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Fire lookout · Franklin County, Pennsylvania

Snowy Mountain Lookout

Michaux State Forest lookout built 1930, toppled by vandals in 1973, and rebuilt as an 80-ft Aermotor in 1975; gated, with access by permission.

Permission required

You need permission from the tribe or landowner before visiting. Register visit report (2018): tower is gated; permission needed to access; security system in place. A hiking guide notes part of the fence has been pulled up, which is not permission.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Permission required. See the warning at the top of this page.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Gated; visitors must get permission (register visit report, 2018)
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower80-ft Aermotor LS-40K with a catwalk on one side (1975 replacement); the 1930 original was toppled in 1973The design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Height
80 ft (24.4 m)
Elevation
2,082 ft (635 m)
Agency
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Land
State land
Location
Franklin County, Pennsylvania
Coordinates
39.83421, −77.49573
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-pa-snowy-mountain

View from the cab

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Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1930 BuiltOriginal tower built with a road to the summit and a stone house for the towerman; register says 80-ft Aermotor, the hiking guide says a 90-ft iron towerSources: nhlr.org, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1943 First staffedTwo women manned the tower in May 1943 during a wartime manpower shortage, the first time women staffed itSources: easternuslookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1944 FireLookout reported a 20-acre fire; 30 firefighters and 20 Quincy High School students put it out that daySource: willhiteweb.com
  4. No record between 1944 and 1973
  5. 1973 DestroyedVandals cut the legs of the 90-ft tower with hacksaws and felled it. Register dates the attack to October 29, 1973; the newspaper report refers to a Sunday nightSources: nhlr.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  6. 1975 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  7. 1975 Replaced by a new structureNew 80-ft Aermotor tower erected on the site; register gives the cost as $45,800; hiking guide names Forest Builders as the construction contractorSources: nhlr.org, willhiteweb.com
  8. 1985 EventVandals smashed the windows in the towerSource: willhiteweb.com
  9. No record between 1985 and 2001
  10. 2001 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered July 1, 2001 as US 388, PA 9Source: nhlr.org
  11. No record between 2001 and 2018
  12. 2018 EventRegister visit July 12, 2018: good condition, staffed sometimes, gated with permission requiredSource: nhlr.org
  13. 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.

Snowy Mountain Lookout sits on Snowy Mountain in Franklin County, in the Michaux State Forest, about eight miles north of the Maryland line and not far from the historic Mont Alto Forest Ranger School.1 The first tower went up in 1930, together with a road to the summit and a stone house for the towerman.2

Sources do not agree on its height. The register gives 80 feet for the 1930 tower, a 1942 survey put it at about 100 feet, and a 1943 newspaper report said 75.1,3,2

During a wartime manpower shortage, two women took over the watch in May 1943. They were the first women to staff the tower, keeping a vigil from the top by day and helping with nursery work and firefighting when needed.3,2 In 1944 the lookout reported a 20-acre fire, and 30 firefighters and twenty Quincy High School students put it out that day.2

Vandals brought the tower down in October 1973 by cutting its legs. The register dates the attack to October 29, while a newspaper report of the arrests refers to a Sunday night attack.1,3,2 Two adults and a juvenile were taken into custody on criminal mischief charges.3 A new 80-foot Aermotor tower went up in 1975, at a cost the register gives as $45,800.1,2 Vandals smashed the windows in 1985, and the lookout joined the National Historic Lookout Register in 2001.2,1

A July 2018 visit report found the tower in good condition, with stairs and glass intact and no missing boards or bolts. It also said the tower was staffed only sometimes.1 A 2017 Pennsylvania forest fire blog post had said it was not manned at that time.4 The register says the tower is gated, that visitors need permission to get in, and that a security system is in place. It lists the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as the administering agency.1 A hiking guide notes that part of the fence has been pulled up, but that does not mean the tower is open to climbers, so get permission before going up.2

  1. Snowy Mountain Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/pa/snowy-mountain-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Snowy Mountain Lookout, WillhiteWeb (Appalachian Trail fire lookouts), https://willhiteweb.com/appalachian_trail/fire_lookouts/snowy_mountain/tower_043.htm (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Snowy Mountain, Forest Lookouts (easternuslookouts.weebly.com), https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/snowy-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Fire Tower Friday, Pennsylvania Forest Fire Protection blog, https://forestfireprotection.blogspot.com/2017/10/fire-tower-friday.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Snowy Mountain Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Snowy Mountain Lookout
Photo: Kristin Reynolds, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Snowy Mountain
Snowy MountainPhoto: Shawn Lesitsky -- PA Fire Towers StoryMap (Esri ArcGIS StoryMaps) · source

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Where sources disagree

We show disagreements between sources instead of quietly picking one. If you know which is right, please tell us.

  • Sources disagree on the year it was built.

    • NHLR: 1975
    • Fire Towers of Pennsylvania (ArcGIS StoryMap, Shawn Lesitsky): 1930

    Sources give different build years. Often one counts the first lookout on the site and another the structure there now.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, type, status, 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. Fire Towers of Pennsylvania (ArcGIS StoryMap, Shawn Lesitsky) Gave us: what it is built of, design, height, ownership, photos, links Pennsylvania fire towers StoryMap (ArcGIS) · No licence stated; facts only (county, agency, built year, height, builder). · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  3. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: links easternuslookouts.weebly.com · No licence stated; facts only (county, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, status, height, design hints, register links). The site's own historical quotes, newspaper citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  4. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, 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.