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Fire lookout · Maricopa County, Arizona

Humboldt Mountain Lookout

Also known as Humboldt

A 1958 FAA-built lookout beside an air-traffic radar dome on Humboldt Mountain in the Tonto NF; NHLR-registered 2002; a 2023 communications project is completed.

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 towerCL-100 R-6 metal flattop cab with catwalk on a steel towerThe designs: R-6, CL-100, L-4
Built of
Steel
Built
1958
Height
Unknown
Elevation
5,178 ft (1,578 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Maricopa County, Arizona
Coordinates
33.98110, −111.79780
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-humboldt-mountain

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 3.1 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. 1958 BuiltBuilt by the FAA to Forest Service specifications, beside an air traffic radar domeSource: nhlr.org
  2. 1958 Replaced by a new structureThe CL-100 R-6 cab replaced a 1940 L-4 on a stone foundation; NHLR does not date the replacement, so the year 1958 is an inference from sentence orderSource: nhlr.org
  3. No record between 1958 and 2002
  4. 2002 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered July 20, 2002Source: nhlr.org
  5. No record between 2002 and 2023
  6. 2023 AlteredAT&T FirstNet communications-site project: proposal to add 20 ft to the tower plus equipment; decision signed March 2, 2023; project marked completedSource: fs.usda.gov
  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.

Humboldt Mountain Lookout sits in the Tonto National Forest in Maricopa County, with the Cave Creek Ranger District as its cooperating district.1 The FAA built the lookout in 1958 to Forest Service specifications, beside a much larger air traffic radar dome.1 The register says a CL-100 R-6 metal flattop cab with a catwalk took the place of a 1940 L-4 cab that stood on a stone foundation.1

The register gives the lookout a registration date of July 20, 2002.1 The Forest Fire Lookout Association lists the tower as standing.2

The Forest Service records a 2023 project on Humboldt Mountain for an AT&T FirstNet communications site.3 The proposal would add 20 feet to the tower and install an equipment cabinet and a propane generator, and the decision was signed on March 2, 2023.3 The project page lists its status as Completed.3

The register describes the station as in active service, but these sources do not say whether anyone staffs the lookout or whether visitors can reach it.1 I found no 2026 notice on staffing or access. Because the mountain also carries a communications site, check with the Cave Creek Ranger District before you go, and do not climb the tower.3

  1. Humboldt Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/humboldt-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Arizona lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/az/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. AT&T FirstNet Humboldt Mtn Communications Site Modification, USDA Forest Service Tonto National Forest, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/tonto/projects/63494 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Humboldt Mountain 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, 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.