FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Coconino County, Arizona

Lee Butte Lookout

A 1933 International Derrick steel tower with a 7-foot cab on the Coconino; NRHP-listed 1988 and called inactive in its 2001 register entry.

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 towerInternational Derrick steel tower with a 7-by-7-foot cab and a ground houseThe design: IDECO
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1933
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,385 ft (2,251 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Coconino County, Arizona
Coordinates
34.83430, −111.53620
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-lee-butte

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. 1932 EventAugust 13, 1932 letter proposed buying a 40-foot tower for Lee Butte; later sources give 45 to 46 feet, so the plan may have changedSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1933 BuiltInternational Derrick tower with a 7-by-7-foot cab, per the register and the 1989 Forest Service reportSources: nhlr.org, ir.library.oregonstate.edu
  3. No record between 1933 and 1988
  4. 1988 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Park Service record gives a publication date of 1/28/1988Source: npgallery.nps.gov
  5. 2001 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegister entry dated April 1, 2001; nominated by Dave LorenzSource: nhlr.org
  6. 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.

Lee Butte sits on the Mormon Lake Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest, and the tower was built in 1933.1,2 The National Historic Lookout Register describes it as a 46-foot International Derrick tower with a 7-by-7-foot cab, and says only three towers of that design are in Arizona.1 A 1989 Forest Service report on the region's lookouts gives the tower as 45 feet 9 inches high, with a 7-foot-square steel cab.2 The two heights differ by three inches, and this history cannot say which is right.1,2 An August 1932 letter, quoted on a West Lookouts page, had proposed buying a 40-foot tower for Lee Butte, which matches neither figure.3

The report files Lee Butte under the International Derrick type and says the company supplied steel towers and 7-foot-square steel cabs for lookouts.2 The register describes the tower as in good condition but inactive, and says it is listed on the National Register, along with its spacious ground house.1 The National Park Service record for the Lee Butte Lookout Tower and Cabin gives a publication date of January 28, 1988.4

The register entry is dated April 1, 2001, and Dave Lorenz, Director of the AZ/NM FFLA, nominated the site.1 Our sources include no current staffing report, rental listing or public visiting guidance for Lee Butte. The Forest Fire Lookout Association still lists the tower as standing.5 Because the register describes it as inactive, and no source I found says the public may climb it, the sensible way to see it is from the ground unless the Forest Service says otherwise.1

  1. Lee Butte Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/lee-butte-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Lookouts in the Southwestern Region (Cultural Resources Management Report No. 8), USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region, September 1989, https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/w9505520d (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Arizona - Forest Lookouts, West Lookouts, https://westlookouts.weebly.com/arizona.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Lee Butte Lookout Tower and Cabin, National Register Information System 87002461, National Park Service, https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/87002461 (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Arizona Lookouts (by County), Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/az/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Lee Butte 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. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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.