FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Price County, Wisconsin

Fifield Lookout

Also known as Fifield (Wintergreen)

1932 Wisconsin Conservation Commission steel ladder tower in Price County: standing with lower ladder cut and cab glass gone; hike-only, no public climbing.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. Public may walk to the tower on the original trail from the Wintergreen parking lot, but no public access to climb it. National Forest parking pass required.

Can you climb it?
No
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Trail from the Wintergreen Parking Lot (crosses an ATV trail) to the tower; hike only, no public climbing
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerGalvanized steel ladder tower, about 100 ft (30.5 m), on four concrete piers, with a seven-foot square steel cab and a caged exterior ladderThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1932
Height
100 ft (30.5 m)
Elevation
1,587 ft (484 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service (Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest); Wisconsin DNR holds a special use permit for the site
Land
Federal land
Location
Price County, Wisconsin
Coordinates
45.88692, −90.32433
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wi-fifield

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 4.1 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. 1932 BuiltErected by the Wisconsin Conservation Commission under a special use permit on Forest Service land acquired in 1931; piers inscribed 1932Sources: npgallery.nps.gov, nhlr.org
  2. 1935 First staffedForest Service took over operation; CCC Camp Riley Creek operated the tower for at least 1935 to 1941Source: npgallery.nps.gov
  3. No record between 1935 and 1957
  4. 1957 EventNational Register form gives 1957 as the end of the period of significance (1932-1957); not a staffing end dateSource: npgallery.nps.gov
  5. No record between 1957 and 1973
  6. 1973 AlteredBottom approximately 20 feet of ladder removed to meet fire tower safety standardsSource: npgallery.nps.gov
  7. 1973 Last staffedLast staffed season per Wikipedia and Forest Lookouts; the nomination does not name a final staffed yearSources: en.wikipedia.org, centraluslookouts.weebly.com
  8. No record between 1973 and 2007
  9. 2007 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesAdded to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 (Wikipedia gives July 3, 2007)Source: en.wikipedia.org
  10. 2008 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered January 2, 2008 as US 712Source: nhlr.org
  11. 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 Fifield Fire Lookout Tower stands about five miles east of the community of Fifield in Price County, Wisconsin.1 The Wisconsin Conservation Commission, now the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, constructed it in 1932.2 Land for the site came to the Forest Service in 1931 as part of a larger tract, and the state built the tower under a special use permit.1

The galvanized steel ladder tower stands about 100 feet tall, and a protective cage surrounds its exterior ladder.1 Its top holds a seven-foot-square steel cab with a wood floor.1

The Forest Service began operating the tower in 1935.1 The nomination also says a Civilian Conservation Corps camp ran it between at least 1935 and 1941.1 Wikipedia says the tower stayed in use until 1973, and the Forest Lookouts site gives 1973 as its last staffed season.3,4 By contrast, the National Register form ends the period of significance in 1957 and names no final staffed year.1

The nomination says the tower enabled the fire detection and suppression system before aircraft detection arrived.1

Around 1973 the Forest Service removed roughly the bottom 20 feet of ladder to meet safety standards.1 The National Register form describes the cab's window glass as gone and its floor as deteriorated, though most of the tower remained intact.1 The dwelling and garage no longer stand.1 The Lookout Register says the Forest Service restored the tower, but it gives no date for that work.2

The tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 and to the Lookout Register on January 2, 2008.3,2

Today the tower is a historic site with interpretive signs.5 A trail from the Wintergreen parking lot leads to the tower, but the public has no access to climb it.5 A National Forest parking pass is required.5 None of the sources read mention renting the tower.5

  1. Fifield Fire Lookout Tower, National Register of Historic Places registration form, National Park Service, https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/45fa455e-af5a-4a45-8f7c-c67efc529c5c (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Fifield Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wi/fifield-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Fifield Fire Lookout Tower, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifield_Fire_Lookout_Tower (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Fifield - Forest Lookouts, https://centraluslookouts.weebly.com/fifield.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Fifield Fire Tower, Travel Wisconsin, https://www.travelwisconsin.com/things-to-do/culture-arts/architecture/fifield-fire-tower (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Fifield Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Fifield Lookout
Photo: Csgaylord, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

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Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, 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 LOOKOUTS -- central US (centraluslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: height, 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
  4. Wikidata -- US fire lookout towers (Q748998 and subclasses) Gave us: register numbers, photos, links Wikidata · CC0 1.0 (Wikidata). Images keep their own Commons licence/credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  6. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, 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.