View from the tower.

Nicollet Tower: See Two Other States

Frenchman Joseph Nicollet spent two years making the first accurate map (1841) of the area between the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. The idea of an observation tower overlooking that vast area is a good one, but it wound up in Sisseton -- where everything is somewhat flat -- because the campaign to build it was spearheaded by a Sisseton banker.

From the top of the 75 foot tower visitors can see the ground below in South Dakota, and reportedly a little bit of North Dakota and Minnesota as well. The tower's Interpretive Center displays a replica of Nicollet's "mother map."

Nicollet Tower: See Two Other States

Address:: 119th St., Sisseton, SD
Directions:: I-29 exit 232. Drive west on Hwy 10/119th St. for seven miles. You'll see the tower straight ahead; turn off on the unnamed road to the right just before it to park.

More on Nicollet Tower: See Two Other States

Nearby Offbeat Places

International Vinegar Museum, Roslyn, SD - 21 mi.

Cartoony Black Pelican, Wyndmere, ND - 41 mi.

Shoe House, World's Largest Hairball, Webster, SD - 29 mi.

In the region:

Buggy Museum, Stockholm, SD - 42 mi.

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