Lindsey Mountain - FS 2359

Trail Overview

Lindsey Mountain FS 2359 is a well-maintained gravel road within the Potosi Unit of Mark Twain National Forest. The road begins by spurring off the Shepard Cutoff, heading southward along the eastern boundary of the Bell Mountain Wilderness towards Lindsey Mountain, traversing the ridge spines, beautiful treelines, with boulders lining the edge of the road. The road ends 2 miles in at a parking lot hosting the Lindsey Mountain hiking trailhead, which leads another 2.2 miles south into the Bell Mountain Wilderness, ending at 1663 feet elevation on Lindsey Mountain, featuring the majestic granite glades the St Francois Mountains are known for.

Photos of Lindsey Mountain - FS 2359

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Difficulty

Lindsey Mountain is given a base rating of 1/10, being a generous single-width two-track maintained gravel road that rides the gentle spines of the ridgetop to the legal endpoint, with occasional soft spots along the track in the bowl-like sections of the road. It is safe to expect all the normal gravel road complications of washboards, mounding, and potholes. The difficulty could increase due to a lack of maintenance or extreme wet and inclement conditions.

History

The Bell Mountain Wilderness area gets its name from Henry Bell, a pioneer of the local area, who came to Missouri in 1980 and was designated by the US Congress within the Eastern Wilderness Act (PL 96-560). In a 1958 Topo map of Rolla, MO, a Bell Mountain Lookout Tower was notated just northwest of the entryway to Lindsey Mountain FS 2359, at approximately 37.64964, -90.82266. This lookout location was notated up to the 2011 edition of the Banner, Missouri topo map, but on the 2015 and newer editions had been dropped. Upon searching the web, a site called centraluslookouts.weebly.com had pictures showing two separate sets of tower piers, and the simple description "Both Removed," adding just a little more to the minimal knowledge that is publicly known of the Bell Mountain Towers.

Technical Rating

Lindsey Mountain - FS 2359 can be accessed by the following ride types:

• High-Clearance 4x4
• SUV
• SxS (60")
• ATV (50")
• Dirt Bike