FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Navajo County, Arizona

Limestone Lookout

A 1936 Aermotor tower with a 7-foot metal cab on the Fort Apache reservation; the register says it is still active, and a 2016 looting probe went to the BIA.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. On the Fort Apache Indian Reservation (tribal land); the register gives no public visiting information.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerAermotor tower with a 7-by-7-foot metal cabThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1936
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,116 ft (2,169 m)
Agency
White Mountain Apache Agency
Land
Unknown
Location
Navajo County, Arizona
Coordinates
34.17865, −110.27478
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-limestone

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. 1936 Built123-foot Aermotor tower with a 7-by-7-foot metal cab, per the registerSource: nhlr.org
  2. No record between 1936 and 1997
  3. 1997 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegister entry dated February 18, 1997Source: nhlr.org
  4. No record between 1997 and 2016
  5. 2016 EventOctober 2016 investigation into reported vandalism and looting; Bureau of Indian Affairs to decide further actionSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  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.

Limestone Lookout stands on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Navajo County, and the White Mountain Apache Agency administers it.1 The National Historic Lookout Register says it was built in 1936 as a 123-foot Aermotor tower with a 7-by-7-foot metal cab.1 The register also calls it the tallest fire tower in Arizona. I could not check that ranking against a second source, so treat it as the register's claim.1

According to the register, the lookout remains active, and the same site also serves as a helitack crew base.1 The Forest Fire Lookout Association's Arizona list still shows the tower as standing.2

The register entry is dated February 18, 1997.1 A West Lookouts history page records that an October 2016 investigation into reported vandalism and looting at a lookout tower found the property to be Limestone, and that the Bureau of Indian Affairs would decide what action to take.3 I found no later report of that decision.

Limestone is on tribal land, and I found no public visiting information for it.1 Anyone curious about a visit should ask the White Mountain Apache Tribe before going, and should not treat the tower as open to climb.

  1. Limestone Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/limestone-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Arizona Lookouts (by County), Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/az/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Limestone - Forest Lookouts, West Lookouts, https://westlookouts.weebly.com/limestone.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

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