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Fire lookout · Graham County, Arizona

Heliograph Lookout

Also known as Heliograph Peak Fire Lookout Tower

A CCC-era 100-foot Aermotor lookout in Graham County on the Coronado NF; NRHP-listed and NHLR-registered 2003. The 1933 significant year and the 1934 date for CCC structures conflict; staffing unverified.

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
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower100-foot Aermotor MC-39 tower with a 7 x 7 ft steel cab, plus a log cabin ground houseThe design: Aermotor MC-39
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
Unknown
Height
100 ft (30.5 m)
Elevation
9,995 ft (3,047 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Graham County, Arizona
Coordinates
32.65033, −109.84955
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-heliograph

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. 1933 EventNRHP record gives 1933 as the significant year, not as the tower build year; it lists the CCC under architectsSource: npgallery.nps.gov
  2. 1934 EventNHLR dates the related CCC structures to 1934, which differs from the 1933 NRHP year; no source read gives the tower build yearSource: nhlr.org
  3. No record between 1934 and 2003
  4. 2003 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered January 31, 2003Source: nhlr.org
  5. 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.

Heliograph Lookout stands in Graham County on the Coronado National Forest.1 Its National Register record, filed under the name Heliograph Lookout Complex, gives 1933 as the significant year and lists the Civilian Conservation Corps in its architects field.2 The National Historic Lookout Register dates the Civilian Conservation Corps structures at the site to 1934, so the two sources differ by a year.1,2

The tower is a 100-foot Aermotor MC-39 with a 7-by-7-foot steel cab, and the register calls it the tallest tower on the Coronado.1 A log cabin ground house stands at the site as well.1 The complex is listed on the National Register as part of a multiple listing for National Forest fire lookouts in the Southwestern Region.2 The National Historic Lookout Register added the lookout to its own list on January 31, 2003.1

I found no record of a fire, a move or a closure in the sources I read, and the Forest Fire Lookout Association still lists the tower as standing.3 The register says it is still in active service.1 It names the Safford Ranger District as a cooperator, but none of these sources say whether the tower is staffed or open to visitors.1

Check with the Safford Ranger District before you plan a visit. Do not climb the tower unless staff invite you up.

  1. Heliograph Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/heliograph-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Heliograph Lookout Complex, National Register of Historic Places (NPGallery), https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/87002467 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Arizona lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/az/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

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

Photos keep their own rights and are shown with credit. Is one of these yours? You can ask for a different credit or for removal.

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: register numbers, links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, 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.