FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Coconino County, Arizona

Red Hill Lookout

Kaibab NF lookout on a 7,751-foot summit: cab replaced in 1958, registered 2006, demolition decided in 2020 and listed completed; no source describes the site now.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Forest Service removal project is listed as completed; no source describes what remains on the summit.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone sources disagree
Type
Two-story buildingMetal Cl-100 cab, 14 by 14 feet, with a flat corrugated roof, on a 10-foot concrete block baseThe design: CL-100
Built of
Steel
Built
1958
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,751 ft (2,363 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Kaibab National Forest (Williams Ranger District)
Land
Federal land
Location
Coconino County, Arizona
Coordinates
35.46556, −111.99127
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-red-hill

View from the cab

What the lookout saw from its 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.

This lookout is gone. The view is reconstructed from its recorded site and a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 3.2 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 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  2. 1958 Replaced by a new structureCab replaced with a metal Cl-100 cab; the register's Built field gives 1958Source: nhlr.org
  3. No record between 1958 and 2006
  4. 2006 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 15, 2006; nominated by Dave LorenzSource: nhlr.org
  5. 2020 EventForest Service decision signed March 5, 2020 to demolish Red Hill and Round Mountain; project later listed as completed, with no demolition date givenSource: fs.usda.gov
  6. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. When it came down is not recorded.

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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Red Hill Lookout stood on a 7,751-foot mountaintop in the Kaibab National Forest, Coconino County, Arizona.1 Before the 1958 cab, the register says, a wooden tower was used for detection there in the 1920s.1

In 1958 the lookout was replaced with a metal Cl-100 cab, 14 feet square.1 The cab sat on a 10-foot concrete block base and had a flat corrugated roof.1 The register notes that it was often used early in the season, when snow kept people from reaching other lookouts.1 It was added to the register on March 15, 2006, nominated by Dave Lorenz.1

The Williams Ranger District began scoping a project to demolish Red Hill and Round Mountain in December 2019.2 Its project page says both towers were targeted for removal over safety concerns about their buildings.2 A decision was signed on March 5, 2020.2 The page now lists the project as completed.2 Its only implementation date is a May 2020 estimate, and it does not say when the towers came down.2 The Forest Fire Lookout Association's list shows the tower as gone.3

No source we read describes what remains on the mountaintop today, or how a visitor would reach it.

  1. Red Hill Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/red-hill-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Lookout Tower Removal, Project Summary #57388, Kaibab National Forest, U.S. Forest Service, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/kaibab/projects/57388 (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Arizona lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/az/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Photo of Red Hill Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · 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.

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 whether it still stands.

    • FFLA: Gone
    • NHLR: Standing

    NHLR lists lookouts that were standing when registered.

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, 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.