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Fire lookout · Yavapai County, Arizona

Horsethief Lookout

A 1934 steel lookout in the Bradshaw Range of the Prescott NF, NHLR-registered 2003. Two sources agree on 1934; coordinates conflict and staffing is 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
Trail
A trail guide describes the Horsethief Basin road as a remote route that off-roaders drive.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower40-foot Pacific Coast Steel tower with a modified L-4 live-in cabCab: L-4; tower: Pacific Coast Steel
Built of
Steel
Built
1934
Height
40 ft (12.2 m)
Elevation
4,334 ft (1,321 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Yavapai County, Arizona
Coordinates
34.16253, −112.27044 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-horsethief-2

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.

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

History

Then and now

  1. 1934 BuiltNHLR says constructed in 1934; trail guide says erected in 1934 at the end of the CCC-built roadSources: nhlr.org, trailsoffroad.com
  2. No record between 1934 and 2003
  3. 2003 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered August 5, 2003Source: nhlr.org
  4. 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.

Horsethief Lookout stands on a mountain in the Bradshaw Range of the Prescott National Forest, in Yavapai County.1 The register says construction was in 1934, and it describes a 40-foot Pacific Coast Steel tower with a modified L-4 live-in cab.1 A trail guide gives the same year. It also credits the Civilian Conservation Corps with building the road into Horsethief Basin during the 1930s, with the tower erected at the road's end to watch for forest fires.2

The register lists the Bradshaw Ranger District as a cooperator and dates the lookout's registration to August 5, 2003.1 The coordinates do not agree across sources. The register's point sits about 6.7 kilometres east of the point the Forest Fire Lookout Association gives, by my calculation from the two published coordinates.1,3

The register describes the tower as in active service.1 I found no staffing report or closure notice from 2026, so I cannot say whether anyone is up there or whether visitors can reach it.1 The trail guide describes the Horsethief Basin road as a remote route that off-roaders still drive.2 I found no record of a fire, a move or an abandonment, and the Forest Fire Lookout Association still lists the tower as standing.3

Before you travel, call the Bradshaw Ranger District to ask whether the lookout is staffed or open. Do not climb it without staff permission.

  1. Horsethief Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/horsethief-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Horsethief Basin, Trails Offroad, https://www.trailsoffroad.com/US/arizona/trails/3597-horsethief-basin (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Arizona lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/az/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Horsethief 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 4.6 km (2.9 mi).

    • OpenStreetMap: 34.16253, −112.27044
    • NHLR: 34.16225, −112.22017
    • FFLA: 34.16244, −112.29272

    The map uses the position from OpenStreetMap.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, 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: location, 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.