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Fire lookout · Bath County, Virginia

Bald Knob Lookout

Bath County tower on Warm Springs Mountain, built 1934 by the CCC for Virginia forestry; now in a Nature Conservancy preserve, not staffed, public route unclear.

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
Trail
The May 10, 2018 visit report describes a fire road up from a red gate off Airport Road. The preserve lists three public trails (Ingalls Overlook, Sandy Gap, Bear Loop) but does not say whether the public may reach the tower. Ask the Conservancy before going.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 2018-05-10)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower35-foot steel Aermotor tower, 7 by 7 feetThe design: Aermotor
Built of
Steel
Built
1934
Height
35 ft (10.7 m)
Elevation
4,249 ft (1,295 m)
Agency
The Nature Conservancy
Land
Unknown
Location
Bath County, Virginia
Coordinates
37.92428, −79.85194
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-va-bald-knob

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 3.6 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. 1934 BuiltBuilt by the CCC for the Virginia Department of Forestry on a state-owned easement from the Hot Springs CompanySource: nhlr.org
  2. 1935 EventCoast and Geodetic Survey station recovery note places the fire tower on the highest part of the knobSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  3. No record between 1935 and 2011
  4. 2011 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered April 9, 2011 as US 907, VA 10Source: nhlr.org
  5. 2018 Condition assessmentRegister visit May 10, 2018: good condition, not staffed, NHLR sign postedSource: 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.

Bald Knob Lookout stands on Warm Springs Mountain in Bath County, Virginia, at 4,249 feet (1,295 m).1 The Forest Fire Lookout Association lists it as standing.2

The Civilian Conservation Corps built it in 1934 for the Virginia Department of Forestry, on a state-owned easement from the Hot Springs Company.1 It is a 35-foot steel Aermotor tower, 7 by 7 feet, bought on a cooperative basis: the state and the Bath County Protective Association each paid half.1 A 1935 Coast and Geodetic Survey recovery note, quoted on a Weebly lookout page, places the fire tower on the highest part of the knob.3

The U.S. Forest Service later bought the property.1 The property now lies within The Nature Conservancy's Warm Springs Mountain Preserve, and the Register lists the Conservancy as administrator.1 The Weebly page instead names the Virginia Department of Forestry, so the two pages differ on who runs the tower.1,3

A Register visit report from May 10, 2018 rated the tower in good condition and found it not staffed.1 The same report says an NHLR sign is posted, and its comments tell visitors to follow the fire road up from a red gate off Airport Road.1

The preserve is open during daylight hours, and its public trails are Ingalls Overlook, Sandy Gap and Bear Loop.4 The preserve page does not say whether the public may reach the tower itself, and no source describes a rental.1,4 Ask The Nature Conservancy before going, and do not climb the tower unless its access has been confirmed.

  1. Bald Knob Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/va/bald-knob-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Virginia - Forest Fire Lookout Association, firelookout.org, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/va/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Bald Knob - Forest Lookouts, easternuslookouts.weebly.com, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/bald-knob1.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Warm Springs Mountain Preserve, The Nature Conservancy, https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/warm-springs-mountain/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Summer 2014
Summer 2014 (2014)Photo: Kristin Scholetzky, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Bald Knob Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
/images/Lookout_Photos/US907_Bald_Knob/Scholetzky1.jpg
/images/Lookout_Photos/US907_Bald_Knob/Scholetzky1.jpgPhoto: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
/images/Lookout_Photos/US907_Bald_Knob/Scholetzky1.jpg
/images/Lookout_Photos/US907_Bald_Knob/Scholetzky1.jpgPhoto: 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 -- 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. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, 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.