The Road Less Travelled to State High Points

Over the years, Oliver has taken us on many adventures to the tops of things and encouraged us along with him to get to some of those tops. Its nice when they are easy. :) On our journey home, we found the top of Michigan, Wisconsin & North Dakota. Oliver found the top of Minnesota by himself (a very long & muddy hike).

First up was Mt. Arvon at an elevation of 1,979 ft. We were prepared with the detailed directions to follow along the unmarked and unpaved logging roads. There were also some great signs along the way to guide us to the peak. And we found out that earlier in the week, there had been a flood that would have prevented us from parking as close to the top as we did. A short way from the peak, a bench had been placed facing north and some trees had been cleared so you could potentially view Lake Superior. As we drove out, we saw a bear in the road. Oliver was pretty excited about it. 

The geological survey marker at Mt. Arvon.

A festive sign to announce our location

We all made it together!

A short walk away we had a view more than trees

Looking north toward Lake Superior (I believe)

Next came Timms Hill in Wisconsin. 1951 ft high. Easier to drive to because of the paved roads and it being a part of county park, with a longer hike to the actual high point, but it was still doable for all 5 of us. At the highpoint, there is also a lookout tower that you can climb up. The tower allowed us to see above the tall, dense trees surrounding this highpoint. 

My family is cute

The geological survey marker at Timms Hill

He started to climb the tower too!

A bench provided by the U.S. Highpointers Club

The tower that we climbed

The panoramic view from the top of the tower

Trees for miles

From the top, you can see Oliver and Ryan on the bench

After that we drove north through Duluth to follow a beautiful road along the west side of Lake Superior to get as close as possible to Minnesota's high point. While it was still dark and while we were still sleeping, Oliver woke up and started hiking the wet muddy path to this 2,301 ft high point.

A section of muddy trail

A split in the trail, a very rocky trail.

View from the top

He made it!

An extremely diverse path to get where he needed to go

This is still the same hike!

A beautiful lake along the way

The last high point for our cross country journey was White Butte in North Dakota. This high point is on private property, but the owners allow access to it as long as hikers continue to treat the area well. Oliver, Ryan and Scott (in the backpack) began this journey while Evan and I hung out in the van. With the binoculars, I could see them along most of the trail and at the top. When they came back down, Oliver convinced me to hike it also, so I went and Ryan hiked to the 3,506 ft. high point a second time. Oliver took Evan on a walk down the road while we were gone.

They made it!

They made it! (taken through the binoculars from the van)

He's adopted his father's achievement pose.

Oliver & Scott on top!

Part of the path on this Great Plains high point

The White Butte geological survey marker

Ryan made it to the top again!

Evan's adventure while Ryan and I went to the peak.

After all these "hikes", Oliver can now say he's been to 17 state high points. Ryan and I have been to 8 I think. Evan has 7 and Scott has 3.

At the end of the trip, we did hit one more "high point." It was the highest point of the Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. We all hiked along the Rankin Ridge Nature Trail and to the top of the park with beautiful views.

Evan leading the way. (He's speedy-not big on enjoying the view)