Local guides and lake residents gave these rafts a nickname: .
| Location | Type of Loons Elevator | Accessibility | |----------|------------------------|----------------| | Maine Agricultural Museum (Unity, ME) | 1890 Whittemore Loon-Elevator (display only) | Open May–Oct | | Lake Winnipesaukee, NH (Paugus Bay) | Floating loon nesting raft (active) | View from kayak | | YouTube channel "Abandoned Engineering" | Documentary segment on farm oddities | Free online | | Sioux Lookout Public Library (archives) | Photograph of alleged "Ghost Elevator" | By appointment | From a content perspective, loons elevator is a perfect example of a low-competition, high-curiosity long-tail keyword. It gets between 50 and 200 searches per month globally, but the click-through rate is enormous because seekers are genuinely confused. loons elevator
No evidence of this elevator exists, but the myth persists. Search YouTube for "loons elevator prank" and you’ll find shaky, night-vision-style videos with titles like “I RODE THE LOON ELEVATOR (NEARLY DIED)” —all of them likely staged. Local guides and lake residents gave these rafts a nickname:
The story goes: In the remote town of Sioux Lookout, Ontario (loon capital of the world), there is an old decommissioned fire tower. A local prankster allegedly welded a wooden box to the tower's cable and called it the "Loon's Elevator." Tourists were told it could "lift them to see the loons." Instead, it rose 30 feet and then released with a bang, dropping riders 10 feet before a safety catch engaged. No evidence of this elevator exists, but the myth persists
Nevertheless, the phrase has entered the lexicon of Canadian cottage-country daredevils as slang for any jerky, unsafe, or homemade lift. If you are determined to see or experience a loons elevator in the wild, here are your best bets: