scenic view from the top.
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