FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Coconino County, Arizona

Round Mountain Lookout

Built 1934 on Saddle Mountain, moved to Round Mountain (Kaibab NF) in 1960; Forest Service planned demolition in 2019-2020; Fire Lookout Association lists it as gone.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Forest Service removal project listed as completed (decision signed 2020-03-05); Fire Lookout Association lists it as gone; no source describes the site now

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent. You may still be able to visit the site.

Access

Open to the public. National forest land; an undated travel account describes a spur road from FR 138 and a walk of about half a mile. No current access notice found

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Undated travel account: spur road from FR 138 that the writer's truck, loaded with kayaks, could not manage, then about half a mile on foot. The site may hold no structure now; no source says so

Facts

Status
Gone sources disagree
Type
Cab on a tower35’ Aermotor MC30 tower with 7’x7’ metal cab; a side door replaced the trap doorThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1934
Height
35 ft (10.7 m)
Elevation
7,214 ft (2,199 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Kaibab National Forest (Williams Ranger District)
Land
Federal land
Location
Coconino County, Arizona
Coordinates
35.06884, −112.08589
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-round-mountain

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 its recorded height.

Downloads about 2.9 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. 1934 BuiltBuilt on Saddle Mountain, Coconino NF, as a 35' Aermotor MC30 tower with 7'x7' metal cabSource: nhlr.org
  2. No record between 1934 and 1960
  3. 1960 MovedMoved to Round Mountain, Kaibab NF; side door replaced the trap door. A Coconino caption gives 1955-1960 for the moveSources: nhlr.org, flickr.com
  4. No record between 1960 and 2006
  5. 2006 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 15, 2006 as US 664, AZ 59; nominated by Dave LorenzSource: nhlr.org
  6. 2019 EventForest Service scoping began December 17, 2019 on a proposal to demolish the Red Hill and Round Mountain towersSource: fs.usda.gov
  7. 2020 EventDecision signed March 5, 2020; project listed as completed; the page gives no date for the physical removalSource: fs.usda.gov
  8. 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.

Round Mountain's lookout tower did not start out there.1 The National Historic Lookout Register says a 35-foot Aermotor tower with a 7-by-7-foot metal cab was built on Saddle Mountain, on the Coconino National Forest, in 1934.1 In 1960 it was moved to Round Mountain on the Kaibab National Forest, where a side door took the place of the usual trap door.1 A Coconino National Forest photo caption says the base structure was allegedly moved sometime from 1955 to 1960, and it calls the Saddle Mountain style the MC-39 rather than the MC30 the register names.2 This story follows the register's dates, but the two sources do not agree.1,2

The register listed the tower on March 15, 2006, as US 664, AZ 59.1 A Kaibab National Forest photo album, with pictures from 2018, says this site is not staffed and is inactive.3 The same album says the forest keeps about eight active lookouts during fire season.3

The Williams Ranger District planned to demolish two lookouts, Red Hill and Round Mountain, because the buildings were unsafe for use.4 Scoping began on December 17, 2019, and a decision was signed on March 5, 2020.4 The Forest Service lists the project as completed. Its page gives May 2020 only as an estimated implementation date, and does not record when the work was done.4 The Forest Fire Lookout Association's Arizona list now marks the Round Mountain tower as gone.5

No source we read describes what, if anything, is left on the summit today, or whether the road to it is open. An undated travel account says the map shows a short spur road from FR 138 to the lookout. The writer's truck, loaded with kayaks, could not manage that road, so the party walked in about half a mile, and the writer was able to climb up to the observing hut.6 Because that account is undated, it does not show the site as it is now.

  1. Round Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/round-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Saddle Mountain Lookout, Flickr (Coconino National Forest), https://www.flickr.com/photos/coconinonationalforest/51914754539/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Round Mountain (Inactive) Fire Lookout, Flickr (Kaibab National Forest), https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaibabnationalforest/albums/72157711009290043 (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  4. Lookout Tower Removal, Project Summary #57388, U.S. Forest Service (Kaibab National Forest), https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/kaibab/projects/57388 (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  5. Arizona Lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/az/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  6. Kaibab, Arizona Backcountry Adventures (undated travel account), http://www.azbackcountryadventures.com/kaibab.htm (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Photo of Round Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

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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, height, status, agency, access, visiting details, 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.