Fire lookout · Sawyer County, Wisconsin
Connors Lake Lookout
1934 Aermotor fire tower in Sawyer County, unused for about five years by 2015; a 1991 state record says the fire tower was moved from Connors Lake to the area headquarters in 1973.
- Standing
- Access unknown
- Verified
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?
- No
- Road to the top?
- Unknown
- Staffing
- Unknown
Facts
- Status
- Type
- Cab on a tower100-foot Aermotor tower with US Forest Service-style stairway (register); Park Falls Ranger Station tower cabin built during the CCC program (1991 state record)The design: Aermotor
- Built of
- SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
- Built
- 1934
- Height
- 100 ft (30.5 m)
- Elevation
- 1,493 ft (455 m)
- Agency
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
- Land
- Unknown
- Location
- Sawyer County, Wisconsin
- Coordinates
- 45.75827, −90.71397
- Registers
- This entry
- VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
- Firefinder id
us-wi-connors-lake
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
- 1934 BuiltRegister gives May 1934 as the build date.Source: nhlr.org
- 1935 EventThe 1991 state record gives 1935 as the construction date of the Park Falls Ranger Station tower cabin (its header says 1936). A September 1936 CCC newsletter still described a tower cabin at Connors Lake as planned, with lumber on hand, so the 1935 date may not belong to the Connors Lake cabin.Sources: wisconsinhistory.org, centraluslookouts.weebly.com
- 1936 EventCCC camp newsletter says the tower aided fire crews and a tower cabin was to be built.Source: centraluslookouts.weebly.com
- No record between 1936 and 1973
- 1973 MovedThe 1991 state record says the fire tower was moved from its original site at Connor Lake to the area headquarters, January to July 1973, when it was not used. The record is about the cabin, so it is unclear whether the tower itself or only the cabin moved.Source: wisconsinhistory.org
- No record between 1973 and 2015
- 2015 EventStatewide retirement decision; the Connors Lake tower had not been used for about five years.Source: apg-wi.com
- 2017 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered June 28, 2017.Source: nhlr.org
- 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 (opens another site) (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).
Story
Researched 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.
Connors Lake Lookout is a 100-foot Aermotor tower in Sawyer County, Wisconsin.1 A state record places it in the Flambeau River State Forest.2 The register says it was built in 1934 and has a stairway in the style the US Forest Service uses.1
In September 1936 a CCC camp newsletter said the Connors Lake tower had helped the camp reach fires sooner. It also said work on a tower cabin would start soon, with its lumber and materials already on hand.3 A 1991 state survey of the Park Falls Ranger Station tower cabin says it was built during the CCC program and is in good condition.2 The same record says the fire tower was moved from its original site at Connors Lake to the area headquarters between January and July 1973, when it was not in use. Because the record is about the cabin, it is unclear whether the tower itself or only the cabin left the site.2
A 2015 article in the Sawyer County Record quoted a Winter Station firefighter, who said the Connors Lake tower had sat unused for five years.4 The same article said the state planned to take 72 towers out of service in 2016, and it counted Connors Lake among Sawyer County's five.4 A recent structural assessment had found the towers unsafe, and replacing them was judged too costly.4 The Forest Fire Lookout Association's Wisconsin list still shows the tower as standing.5
The register recorded the tower on June 28, 2017.1 The sources I found describe no public access, rental or visitor program for it. Because the state judged its towers unsafe, I would view it from the ground rather than climb.4
- Connors Lake Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wi/connors-lake-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Case Ave. (Old Highway 13), Wisconsin Historical Society (WisHistory), https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/record/property/HI35266/case-ave-old-highway-13 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Connors Lake, Forest Lookouts (quotes The Voice of 1610, CCC Camp Connors Lake), https://centraluslookouts.weebly.com/connors-lake.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- DNR will discontinue fire towers in 2016, Sawyer County Record, https://www.apg-wi.com/sawyer_county_record/sports/outdoors/dnr-will-discontinue-fire-towers-in-2016/article_99555dd8-b485-11e5-ae50-e70e7acc48a6.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Wisconsin Lookouts (by County), Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wi/wi-co/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
Photos
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Sources
- National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) (opens another site) 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
- Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists (opens another site) 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
- FOREST LOOKOUTS -- central US (centraluslookouts.weebly.com) (opens another site) Gave us: links centraluslookouts.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
- OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures (opens another site) Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
- Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, agency, 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
- NHLR register entry US 1216 (nhlr.org) (opens another site)
- Case Ave. (Old Highway 13) (Wisconsin Historical Society (WisHistory)) (opens another site)
- DNR will discontinue fire towers in 2016 (Sawyer County Record (apg-wi.com)) (opens another site)
- Wisconsin Lookouts (by County) (Forest Fire Lookout Association) (opens another site)
- FFLA Wisconsin lookout list (firelookout.org) (opens another site)
- Connors Lake (centraluslookouts.weebly.com) (opens another site)
- OpenStreetMap node 353893430 (opens another site)
Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.