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Fire lookout · Montezuma County, Colorado

Whites Mesa Lookout

Mesa Verde NP lookout on Whites Mesa: Aermotor tower moved from Apache NF in 1963, steel cab added 1964; NHLR-registered 2010; 2019 review found it in good condition.

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
Cab on a towerAermotor tower, lower 30 feet used, with 14 by 14 foot platform and 7 by 7 foot steel cab added in 1964The design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1963
Height
Unknown
Elevation
7,936 ft (2,419 m)
Agency
National Park Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Montezuma County, Colorado
Coordinates
37.24313, −108.38455
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-co-whites-mesa

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 3.1 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. 1963 BuiltAermotor tower moved from the Apache National Forest and erected; the register's Built field gives 1963Sources: nhlr.org, westlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1964 Altered7 by 7 foot steel cab added in the middle of the platformSource: nhlr.org
  3. No record between 1964 and 2010
  4. 2010 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 16, 2010 as US 877, CO 15; nominated by Allen Farnsworth, Fire Management OfficerSource: nhlr.org
  5. 2019 Condition assessmentCondition review: tower in good condition; wooden platforms could use replacement; cab interior needs paintingSource: nhlr.org
  6. 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.

The Whites Mesa lookout sits inside Mesa Verde National Park in Montezuma County, Colorado, at 7,936 feet.1 Its tower came from somewhere else.1 The Register says it came from the Apache National Forest in 1963, and the Forest Lookouts summary says it was put up to suit what was needed.1,2

The Park Service built on only the lower 30 feet of that Aermotor tower, topping it with a platform 14 feet square.1 A steel cab measuring 7 by 7 feet went onto the middle of that platform in 1964.1

The sources read name no one who staffed the lookout and no fire it spotted.

A 2019 review rates the tower in good condition, though the wooden platforms could use replacement.1 The cab interior is rated fair: its equipment has been removed, and it needs repainting.1

The Register accepted the lookout on March 16, 2010, as US 877, CO 15, on a nomination by Allen Farnsworth, Fire Management Officer. It lists Mesa Verde National Park as a cooperator.1

The sources read do not say whether visitors can see or climb the tower, or whether anyone staffs it now. Because it stands in a national park, check with park staff before planning a visit.

  1. Whites Mesa Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/co/whites-mesa-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Whites Mesa - Forest Lookouts, Forest Lookouts (westlookouts.weebly.com), https://westlookouts.weebly.com/whites-mesa.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Whites Mesa Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Historical Photo
Historical PhotoPhoto: 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, 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. Wikidata -- US fire lookout towers (Q748998 and subclasses) Gave us: links Wikidata · CC0 1.0 (Wikidata). Images keep their own Commons licence/credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: what it is built of, design, 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
  5. 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.