FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Monterey County, California

Smith Mountain Lookout

Cal Fire lookout on Smith Mountain, Los Padres NF, Monterey County: 1930 station, 1944 timber tower, 1976 cab on block tower; NHLR-registered 2010.

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
Two-story building10-foot block tower with 13 by 13 foot CL-100 metal cab, moved there in 1976The design: CL-100
Built of
Steel
Built
1930
Height
60 ft (18.3 m)
Elevation
3,940 ft (1,201 m)
Agency
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire)
Land
Unknown
Location
Monterey County, California
Coordinates
36.07879, −120.59591
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ca-smith-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 3.2 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. 1920 EventState selects Smith Mountain as a lookout station siteSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1930 BuiltNHLR says the first lookout was built in 1930; a July 1930 article describes the new state station and its telephone lineSources: nhlr.org, californialookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1931 Event60-foot tower announced in February 1931; April 1931 report says work will shortly startSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1944 Replaced by a new structure10-foot timber tower with cab replaces the first lookoutSource: nhlr.org
  5. 1945 EventA balloon reported from the San Joaquin Valley is sighted from the station and turns out to be the planet VenusSource: californialookouts.weebly.com
  6. No record between 1945 and 1964
  7. 1964 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  8. 1964 EventThe NHLR Built field gives 1964; the register's own description does not match this dateSource: nhlr.org
  9. 1976 AlteredCL-100 cab moved from Black Mountain and placed on a 10-foot block tower by CalFireSource: nhlr.org
  10. No record between 1976 and 2010
  11. 2010 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered June 19, 2010 as US 884, CA 94; nominated by Brad EellsSource: nhlr.org
  12. 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.

Smith Mountain sits in the Los Padres National Forest, on the border between Monterey and Fresno counties.1,2 In 1920 the state picked the peak as a station for fire protection, with a view over much of Monterey, San Benito and Fresno counties.2 By July 1930 a telephone line was being built to connect the new station, and the Register says the first lookout was built that year.2,1

A 60-foot tower was announced in February 1931, and in April a newspaper reported that building on a lookout house was about to begin.2 The Register's own "Built" field gives 1964, which does not match its description, so the dates conflict.1

A 10-foot timber tower topped with a cab took the place of the first lookout in 1944.1 A Coast and Geodetic Survey description from that year, reprinted on the Forest Lookouts page, describes a square frame lookout house painted white and about 11 feet on each side.2 In 1976 CalFire moved the 13-by-13-foot CL-100 metal cab from Black Mountain, also in the Los Padres National Forest, and set it on a 10-foot block tower.1 A photo caption on the Register page credits the 1944 tower with a BC-301 cab instead, and the sources do not say how that fits with the 1976 move.1

The sources read name no one who staffed the tower and no fire it spotted. One item in them is from June 1945: a balloon reported from the San Joaquin Valley was first seen from the station and then identified as the planet Venus.2

The Register lists the site as US 884, CA 94, registered on June 19, 2010, and nominated by Brad Eells.1 Cal Fire's San Benito-Monterey Unit and the BLM Hollister Field Office are listed as cooperators.1 The sources read do not say whether the public can visit the tower, whether anyone staffs it now, or what condition it is in, so check with Cal Fire before planning a trip.

  1. Smith Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ca/smith-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Smith Mountain - Forest Lookouts, Forest Lookouts (californialookouts.weebly.com), https://californialookouts.weebly.com/smith-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Smith Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Smith Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Smith Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Smith Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Cab Interior
Cab InteriorPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Tower constructed in 1944 with BC-301 cab
Tower constructed in 1944 with BC-301 cab (1944)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Lookout construction
Lookout constructionPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Tower road
Tower roadPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Stone storage vault
Stone storage vaultPhoto: 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.

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. 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. FFLA chapters, affiliates and Friends groups: lookout pages Gave us: register numbers, links FFLA chapters and Friends groups (each link names the group) · Links to the groups' own pages; facts only from the California-South chapter's tower table (register page, operator, condition). No text or photos reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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.