FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Coconino County, Arizona

Grandview Lookout

A 1936 Forest Service steel Aermotor fire lookout on the Kaibab near the South Rim, listed on the NRHP in 1988 and the NHLR in 2001, shown as standing; current access unconfirmed.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
The Arizona Trail passes the tower
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerAermotor steel tower with a 7 by 7 foot metal cab; historic lookout residence on the siteThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1936
Height
81 ft (24.7 m)
Elevation
7,529 ft (2,295 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Coconino County, Arizona
Coordinates
35.95773, −111.95417
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-grandview

View from the cab

What you see from the cab: every ridge out to about 93 miles, the named peaks in sight, and other fire lookouts within view, worked out from terrain data in your browser.

Downloads about 3.0 MB of terrain data the first time.

Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1909 EventSite was one of the original tower sites selected when the early Grand Canyon National Monument was plannedSource: nhlr.org
  2. No record between 1909 and 1936
  3. 1936 BuiltForest Service built the 81-foot Aermotor tower with a 7 by 7 foot metal cab, after an earlier platform tower stood on the siteSource: nhlr.org
  4. No record between 1936 and 1988
  5. 1988 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesPlaced on the National Register of Historic Places January 28, 1988Source: en.wikipedia.org
  6. 2001 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered with the National Historic Lookout Register May 1, 2001; nominated by Dave Lorenz, director of the AZ/NM FFLASource: nhlr.org
  7. TodayStandingIt still stands, as far as our sources know.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Grandview Lookout stands in the Kaibab National Forest in Coconino County, Arizona, close to the Grand Canyon's South Rim.1,2 The site was among the original tower sites chosen in 1909, when an early national monument at the Grand Canyon was being planned, and a platform tower stood there before the current one.1 The Forest Service built the present Aermotor tower in 1936.1 The National Historic Lookout Register describes the tower as 81 feet, Wikipedia gives 80 feet, and both put the cab at about 7 feet square.1,2 A historic lookout residence also stands on the site.1

The sources I could read do not say who staffed the tower, how long it was manned, or whether it ever reported a notable fire.

The National Register of Historic Places listed the tower on January 28, 1988.2 It was registered with the National Historic Lookout Register on May 1, 2001, after a nomination by Dave Lorenz, who directs the AZ/NM FFLA.1 A lookout listing site shows it as standing.3 I found no record of it being moved or rebuilt.

The Forest Service administers the tower, with the Tusayan Ranger District as a cooperator.1 Wikipedia places it off Coconino Rim Road near Twin Lakes, and the Arizona Trail passes it.2 The sources I could read do not say whether the tower is open to climbers or available to rent, so check with the Tusayan Ranger District before going up.

  1. Grandview Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/grandview-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Grandview Lookout Tower and Cabin, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandview_Lookout_Tower_and_Cabin (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Fire Lookouts, Arizona, firelookout.org, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/az/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Grandview Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, ownership, dates, photos, links National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: type, status, register numbers, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, visiting details, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.