Tower Hill State Park

Tower Hill State Park is a state park in Iowa County, Wisconsin, featuring sandstone cliffs along the Wisconsin River and several hiking trails through wooded areas. The 77-acre property contains historical structures, including a reconstructed smelting house that shows visitors how operations once worked.

The Helena Shot Tower was built in 1832 by Daniel Whitney and used gravity to manufacture lead shot until 1860. The site was later developed as a recreational park after industrial production ended, preserving its industrial heritage.

The site takes its name from the Helena Shot Tower and was transformed into a recreational destination by Jenkin Lloyd Jones in the late 1800s. You can see how this shift from industrial use to leisure space shaped what exists here today.

The park is open to visitors from May through October, with marked trails and interpretive displays at several locations. Good walking shoes are recommended since the paths cover uneven terrain and some sections are steep.

The park sits in the Driftless Area and contains a striking vertical shaft reaching down 120 feet, connected to a 90-foot horizontal tunnel. This design let workers drop molten lead down the shaft, where it cooled into perfectly round pellets during its fall.

Location: Iowa County

Inception: 1922

Website: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/towerhill

GPS coordinates: 43.14670,-90.04860

Latest update: December 9, 2025 18:49