Northwoods Experience: Pequot Lakes Fire Tower Nearing Reopening for the Season

With the Minnesota weather beginning to reflect springtime, the Pequot Lakes Fire Lookout Tower is getting ready to open to the public. The fire tower has stood tall for 90 years and holds a special place in Crow Wing County’s history.

“The tower was put up to help prevent fires and detect wildfires here in the county,” said Crow Wing County Environmental Services Supervisor Tom Strack. “There was numerous towers that were built in the county and this is one that stands today. So, they would use the method of triangulation to determine where those smoke points were and then to send firefighters out to response to those fires and put them out.”

The 100-foot-tall tower remains closed to the public during the winter, but once the season turns, those interested can enjoy a view of up to 20 miles from dawn until dusk.

“Especially in the fall time when the colors are nice and vibrant, it’s one of the best places to come in the county to enjoy those colors,” stated Strack. “You also can get a good view of [Highway] 371 and the corridor there as you stand on top of the tower. They get a feel for what the people that staffed the tower had a view [of].”

Listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Towers, the fire tower not only remains one of the only usable towers left, but also serves to commemorate late Minnesota DNR Forester Art Savage.

“Art served the Pequot Lakes area for about 30 years,” Strack said. “For the first 10 years of his career, he actually lived here at the fire tower in a cabin that’s at the base of the fire tower. He’s the one that’s spent most of the time in the fire tower manning the fire tower in his 30-year career.”

The Pequot Lakes Fire Lookout Tower scrapes the sky in Paul M. Thiede Fire Tower Park, and both the tower and the park were both acquired by Crow Wing County in the late 2010s. It continues to provide visitors with 40 acres full of scenery, preserving Thiede’s vision and passion to protect its history for future generations to enjoy.

“It serves as a piece of history for the area,” Strack said. “Former commissioner Paul Thiede had found that the tower was set to be decommissioned, much like other towers in the county. He led the efforts with the county board to acquire the tower from the DNR, incorporate three additional miles of walking trails that are filled with interpretive signage to talk about history of Minnesota, its fire history, tree identification, and ecology and those type of things.”

The Pequot Lakes Fire Lookout Tower is expected to open back up to the public in May.