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Fire lookout · Taos County, New Mexico

Picuris Lookout

Ground cab lookout on Picuris Peak in the Carson National Forest, Taos County, NM; built about 1928-1932, regularly staffed through 1990, NHLR-registered 2016.

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
Ground-level cabGround cab of the L-4 type; sources give different sizesThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1932
Height
Unknown
Elevation
10,752 ft (3,277 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Taos County, New Mexico
Coordinates
36.24719, −105.65471
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-nm-picuris

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. 1932 BuiltTaos News gives 1932; the 2020 chapter report says constructed between 1928 and 1932; West Lookouts says c.1930 give or take a couple of yearsSources: firelookout.org, taosnews.com, westlookouts.weebly.com
  2. No record between 1932 and 1958
  3. 1958 StaffedEli Romero says he began staffing the tower in 1958 and worked there about three decadesSource: taosnews.com
  4. No record between 1958 and 1988
  5. 1988 Condition assessmentThematic National Register review of Southwest Region lookouts (1988) recommended it be found ineligible for the National RegisterSource: firelookout.org
  6. 1990 Last staffedRegularly staffed through 1990; used only occasionally since, in times of extreme fire dangerSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.org, taosnews.com
  7. No record between 1990 and 2016
  8. 2016 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 20, 2016 as US 1121, NM 38Source: nhlr.org
  9. 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.

Picuris Peak, in the Carson National Forest, holds a ground cabin lookout built in the late 1920s or early 1930s.1,2 Sources give slightly different years. A 2020 chapter report from the Forest Fire Lookout Association says the L-4 type house went up sometime between 1928 and 1932.2 The Taos News gives 1932,3 and West Lookouts puts it at about 1930, plus or minus a couple of years.4

Descriptions of the size also differ. West Lookouts describes a 12-by-12-foot hip-roof cabin built in a style similar to the L-4,4 while the Taos News describes L-4 cabins as 14-by-14-foot frame cabins designed in 1929.3

The Register says the cabin was staffed regularly through 1990 and has seen only occasional use since, when fire danger is extreme.1 Eli Romero, a former lookout, told the Taos News that he staffed the tower for about three decades starting in 1958, and was on the peak most days from April through November. Over time, he said, the cabin was fitted with a propane tank and a kitchen.3

In 1988 a thematic National Register review of Southwest Region lookouts recommended that Picuris be found ineligible for the National Register, because it had not kept its original design, construction, workmanship and materials intact.2 The author of the 2020 report disagrees and thinks the cabin should be looked at again.2

The Register accepted the lookout on March 20, 2016, as US 1121, NM 38, with Brian Powell as nominator.1 It lists the site at 10,752 feet, while the Taos News gives 10,801 feet.1,3

The Taos News reports the cabin has been unstaffed for most fire seasons since 1990, and the Forest Fire Lookout Association's New Mexico list shows it standing.3,5 I found nothing that says whether the public may go up to the cabin, so check with the Carson National Forest before planning any trip to the peak.

  1. Picuris Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/nm/picuris-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. New Mexico Chapter 2020 Year-End Report, Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-nm-2020.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Silent sentries, The Taos News (taosnews.com), https://www.taosnews.com/silent-sentries/article_02ef99f4-2978-5221-91ae-6bdba115545c.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Picuris, Forest Lookouts (westlookouts.weebly.com), https://westlookouts.weebly.com/picuris.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. New Mexico lookouts list, Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/nm/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Picuris Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Picuris Lookout in the 1940s
Picuris Lookout in the 1940sPhoto: Carson National Forest, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Picuris Lookout circa 1986
Picuris Lookout circa 1986 (1986)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, 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 Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, chapter and restoration-grant reports (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the FFLA report it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR, FFLOS and FFLA records. · retrieved 8 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.