St. Nora Fire Tower - Algonquin Highlands, ON
Posted by: Bon Echo
N 45° 09.781 W 078° 50.765
17T E 669279 N 5003316
100-foot steel fire tower
Waymark Code: WM14F5Q
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 06/26/2021
Views: 6
One of a small number of fire towers that have been left standing in Ontario, the original 100-foot tall steel tower at St Nora Lake in the Algonquin Highlands was constructed in 1949 and replaced an earlier wooded tower built in the 1920's. The tower is located adjacent to the former Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre. According to the
Algonquin Highlands Heritage Map website, the original steel tower was manned until the 1970s and then was demolished (along with hundreds of similar towers across the province). The present tower was brought in from the Pembrook District shortly after and set up for demonstration purposes.
The tower cannot be climbed and is fenced off, and the heavy tree cover in the area makes it difficult to view from most locations. The best place to see it is from St. Nora Lake (rent a canoe from the Algonquin Highlands office and enjoy a day on the water). Alternately, you can hike to the base of the tower by following the aptly-named Fire Tower Trail. It's not a long hike, a couple of kilometers each way, but of course it's a considerable uphill climb heading for the tower.
References and Links:
Algonquin Highlands Heritage Map: heritagemapsalgonquin.com/map/historic-sites/attractions/st-nora-fire-tower (
visit link)
Frost Centre Hiking Trails Map: www.algonquinhighlands.ca/deptdocs/Frost_Centre.pdf (
visit link)