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Fire lookout · Montezuma County, Colorado

Jersey Jim Lookout

A 1942 spruce lookout in San Juan National Forest replaced in 1964 by a 55-ft timber tower; staffed into the 1970s, saved from demolition by a volunteer foundation in 1991, now a popular rental.

Visit & stay

You can rent this lookout for overnight stays through recreation.gov.

Overview The Jersey Jim Lookout Tower is named after an early cattleman who ran Jersey cattle in the area. Today, cattle are still grazed in the area under permit. Many nearby trails were established by loggers seeking timber or by miners accessing hard-rock ore deposits in the La Plata (Spanish for silver) Mountains. Hesperus Peak, a sacred mountain to the Navajo Nation, is visible, as is Sleeping Ute Mountain of the Four Corners. The Jersey Jim Lookout Tower was home to U.S. Forest Service fire lookouts from the 1940s to 1970s. The tower was renovated and saved from demolition in 1991 by the Jersey Jim Foundation, a nonprofit local volunteer organization, which operates and maintains the tower under permit with the San Juan National Forest. Rental income is earmarked for maintenance of the facility to offer this unique experience to the American public. The Tower cab includes the original furniture and propane heating and lighting. However, there is no electricity or running water. A sink, propane refrigerator, and oven/stove are in the kitchen area. Guests must bring their own supplies. The dining table seats four, and there’s a double bed, and dresser. With windows all round, views are 360 degrees. In the middle of the cab is the historic fire finder, which early lookouts used to spot fires, and which you can use to orient yourself to surrounding landmarks. In the cabinet below are materials offering information about the tower and the area. Nearby Attractions Mesa Verde National Park, Durango to Silverton Railroad, Anazasi Heritage Center, Four Corners Monument

Book on recreation.gov

Rental details from recreation.gov, checked 19 Oct 2026. Rules, fees and seasons change, so confirm on the booking page before you go. Data source: ridb.recreation.gov

Access

Open to the public. Operated under permit by the Jersey Jim Foundation; key pickup and waiver required at P&D Grocery.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Deck is 55 feet above ground via steep stairs; rental includes overnight stays, capped at 4 people.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 1970s)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower55-ft treated-timber tower with a 15'x15' live-in cabThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1942
Height
55 ft (16.8 m)
Elevation
9,830 ft (2,996 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Montezuma County, Colorado
Coordinates
37.49714, −108.18353
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 19 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-co-jersey-jim

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. 1942 BuiltOriginal tower built of local spruceSource: nhlr.org
  2. No record between 1942 and 1964
  3. 1964 Replaced by a new structureReplaced with current 55-ft treated timber tower and 15'x15' cabSource: nhlr.org
  4. No record between 1964 and 1991
  5. 1991 RestoredTower was slated for demolition; renovated and saved by the Jersey Jim Foundation, a local volunteer nonprofit, which now operates it under permitSource: recreation.gov
  6. 1993 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 11, 1993 as NHLR US 57Source: 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 4 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Jersey Jim Lookout takes its name from an early cattleman who grazed Jersey cattle in this corner of the San Juan National Forest, in the La Plata Mountains of southwest Colorado — land still used for grazing today, under permit.1 A lookout has stood here since 1942, originally built of local spruce.2 That first tower was replaced in 1964 with the structure that stands now: a 55-foot treated-timber tower topped by a 15-by-15-foot live-in cab, at an elevation near 10,000 feet.2 From the deck, visitors can see Hesperus Peak, sacred to the Navajo Nation, and Sleeping Ute Mountain to the southwest.1

The tower served as a U.S. Forest Service fire lookout from the 1940s through the 1970s, a working life that ended as aerial detection and other methods made many ground lookouts redundant across the West.1 By 1991 the tower was slated for demolition, but the Jersey Jim Foundation, a local volunteer nonprofit, stepped in to renovate and save it, and has operated and maintained it ever since under a permit with the San Juan National Forest.1 A 2019 condition report found the tower structurally good and the cab's exterior, roof, and interior all in excellent shape.2

Rental income goes toward keeping the tower maintained, and it's rented today through the Forest Service and the Jersey Jim Foundation.2,1 The cab still holds its original furniture, along with propane heat, lighting, a propane refrigerator, and a stove — there's no electricity or running water. Windows wrap the cab on all sides for 360-degree views, and the historic fire finder still sits in the middle of the room, available for guests to use to identify the surrounding peaks.1 Overnight stays are capped at four people, and renters pick up their key — and sign a waiver — at the P&D Grocery nearby.1 Because the deck sits 55 feet up with a trap door and steep stairs, and lightning is a real hazard in these mountains, the rental rules are strict about staying inside and off the metal furnishings during storms.1

  1. Jersey Jim Fire Tower, San Juan National Forest, Recreation.gov, https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/10388459 (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩
  2. Jersey Jim Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/co/jersey-jim-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-04). ↩

Photos

Fall 2016 photo
Fall 2016 photo (2016)Photo: Mark D. Roper, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Fall 2016 photo
Fall 2016 photo (2016)Photo: Mark D. Roper, via 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. Recreation Information Database (recreation.gov) Gave us: ownership, access, rental details, links Data source: ridb.recreation.gov · Public data from the US government · retrieved 19 Oct 2026
  4. Recreation Information Database (recreation.gov) Data source: ridb.recreation.gov · Public data from the US government · retrieved 19 Oct 2026
  5. Forest Fire Lookout Association: lookout rentals Gave us: rental details, links Forest Fire Lookout Association rentals list (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only (state, name, booking link, manager, closure note), no prose copied. The FFLA says it is not involved in managing any rental program. · retrieved 19 Oct 2026
  6. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: design, 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
  7. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, agency, access, staffing, 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.