FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Coconino County, Arizona

Moqui Lookout

An 83-ft metal tower with a CL-100 cab on the Coconino National Forest, built in 1952 to replace a 1930 Aermotor tower; listed on the NRHP in 1988 as a cabin.

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 tower83-ft metal tower with 14x14 ft CL-100 live-in cab and catwalk (1952), replacing a 1930 Aermotor fire tower; Wikipedia calls the structure a groundhouse and fire lookoutThe designs: CL-100, Aermotor
Built of
Steel
Built
1930
Height
83 ft (25.3 m)
Elevation
7,476 ft (2,279 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Coconino County, Arizona
Coordinates
34.56418, −111.16930
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-moqui

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 3.4 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. 1930 BuiltAermotor fire tower built on the siteSources: nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org
  2. No record between 1930 and 1952
  3. 1952 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  4. 1952 Replaced by a new structure83-ft metal tower with 14x14 ft CL-100 live-in cab and catwalk built to replace the 1930 Aermotor tower; Wikipedia gives the same datesSources: nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org
  5. 1960 StaffedPer a comment on a 2014 visit report, the author's parents were lookouts on the tower during the 1960 and 1961 fire seasonsSource: nhlr.org
  6. No record between 1960 and 1988
  7. 1988 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesListed on the National Register of Historic Places as 'Moqui Lookout Cabin' (NRIS 87002457); period of significance 1925 to 1949, significant year 1932, which do not match the 1952 towerSources: npgallery.nps.gov, treealive.com
  8. No record between 1988 and 2006
  9. 2006 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 15, 2006 on the National Historic Lookout RegisterSources: nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org
  10. 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.

Moqui Lookout is in the Blue Ridge area of the Coconino National Forest.1 The National Historic Lookout Register calls its 83-foot tower the tallest on the forest.2

The register dates the present tower to 1952 and says it replaced a 1930 Aermotor fire tower. The cab is a 14-by-14-foot CL-100 live-in model with a catwalk, set on a metal tower.2 Wikipedia gives the same 1952 and 1930 dates, but it describes the structure as a groundhouse and fire lookout, so the two sources describe its form differently.3 Wikipedia's short description reads "Destroyed fire lookout house," but its article gives no date or cause for any loss.3

A visit report on the register, dated July 27, 2014, includes a comment that the author's parents were lookouts on the tower during the 1960 and 1961 fire seasons.2 I did not find another dated staffing record.

The National Register of Historic Places lists a "Moqui Lookout Cabin" in the Blue Ridge area, with a listing date of January 28, 1988.4,1 The listing gives a period of significance of 1925 to 1949 and a significant year of 1932.4,1 Those dates do not match the 1952 tower, and I could not open the nomination form to see which structure it covers.4

The register added Moqui on March 15, 2006, and Wikipedia gives the same date.2,3 The register's 2014 visit report marks the tower in good condition.2 I found no source after 2014 that confirms its condition, so treat its current status as unconfirmed.

The visit form records no register sign at the tower and no signed directions to it.2 I found no source saying whether visitors may climb the tower, so please don't climb it. Check with the Coconino National Forest before you go.

  1. Moqui Lookout Cabin, Blue Ridge, Arizona, TreeAlive, https://treealive.com/nr/87002457 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Moqui Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/moqui-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Moqui Lookout Cabin, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moqui_Lookout_Cabin (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Moqui Lookout Cabin, National Register of Historic Places record NRIS 87002457, NPGallery, https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/87002457 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Moqui Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Moqui Lookout
Photo: Brady Smith; Coconino National Forest, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source

Photos keep their own rights and are shown with credit. Is one of these yours? You can ask for a different credit or for removal.

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. Wikidata -- US fire lookout towers (Q748998 and subclasses) Gave us: photos, links Wikidata · CC0 1.0 (Wikidata). Images keep their own Commons licence/credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, 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.