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Fire lookout · Yavapai County, Arizona

Tower Mountain Lookout

A 30-foot steel fire lookout on Tower Mountain in the Prescott National Forest, first used in 1911 and registered in 2003; the register lists it in active service.

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. Described as in active Forest Service service; no source says the cab is open to visitors.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
A trail guide describes a forest road from Crown King to the lookout area and says almost any high-clearance vehicle can make the trip when there is no snow. Ask the Bradshaw Ranger District before visiting.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower30-foot D-2 style Pacific Coast Steel tower with a modified L-4 cabCab: L-4; tower: Pacific Coast Steel
Built of
Steel
Built
1924
Height
30 ft (9.1 m)
Elevation
7,590 ft (2,313 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service, Prescott National Forest (Bradshaw Ranger District)
Land
Federal land
Location
Yavapai County, Arizona
Coordinates
34.23418, −112.36795
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-tower-mountain

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. 1911 EventFirst used as a daily patrol lookoutSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1924 BuiltTower completed on Tower Mountain; smoke-locating apparatus not yet installedSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1933 BuiltRegister dates the present 30-foot steel tower to 1933; a September 1933 newspaper announced new steel towers, one for Tower MountainSources: nhlr.org, westlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1938 StaffedJohn F. Alpine placed on the lookout by a ranger of the Prescott National ForestSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1938 and 2003
  6. 2003 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered August 5, 2003Source: nhlr.org
  7. 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.

Tower Mountain Lookout sits at about 7,590 feet in the Prescott National Forest, in Yavapai County, and drivers on Interstate 17 can see it.1 Daily patrol work from a lookout here began in 1911.2 A tower there was reported complete in February 1924, although the paper said the smoke-finding apparatus and fire-fighting gear were not yet installed.2

The register dates the present tower to 1933.1 It describes a 30-foot D-2 style tower from Pacific Coast Steel, with a modified L-4 cab.1 In September 1933 a Prescott paper reported that two of the forest's five lookouts would get new 30-foot steel towers, and that one would go up near Crown King on Tower Mountain.2 The cabins were to be 12 feet by 12 feet, with glassed sides and insulation against lightning.2 The newspaper announced the plan but did not confirm the finished work, so the 1933 date rests mainly on the register.1,2

The lookout had at least one known occupant in the 1930s.2 In May 1938 a ranger placed John F. Alpine on the lookout in the Crown King district.2 I found no notable fires tied to this tower in these sources.

The register recorded the lookout on August 5, 2003, and said it continued in active service.1 The Forest Fire Lookout Association lists the tower as standing.3 The register gives 7,590 feet for the lookout, while a trail guide gives 7,628 feet for the top of Towers Mountain, which may be a different point on the summit.1,4

A trail guide describes a forest road from Crown King up Towers Mountain, past communications towers, to the lookout area.4 I could not find a current opening notice or staffing report. The register names the Bradshaw Ranger District as a cooperator, so ask there before you go, and do not climb the tower.1

  1. Tower Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/tower-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Tower Mountain, Forest Lookouts, https://westlookouts.weebly.com/tower-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Arizona Lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/az/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Towers Mtn/Del Pasco Loop, AZOFFROAD.NET, https://azoffroad.net/towers-mtndel-pasco-loop (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Tower Mountain 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. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: height, links Ron Kemnow's Forest Lookouts sites (westlookouts, californialookouts, idaholookouts, montanalookouts, oregonlookouts and washingtonlookouts .weebly.com) · No licence stated; facts only (county, land manager, status word, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, township-range-section, height and design hints, links). The site's own newspaper quotes, citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  4. 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.