Phone Box Corner marks the junction of two DNR forest roads deep in Pine Island State Forest — the north–south Fiero Truck Trail (forest road 0175) and the east–west Indian Pines Forest Road (0062). In the DNR’s own road records the two centerlines meet at exactly this point. A brown routed-letter sign names the corner, standing beside the weathered red-and-white wooden phone box that gave the spot its name.
No official record explains the box itself, but the corner sits squarely in a documented tradition. From 1911 the Minnesota Forest Service strung telephone lines alongside its roads, trails, and lookout towers as permanent fire-protection infrastructure, and Civilian Conservation Corps crews went on to build 1,635 miles of telephone line and 1,380 miles of truck trails across Minnesota — Pine Island was among thirteen state forests created by the 1933 Legislature expressly so CCC conservation work could be carried on there. When radio took over, forestry phone lines were sold off, but the state’s forest roads still serve wildfire protection under Minnesota law to this day.
For travelers, the corner is a genuine backcountry landmark: both roads are system forest roads, generally passable for low-clearance vehicles, and the nearest facilities are at the Pines Day-Use Area along the Indian Pines road — fire ring, lean-to shelter, picnic table, and vault toilet.
Rules for this place
Camping away from a developed campground in a state forest is allowed under the DNR’s dispersed camping rules, which set how far from water, from a designated site and for how long. In a state forest the DNR’s state forest rules apply: firearms unloaded and cased near campgrounds, picnic areas and parking lots, and forest roads open to off-highway vehicles unless they are posted closed. This is public land open to hunting in season under the Minnesota hunting and trapping regulations.
Verified 2026-09-07. Rules change; check the official page before you go.
