The Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower is the last fire tower standing in the Hoosier National Forest: 110 feet of steel above the Charles C. Deam Wilderness, southeast of Bloomington. From the top, the view runs about 20 miles in any direction, most of it forest, with Lake Monroe in the distance. When the leaves turn, that is a long look across Indiana fall foliage from above the treetops.
The climb is free, and so is the parking. It is a longer drive than most of our fall activities in Indianapolis, and the route matters: a stretch of Tower Ridge Road is closed, so use Hunter Creek Road to get there.
Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower History
The Civilian Conservation Corps built the tower in 1939, working from a camp at Kurtz, and the Forest Service used it to spot wildfires into the 1970s. During high fire danger, a towerman stayed in the tower and watched from the 7-foot-square cab at the top. When smoke showed, he lined it up on a sighting wire and reported it by telephone or radio. Raymond Axsom staffed the tower for 26 of its years in use. The Forest Service’s history of the tower includes the time he was most frightened up there: an unexpected storm hit, and the wind blew so hard he had to sit down and wrap his legs around the stairway to keep from being blown off the top.
The cabin, latrine and garage that once stood at the base are gone. In October 1990, Hickory Ridge was placed on the National Historic Lookout Register, the fourth lookout tower listed nationally and the first in Indiana.
Climbing the Tower With Kids
It is 133 metal steps from the ground to the cab, and the Forest Service calls it a strenuous climb: know your limits, climb slowly and use the handrails. The steps get slick in rain or ice, and nobody should be on the tower in high winds or during a storm. Axsom’s story shows why.
The Forest Service does not post an age limit or a supervision rule for the climb, so how far up a young child goes is the parent’s call.
Bring water. The tower site has no listed restrooms or drinking water. Blackwell Campground, about a mile in from State Road 446 on the other side of the Tower Ridge Road closure, has vault toilets and a water spigot.
The tower lot is also trailhead parking for the Sycamore, Axsom, Terrill Ridge and Martin Hollow trails. The Deam Wilderness bans wagons, carts and bikes and limits groups to 10 or fewer. Poison ivy grows along the trails and roadsides, and in fall the vine turns brilliant red. Hunting takes place on the forest, and the Forest Service recommends blaze orange during major firearm seasons, including deer season.
Getting There: Use Hunter Creek Road
- Where: Charles C. Deam Wilderness, Hoosier National Forest, southeast of Bloomington. GPS: 39.03485, -86.32123.
- Cost: Free. No entrance fee and no fee for day-use parking.
- Hours: Day use only.
- Questions: Hoosier National Forest’s Bedford office, 812-275-5987, open Tuesday through Thursday.
Take State Road 446 south from State Road 46 in Bloomington and turn onto Hunter Creek Road (some Forest Service pages spell it Hunters Creek Road). Follow it to the intersection with Tower Ridge Road, bear right and watch for the parking lot on the left. Hunter Creek Road is paved.
A section of Tower Ridge Road, the gravel road through the Deam Wilderness, has been closed to the public since July 2025 because of storm damage. Older directions send drivers in on Tower Ridge Road from State Road 446, and that route runs into the closed stretch before the tower.
The Forest Service has proposed closing that three-mile section to vehicles for good and turning it into a hiking and horse trail, with tower access staying on Hunter Creek Road. A decision is expected in 2027.
Parking and When to Go
The lot at the tower and an overflow lot at the intersection to the east also serve those four trailheads, and parking is limited. The Forest Service asks visitors to aim for mornings and weekdays, especially during fall foliage season, and to have a backup trail or stop in mind if the lots are full. Parking on or along Tower Ridge Road is not allowed.
Planning more fall drives? Our Indiana day trips for fall list runs from Turkey Run to Wolf Park.
[…] The Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower, positioned inside Hoosier Nationwide Forest close to Indiana College, presents a fall foliage expertise like none different in Indiana. The Lookout Tower was in-built 1939 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and remained in use as a hearth lookout tower for the park into the Nineteen Seventies. […]
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[…] the end of this “shortcut,” we stumbled upon Hickory Ridge Fire Tower. It was this old, towering structure that looked like it survived a couple of world wars. Rustic […]