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Fire lookout · Russell County, Virginia

Hazel Mountain Fire Tower

1939 90-foot Aermotor tower on the Dickenson/Russell County line, privately owned and listed standing; a 2003 auction record says removal was required, but 2008 and 2018 visits found it in place.

Private land

No public access. Please do not trespass; view it only from public land. Administered by a private owner per the Register; the 2018 visit report says no sign is posted and the lower stairs were removed to prevent access to the cab.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Private land. See the warning at the top of this page.

Can you climb it?
No
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Lower section of stairs removed to prevent access to the cab (2018 visit report); tower is beside a paved road.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 2018)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower90-foot Aermotor towerThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1939
Height
90 ft (27.4 m)
Elevation
3,028 ft (923 m)
Agency
Private owner
Land
Unknown
Location
Russell County, Virginia
Coordinates
36.99522, −82.24550
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-va-hazel-mountain

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. 1939 BuiltCompleted August 31, 1939 by the Virginia Department of ForestrySource: nhlr.org
  2. No record between 1939 and 2003
  3. 2003 EventSold at auction with removal required, per Forest Lookouts; later visit reports describe the tower as in placeSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  4. 2008 Condition assessmentVisit report of November 1, 2008: not staffed; concrete base dated 8/31/49Source: nhlr.org
  5. 2015 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered January 3, 2015 as US 1093, VA 23; nominated by Jeff FlanarySource: nhlr.org
  6. 2018 Condition assessmentVisit report of January 20, 2018: not staffed; lower stairs removed to prevent access to the cabSource: 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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Hazel Mountain Fire Tower lies on the boundary between Dickenson and Russell counties, atop the Clinch Mountain range.1 The Register dates completion to August 31, 1939, when the Virginia Department of Forestry finished the 90-foot Aermotor tower.1

A 2008 visit report describes a concrete base marked 8/31/49, which does not match the 1939 completion date. The sources read do not explain the difference.1

The sources describe no notable fires. Visit reports from 2008 and 2018 both say the tower was not staffed.1

Forest Lookouts reports that a January 2003 auction sold the tower on condition that it be removed.2 A 2008 visit report says the writer thought they had read that it was to be sold and taken down, but was not certain.1 Visit reports from 2008 and 2018 nonetheless describe the tower as in place, and the 2008 report calls it in very good shape for its age.1 The 2018 report says the lower stair section had been removed so that people could not reach the cab.1

The Register lists the administrator as a private owner, and the Forest Fire Lookout Association lists the tower as standing.1,3 The Register accepted it on January 3, 2015, as US 1093, VA 23, nominated by Jeff Flanary.1

The tower stands beside a paved road, but its lowest stairs have been removed and its owner is private. Please do not try to climb it.1

  1. Hazel Mountain Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/va/hazel-mountain-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Hazel Mountain, Forest Lookouts (easternuslookouts.weebly.com), https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/hazel-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Virginia, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/va/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Hazel Mountain Fire Tower
Photo: TheBigGiantHead - courtesy of Krissy Reynolds, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Hazel Mountain Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Hazel Mountain Fire Tower
Photo: J.S. Harrison, 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. 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, 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.