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Fire lookout · Coconino County, Arizona

Hopi Lookout

A 1909 crow's nest at Hopi Point, Grand Canyon, became a 1927 steel tower; a 1953 remodel lowered it to 24 ft, and it has been inactive since at least 2009.

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
Reached on foot by the walking trail from Grand Canyon Village; the sources do not say whether the tower itself may be climbed
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 2009)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower12 x 12 ft cab on a 24 ft steel tower after the 1953 remodel
Built of
Steel
Built
1909
Height
24 ft (7.3 m)
Elevation
7,140 ft (2,176 m)
Agency
National Park Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Coconino County, Arizona
Coordinates
36.07627, −112.15431 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-hopi

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 3.2 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 BuiltForest Service tree-top crow's nestSources: nhlr.org, grcahistory.org
  2. 1915 StaffedFire lookout stationed at the Hopi Tower; visitors registered at the tower that seasonSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1921 StaffedA fire lookout accepted a position at Hopi station (July 1921 item)Source: westlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1927 Replaced by a new structureNational Park Service replaced the crow's nest with a 40 ft steel towerSources: nhlr.org, grcahistory.org
  5. No record between 1927 and 1953
  6. 1953 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  7. 1953 AlteredCab enlarged to 12 x 12 ft and tower lowered to 24 ft during a remodelSources: nhlr.org, grcahistory.org
  8. No record between 1953 and 2009
  9. 2009 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered April 25, 2009Source: nhlr.org
  10. 2009 EventPark Service said all four Grand Canyon lookout towers on the register were inactiveSource: nps.gov
  11. 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 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Hopi Point, about two miles west of Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim, has had fire lookouts since as early as 1909.1,2 In 1909 the Forest Service built a tree-top crow's nest there to scout for forest fires.3,1 The Grand Canyon history site says the wooden lookout may have been Arizona's first fire tower.1 In 1927 the National Park Service replaced it with a 40-foot steel tower with a 10-by-10-foot cab.3,1

Lookouts were stationed there in the early years. A September 1915 report counted the visitors who registered at the tower that season, and a July 1921 item said a fire lookout had accepted a position at Hopi station.4

The 1953 work was a remodel, not a first build. The cab grew to 12 by 12 feet, and the tower was lowered to 24 feet.3,1

The lookout was added to the National Historic Lookout Register on April 25, 2009.3 A 2009 Park Service notice said that the four lookout towers on the register inside Grand Canyon National Park were all inactive.5 The register says it is no longer used for fire detection.3 The Forest Fire Lookout Association lists the Hopi tower as standing.6

Today the point is a rim viewpoint on the walking trail from Grand Canyon Village.1 The sources I read do not say whether the old tower can be entered or climbed.3,2 Stay off the tower unless park staff invite you up, and check with the park before you go.

  1. Hopi Point - Nature, Culture and History at the Grand Canyon, grcahistory.org, https://grcahistory.org/sites/rim-viewpoints/hopi-point/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Hopi Point, National Park Service, https://home.nps.gov/places/000/hopi-point.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Hopi Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/hopi-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Hopi Point, Forest Lookouts, western US (Ron Kemnow), https://westlookouts.weebly.com/hopi-point.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Four Grand Canyon National Park Lookout Towers have been listed on the National Historic Lookout Register, National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/nature/cynsk-v13.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  6. Arizona Lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/az/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

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

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Where sources disagree

We show disagreements between sources instead of quietly picking one. If you know which is right, please tell us.

  • Sources disagree on the location by 540 m.

    • NHLR: 36.07627, −112.15431
    • FFLA: 36.07144, −112.15458

    They share a register number.

    The map uses the position from NHLR.

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. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, staffing, 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.