Trail Overview
Tower Ridge Road is a rough gravel road best traveled with AWD SUV's and 4x4 vehicles. It is off Highway 446, south of Lake Monroe, which is south of Bloomington, Indiana. This scenic road goes through the Charles C. Deam Wilderness area, which is overseen by the U.S. Forest Service, Hoosier National Forest. The road follows a ridge that leads to Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower, which is an old fire lookout tower that is open to the public to climb if you are brave enough. The gravel road does continue east (not included in submission) from the lookout tower but is maintained as it leaves the wilderness boundary and has residents along the road.
Difficulty
The road is minimally unmaintained, with no maintenance in winter. It has many potholes, some that get pretty deep and would destroy a small car. Washboarding on almost every hill makes it difficult for 2-wheel drive vehicles, so all wheel drive or 4x4 is best suited for this road. Washouts are common on hills and sides, sometimes they can get deep after heavy rains. Soft spots develop in the road bed after heavy rain and snowmelt that you could possibly get stuck in if not in 4-wheel drive. Fallen trees are frequent, as well as low-hanging branches over the road. They do occasionally grade the road and fix washouts when it gets too bad to be passable, as often people in cars drive this road despite the rough road signs.
